Dangu people


The Dangu are an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, one of many Yolŋu peoples. They are, according to Norman Tindale, to be carefully distinguished from the Djaŋu.
Two prominent clans of the Dangu are the Rirratjingu and Galpu clans.

Country

The extent of Dangu territory could not be established by Tindale, who located them in the general area of Yirrkala Mission, Cape Arnhem, Melville Bay, and Port Bradshaw.

Social organisation

Like all Yolŋu societies, the Dangu, identified as a grouping of clans sharing similar dialects, were organised according to the Dhuwa and Yirritja moieties. Their ethnonymic identity as a unified group was based on their common word for the demonstrative pronoun "this". They are divided into six clans according to which moiety they belong to, of four Dua, and two Yirritja.
The Dua moiety:
  • Galpu
  • Golumala
  • Ngajimil
  • Riratjingu
The Yirritja moiety:
  • Lamami
  • ''Wanguri''

    Mythology

In the Gälpu clan legends, Wititj, the huge ancestral rainbow serpent, was said to create thunder and lightning as it moved across the land, but is also associated with the calm freshwater systems where the spirits reside, among water lilies and palm trees.

Alternative names