Ramindjeri
Aboriginal Australian people
title: "Ramindjeri" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["aboriginal-peoples-of-south-australia", "ngarrindjeri"] description: "Aboriginal Australian people" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramindjeri" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Aboriginal Australian people ::
The Ramindjeri or Raminjeri people were an Aboriginal Australian people forming part of the Kukabrak grouping now otherwise known as the Ngarrindjeri people. They were the most westerly Ngarrindjeri, living in the area around Encounter Bay and Goolwa in southern South Australia, including Victor Harbor and Port Elliot. In modern native title actions a much more extensive territory has been claimed.
Country and naming
Ramindjeri Heritage Association Inc asserts historical territory including Karta (Kangaroo Island) and the whole southern portion of the Fleurieu Peninsula, extending as far north as Noarlunga or even the River Torrens. However, the claimed territory overlaps a significant portion of the territory claimed by both the neighbouring Ngarrindjeri to the east and the Kaurna to the west, in their Federal Court Native Title Claims Registered respectively in 1998 and 2000. Linguistic evidence suggests that the "Aborigines" encountered by Colonel Light at Rapid Bay in 1836 were Kaurna speakers. David Horton's map as hosted online by AIATSIS, based largely on Norman Tindale's work, shows Kaurna down the west side of the Fleurieu and Ngarrindjeri to the east of them. The Dreaming story of the Kaurna creator ancestor, Tjilbruke, extends as far west as Rosetta Head.
There is no evidence of continual occupation on Kangaroo Island earlier than the complete separation of the island from the mainland 11,000 years ago. Several small sites dated 6,000, 5,200 and 4,300 years BP have been found, but it is unknown whether these belong to visitors or a remnant population. As available technology precludes intentional visits by Aboriginal people, a remnant population of up to 200 individuals is the preferred hypothesis, with the last dying 2,500 years ago.
Ramindjeri, dubbed "Encounter Bay blacks", were observed holding a full moon ceremony at Onkaparinga by John Bull's 1837 water exploration party, guided by pre-1836 Sealer Nat Thomas.
Ronald and Catherine Berndt's ethnographic study, which was conducted in the 1930s, identified six Kukabrak, subsequently described as "Ngarrindjeri" clans, the Ramindjeri lakinyeri occupying the coast from Cape Jervis to a few kilometres south of Adelaide. Berndt posited that the Ramindjeri clans may have expanded along trade routes as the Kaurna were dispossessed by colonists.
Law professor Irene Watson wrote in a 2019 article about the Maria massacre: "The ancient identity and name of the Milmendjeri, one of the Tanganekald peoples, belong to the Coorong. They are ancient names that have become almost lost to living memory. Post-invasion, the peoples and territories of the Coorong have become known as Ngarrindjeri — this name is now privileged in native title claims over the lands and affairs of traditional First Nations nations such as Ramindjeri, Tanganekald, and Yaralde."
Native title
Ramindjeri lands have been subject to a native title claim lodged by Ngarrindjeri claimants in 1998. In 2009, Ramindjeri Heritage Association Inc spokesman Karno Walker challenged the legitimacy of that claim, claiming the Ramindjeri were the rightful owners of land encompassing much of both the 1998 Ngarrindjeri claim and the 2000 Kaurna claim, and calling the Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri "Johnny-come-latelys".
A native title claim was registered with the Federal Court in 2010, encompassing over 20000 km2 of land extending to the River Torrens on the north, Kangaroo Island on the west, and the Murray Mouth on the east. Subsequently, Walker made unofficial claims to land as far north as Tea Tree Gully.
The claim was rejected by the National Native Title Tribunal on 24 March 2011, having failed six of the eleven required preconditions for acceptance, Walker later claimed that eight out of ten had been fulfilled. The Federal Court was set to hear the case in October 2011. The Federal Court published the findings of Mansfield in September 2014 that the application be dismissed.
The native title dispute led one local council to alter their "Acknowledgement of country" statement before meetings. The City of Unley changed their acknowledgement to read "Aboriginal people" instead of "Kaurna", so as not to take sides in the dispute.
Language
Main article: Ramindjeri language
The Ramindjeri language was a dialect of the Ngarrindjeri language, with a separate classification in the AUSTLANG database, but is now extinct.
Alternative names
Raminjeri is an alternative spelling, while other variant names and spellings include: Rormear, Ramong, Raminyeri, Ramindjerar, and Ramingara. Ethnonyms used by other peoples include Paruru (meaning "uncircumcised" or "animal") and Wirramu-mejo, both used by Kaurna; and Tarbanawalun, used by the Jarildekald people, to the east of Lake Alexandrina and the River Murray.
