Ngambaa
The Ngamba were an Australian Aboriginal tribe who traditionally lived in around the area of Southern Gumbaynggirr, from the Nambucca to the Macleay in New South Wales.
Language
The Ngamba language is poorly described because little has been transmitted of its nature. It is generally believed to have been similar to Gumbaynggirr.[1]
Country
Ngamba territory comprised some 900 square miles (2,300 km2) from Port Macquarie and the vicinity of Rollands Plains south to the Manning River. The inland extension has not been ascertained.[2]
People
All but a few remnants of the tribe were attested by 1929, when A.R. Radcliffe-Brown described them as lingering on with descendants of the Ngaku and Daingatti.[3] According to the reminiscences of Harry Buchanan, they had been systematically and savagely exterminated by the Australian native police.[4]
Customs
The Ngamba exploited the mangrove species Avicennia marina for its bark in order to fashion their military shields.[5]
Alternative names
- Ngambar
- Ngeunbah[2]
Notes
Citations
- Eades 1979, pp. 249,251.
- Tindale 1974.
- Radcliffe-Brown 1929, pp. 400,407.
- Eades 1979, p. 251.
- Duke 2006, p. 22.
Sources
- Duke, Norman C. (2006). Australia's Mangroves: The Authoritative Guide to Australia's Mangrove Parts. MER. ISBN 978-0-646-46196-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Eades, Diana (1979). "Gumbayngirr". In Dixon, Robert M. W.; Blake, Barry J. (eds.). Handbook of Australian Languages. Volume 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 243–360. ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. (July–December 1929). "Notes on Totemism in Eastern Australia". The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 59: 399–415. doi:10.2307/2843892. JSTOR 2843892.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Tindale, Norman Barnett (1974). "Ngamba (NSW)". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names. Australian National University Press. ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)