| Total population | |
|---|---|
| possibly several hundred (Less than 1% of theAustralian population) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Australia (Northern Territory) | |
| Languages | |
| Alawa language,English,Australian Kriol language | |
| Religion | |
| Aboriginal mythology | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ngandji people |
TheAlawa people are anIndigenous Australian people fromArnhem Land in theNorthern Territory ofAustralia. The suburb ofAlawa in theDarwin's north, is named in their honour.
TheAlawa language is a non-Pama-Nyungan language, classified byJeffrey Heath as one of three of a subgroup, together withMarra andWarndarang, though this is now contested.[1] It had only 18 speakers in a report dated 1991 (Ethnologue). That number was reduced to 12 by 2013. The speakers of Alawa are mainly adults, and most of the Alawa speakKriol, though there are Alawa language revival efforts at theMinyerri School in the Alawa community.
Traditional Alawa territory covered some 1,600 square miles (4,100 km2) and extended from the southern tributaries of theRoper River upstream from the mouth of theHodgson River west to Roper valley; south to Mason Bluff (Mount Mueller) andHodgson Downs; east to the headwaters of Mountain Creek.[2] Many Alawa people now live inMinyerri.
The traditional lifestyle of the Alawa consisted of harvesting and hunting the abundant food resources provided by their land, which was rich in species of turtle, duck, crocodiles and fish. They had a technique of conserving foods for considerable periods.Norman Tindale was shown in 1922 a refuge cave they maintained at Mountain Creek well stocked with buried stores of water lily seeds,[2] and roots, which were first sun-dried, then rubbed with red ochre before being wrapped and packed in paperbark sheets.[3] After the loss of their lands they specialized in working asjackaroos on pastoral stations.
The Alawa tribe, like many others in the Roper River region, were hunted down in an extermination policy developed by the pastoral company that took over the Hodgson Downs in 1903, and remnants took refuge from the killing teams by seeking the protection of pastoralists who would employ them, or on church missions.[4]
Together with theNgandji people, the descendants of the Alawa have laid anative title claim to the Cox River block.