Social organisation
The Ramindjeri were composed of 14 clans.
::data[format=table]
| Clan name | Totems | Location |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Ratalwerindjera | pangarii.(seal) | Goolwa to Middleton |
| (2) Latalindjera | kondili (whale) | Latang on the Hindmarsh River near Victor Harbor |
| (3) Muwerindjera | unknown | western bank of the Inman River. |
| (4) Ngarakerindjera | ngarakani(shark) | Ngarakerung near King's Point. |
| (5) Krilbalindjera | krilbali(brown skylark) | near Kondilinar (place of the whale) |
| (6) Limindjera | limi (stingray or carpet shark) | Hindmarsh River estuary |
| (7) Wati-erilindjera | wati-eri(jaybird) | Near Mount Hayfield |
| (8) Lepuldalindjera | lepuldali(marsupial possum) | Mt Robinson |
| (9) Yaltalindjera | yoldi, yalti(cormorant) | Bald Hills, Inman Valley |
| (10)Pariwarindjera | tjirbuki (species of crane) | Cape Jervis(Pariwa) |
| (11)Yangkalyarindjera | kalaipani (butterfish),tinemari (bream) | Yankalilla to Yankie Hill, and the Normanville coast |
| (12) Meiperinyera | unknown | Myponga |
| (13)Ruwurindjera | uwal, kuratji(tommy rough fish) | Ruwuru south of Port Willunga |
| (14)Tainbarindjera | mulgali (red ochre) | Tainbarung, Noarlunga River |
| :: |
Culture
The Ramindjeri had a genre of tuŋari songs, called mantimanŋari, which were songs of caution, composed to warn or teach lessons to members of the tribe, such as one mocking a recently bereaved woman for appearing to be too much in a hurry to remarry.
History of contact
Ramindjeri were amongst, if not the first South Australian Aboriginal people to come into regular contact with Europeans since 1802, with Karta (Kangaroo Island) based sealers raiding Ramindjeri ruwe (territorial lands) for women. In the early 19th century, pre-1836 settlement.
Ramindjeri men began working as whalers around Encounter Bay in the 1830s.
Victoria Square proposal
After the Adelaide City Council released a master plan for a million redevelopment for Victoria Square in 2010, Karno Walker, with architect Michael Thiele and community development consultants Encompass Technology, proposed a Ramindjeri-themed redevelopment at a projected cost of million. They claimed it could be funded by private developers in return for parking revenue from a 2000-space underground carpark.
Notes
Citations
Sources
- {{Cite book| title = Warraparna Kaurna!: Reclaiming an Australian language | last = Amery | first = Rob | year = 2016| author-link= Rob Amery | publisher = University of Adelaide Press | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XiGdCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 | isbn = 978-1-925-26125-7
- {{cite news| title = Unley tangled in native title dispute | last = Bachmayer | first = Lisa | newspaper = Eastern Courier Messenger | url = http://eastern-courier-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/unley-snared-in-title-claim/ | date = 1 September 2010 | access-date = 17 August 2011
- {{Cite book| title = A World that was: The Yaraldi of the Murray River and the Lakes, South Australia | last1 = Berndt | first1 = Ronald Murray | last2 = Berndt | first2 = Catherine Helen | last3 = Stanton | first3 = John E. | author1-link = Ronald Berndt | author2-link = Catherine Berndt | year = 1993 | publisher = UBC Press | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gYhQnj6cWh8C&pg=PA311 | isbn = 978-0-774-80478-3
- {{Cite journal | title = Notes on the Social Organization of Australian Tribes | last = Brown | first = A. R. | author-link = Alfred Radcliffe-Brown | journal = The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland | date = July–December 1918 | volume = 48 | pages = 222–253 | doi = 10.2307/2843422 | jstor = 2843422
- {{cite news| title = Ramindjeri v Kaurna on Vic Sq | last = Charrison | first = Emily | newspaper = City Messenger | url = http://digitaledition.citymessenger.com.au/default.aspx?iid=38244&startpage=page0000008 | date = 15 July 2010 | access-date = 17 August 2011
- {{cite news| title = Gully faces native title claim | last = Greenwood | first = Rob | newspaper = Leader Messenger | url = http://leader-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/gully-faces-land-claim/ | date = 1 March 2011 | access-date = 17 August 2011
- {{Cite book| title = Conquest of the Ngarrindjeri | last = Jenkin | first = Graham | year = 1979 | author-link = Graham Jenkin | publisher = Rigby | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZN6eAAAAIAAJ | isbn = 978-0-727-01112-1
- {{cite thesis| type = PhD thesis| title = Phases of Aboriginal Inclusion in the Public Space in Adelaide, South Australia, since Colonisation | last = Malone | first = Gavin Damien Francis | year = 2012 | publisher = Flinders University | chapter = Chapter 10: Kaurna Ancestor Being Tjilbruke: Commemorations | page = 217 | chapter-url = https://theses.flinders.edu.au/view/ae876628-4508-4c12-a442-ad22e8e56fdb/1 | access-date = 17 November 2020
