{{Short description|Australian Aboriginal ethnic group of the Northern Territory}} {{distinguish|text=the Kukatja of Western Australia, the Kokatha of South Australia, nor with the Kukatj of Queensland, all of whom have the variant name Kukatja or Kokatja{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=229}}{{efn|For the distinction see Tindale's remarks. {{harv|Tindale|1974|pp=137–138}}}}}} {{use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{use Australian English|date=March 2021}} [[File:Showing_method_of_attack_with_boomerang_-_NMA-15147.jpg|thumb|A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920)]] The '''Luritja''' or '''Loritja''' people, also known as '''Kukatja''' or '''Kukatja-Luritja''', are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Their traditional lands are immediately west of the River Derwent, that forms a frontier with the Arrernte people, with their lands covering some {{convert|10,300|mi2|km2|order=flip}}. Their language is the Luritja dialect, a Western Desert language.
==Name== The name Kukatja or Kukatj is one shared by four other distinct tribes throughout Australia. The root of the word seems to suggest pride in being "meat eaters" rather than people who scrounge for vegetables for sustenance.{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=137}}
The Northern Territory Kukatja were often referred to in the ethnographical literature by Arerrnte exonyms for them,{{efn|"{{lang|de|Kukatja ist hier Eigennamen; es ist aber auch der Stammes-Name, den sich die Loritja beilegen. Loritja werden sie von den Aranda genannt.}}" {{harv|Strehlow|1907|p=57, n.9}}}} either ''Loritja'' or ''Aluritja'', which bore pejorative connotations.{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=137}}{{efn|"Suggestive of everything that is barbarian, crude, savage and generally speaking, non-Aranda." {{harv|Strehlow|1947|p=52, cf.177}}}}
According to Kenny (2013), "The people living to the immediate west of the Western Aranda called themselves Kukatja or Loritja at the turn of the twentieth century. Today they call themselves Luritja or Kukatja-Luritja when referring to their ancestry and history."{{sfn|Kenny|2013|p=20}}
== Population == The total population of Luritja people (including Papunya Luritja) is probably in the thousands, making them the third largest of the Central Australian Aboriginal populations, behind Arrernte and Pitjantjatjara.
==Country== According to an estimate made by Norman Tindale, the Kukatja of the Northern Territory (Luritja) had tribal lands covering some {{convert|10,300|mi2|km2}}.{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=229}} Their territory is immediately west of the River Derwent, that formed their frontier with the Arrernte.{{sfn|Kenny|2013|p=20}}{{efn|Kenny states that those Kukatja in these border lands had a greater overlap with their eastern neighbours:"Róheim called these people 'Lurittya Merino', and noted that they were seen as 'half Aranda'. People who belong to this border area are still today fluent speakers of both Aranda and Loritja and share ancestors as well as traditional laws and customs." {{harv|Kenny|2013|p=20}}}} He defined them as dwelling west of the Gosse Range{{sfn|Hamacher|Goldsmith|2013|p=304}} and Palm Valley on the south MacDonnell Ranges. Their southern limits went as far as Tempe Downs, and they ranged southwest to Lake Amadeus, the George Gill Range, the Merandji (the Cleland Hills) and Inindi near Mount Forbes. They were also present round Palmer, Walker, and Rudall creeks.{{sfn|Tindale|1974|p=229}}
According to AUSTLANG, two areas of Luritja speakers have been distinguished: southern groups, whose language is influenced by Yankunytjatjara language, living south of Hermmannsburg, and another group, referred to as Pintupi-Luritja, whose traditional land lies north-west and west of Hermannsburg, including Haasts Bluff, Papunya, Mt Liebig and Kintore.<ref>{{AIATSIS|C7.1|Luritja}}</ref>
===Land rights=== The Luritja people established the Luritja Land Association in 1974, which was the first Aboriginal land rights organisation in Central Australia. In December 1993, around {{convert|4,750|km2}} of land was purchased on behalf of the traditional owners, including the pastoral leases, Tempe Downs and Middleton Ponds. Over 350 Luritja people lived or intended to live on the land.<ref>{{cite web | title=Luritja Land Fight wins Tempe Downs | website=Central Land Council, Australia | date=Dec 1993| url=https://www.clc.org.au/land-won-back/info/luritja-land-fight-wins-tempe-downs/ | access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref>
==Ethnography== The first sustained, fundamental ethnographic work on the Kukatja was done by the Lutheran missionary Carl Strehlow, who produced six monumental volumes in German on them and the neighbouring Arerrnte, published between 1907 and 1920.