- {{cite web| title = Map of Indigenous Australia | publisher = AIATSIS | url = https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/map-indigenous-australia | access-date = 17 November 2020 | ref =
- {{cite news| title = Ramindjeri people claim Adelaide under native title | last = Martin | first = Sarah | newspaper = The Advertiser | location = Adelaide | url = http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ramindjeri-people-claim-adelaide-under-native-title/story-e6frea6u-1226035628281 | date = 8 April 2011 | access-date = 17 August 2011
- {{cite web| title = Karta: Island of the Dead - Kangaroo Island Australia | last = Monroe | first = M. H. | url = http://www.austhrutime.com/karta_island_of_the_dead.htm | date = 30 September 2011
- {{cite news| title = Native title bid pursued in Federal Court | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Commission | url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-04-08/native-title-bid-pursued-in-federal-court/2625070 | date = 8 April 2011 | access-date = 17 August 2011 | ref =
- {{cite web| title = Native Title Determination Application: Ramindjeri | publisher = National Native Title Tribunal | url = http://www.nntt.gov.au/searchRegApps/NativeTitleClaims/NTDA%20Extracts/SC2010_003/SC2010_003%201.%20Map%20showing%20the%20application%20area.pdf | date = 22 October 2010 | ref =
- {{cite web| title = Ngunderi | publisher = South Australian Museum | url = http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/ngurunderi/ng8htm.htm | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090930142559/http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/ngurunderi/ng8htm.htm | access-date = 5 November 2010 | archive-date = 30 September 2009 | ref =
- {{Cite news| title = An old time episode. The murder of Captain Barker, narrative of a survivor | newspaper = The Advertiser | location = Adelaide | page = 6 | url = http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/25740466 | via = Trove | date = 30 October 1894 | ref =
- {{cite web| title = Ramindjeri (SA) | publisher = South Australian Museum | url = https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/collection/archives/language_groups/ramindjeri | access-date = 17 November 2020 | ref =
- {{cite web| title = Registration test decision | publisher = National Native Title Tribunal | url = http://www.nntt.gov.au/searchRegApps/NativeTitleClaims/RegistrationDecisionDocuments/2011/March%202011/SC10_3-1%2024032011.pdf | date = 24 March 2011 | ref =
- {{Cite book| title = Unearthed: The Aboriginal Tasmanians of Kangaroo Island | last = Taylor | first = Rebe | year = 2002 | publisher = Wakefield Press | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sO01v0hIf18C&q=onkaparinga | isbn = 978-1-862-54552-6
- {{Cite journal | title = Legend of Waijungari, Jaralde tribe, Lake Alexandrina, South Australia, and the phonetic system employed in its transcription | last = Tindale | first = Norman Barnett | author-link = Norman Tindale | journal = Records of the South Australian Museum | via = BHL | year = 1935 | volume = 5 | issue = 3 | pages = 261–274 | url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/127416#page/271/mode/1up
- {{Cite book| chapter = Ramindjeri (SA) | last = Tindale | first = Norman Barnett | year = 1974 | author-link = Norman Tindale | title = Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names | publisher = Australian National University Press | chapter-url = http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/ramindjeri.htm | isbn = 978-0-708-10741-6
- {{cite AustLII| litigants = Walker v State of South Australia | source = ('ref',) | court = FCA | num = 962 | year = 2014 | courtname = auto | date = 5 September 2014 | ref =
- {{cite web| title = Walker v State of South Australia [2014] FCA 962 | publisher = Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | url = https://aiatsis.gov.au/walker-v-state-south-australia-2014-fca-962 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200329054213/https://aiatsis.gov.au/walker-v-state-south-australia-2014-fca-962 | access-date = 29 March 2020 | archive-date = 29 March 2020 | ref =
- {{cite news| title = Tribal war on native title | last = Wheatley | first = Kim | newspaper = The Advertiser | location = Adelaide | url = http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/tribal-war-on-native-title/story-e6frea83-1225799956479 | date = 20 November 2009 | access-date = 17 August 2011
References
- Watson, Irene. (2019). "Colonial Logic and the Coorong Massacres". [[Adelaide Law Review]] 167.
- {{AIATSIS. S2. Ramindjeri
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