The Luritja, together with other central Australian peoples, were the object of the first attempt to undertake an examination of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theories concerning "primitive" society in Australia when Géza Róheim did fieldwork among them for eight months in 1929.{{sfn|Morton|2017|pp=202–206}}
==Alternative names== {{colbegin|colwidth=22em}} * ''Aluratja'' ( Iliaura exonym) * ''Aluratji'' (Ngalia exonym) * ''Aluridi'' (Pintupi and Pitjantjatjara exonym) * ''Aluridja'' * ''Gogadja'' * ''Gugada'' * ''Gugadja'' * ''Juluridja'' * ''Kukacha'' * ''Kukadja'' * ''Kukata'' (error) * ''Lo-rit-ya'' * ''Loorudgee'' * ''Loorudgie'' * ''Loritja'' (Aranda pejorative exonym) * ''Luridja'' * ''Luritja, Luritcha, Loritcha'' * ''Lurritji'' * ''Uluritdja'' * ''Western Loritja'' {{colend}}
Source: {{harvnb|Tindale|1974|p=229}}
== Artwork == The Luritja area relies heavily on the sale of artwork; Luritja artwork has a large number of famous artists and many companies that specifically cater for the sale of Luritja art. The Papunya Tula company in particular is world-renowned for its artists, most of whom reside at Papunya and Kintore.
== Language == {{main|Luritja dialect}}
Luritja people speak the Luritja language. ==Notable people== *Harold Thomas (born 1947), designer of the Aboriginal flag *Molly Jugadai Napaltjarri (1954–2011), an artist
==Footnotes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist|20em}}
===Sources=== {{refbegin|35em}} *{{Cite book| title = Die Eingeborenen der Kolonie Südaustralien | last = Eylmann | first = Erhard | year = 1908 | publisher = D.Reimer | location = Berlin | url = https://archive.org/download/dieeingeborenen00eylmgoog/dieeingeborenen00eylmgoog.pdf }} *{{Cite journal | title = Aboriginal Oral Traditions of Australian Impact Craters | last1 = Hamacher | first1 = Duane W. | last2 = Goldsmith | first2 = John | journal = Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage | year = 2013 | volume = 16 | issue = 3 | pages = 295–311 | doi = 10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2013.03.06 | arxiv = 1306.0278 | bibcode = 2013JAHH...16..295H | s2cid = 118556709 | url = http://www.narit.or.th/en/files/2013JAHHvol16/2013JAHH...16..295H.pdf }} *{{Cite book| title = The Aranda's Pepa: An introduction to Carl Strehlow's Masterpiece Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien (1907-1920) | last = Kenny | first = Anna | year = 2013 | publisher = Australian National University | isbn = 978-1-921-53677-9 | jstor = j.ctt5hgz6k.10 |url=http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p265691/pdf/book.pdf?referer=88 }} *{{Cite journal | title = Ueber einige Hundefiguren des Dieristammes in Zentral-Australien | last = Leonhardi | first = M. von | author-link = Moritz von Leonhardi | journal = Globus | year = 1908 | volume = 91 | pages = 378–380 | url = https://www.digi-hub.de/viewer/image/DE-11-001832358/398/LOG_0450/ }} *{{Cite journal | title = Notes on some native tribes of Australia | last = Mathews | first = R. H. | author-link = Robert Hamilton Mathews | journal = Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales | year = 1906 | volume = 40 | pages = 95–129 | doi = 10.5962/p.359471 | s2cid = 259733139 | url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/129860 | doi-access = free}} *{{Cite book| chapter = Sigmund Freud, Géza Róheim and the Strehlows: Oedipal tales from Central Australian anthropology | last = Morton | first = John | year = 2017 | title = German Ethnography in Australia | editor1-last = Peterson | editor1-first = Nicolas | editor2-last = Kenny | editor2-first = Anna | publisher = Australian National University | pages = 195–222 | isbn = 978-1-760-46132-4 | jstor = j.ctt1ws7wn5.17 }} *{{Cite book| title = Children of the Desert: The Western Tribes of Central Australia | last = Róheim | first = Géza | year = 1976 | author-link = Géza Róheim | orig-year = First published 1974 | editor-last = Werner | editor-first = Muensterberger | publisher = Harper Torchbooks | volume = 1 | isbn = 9780465010424 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6aqAAAAAMAAJ }} *{{Cite journal | title = Aborigines of the Upper and Middle Finke River | last = Schulze | first = L. | journal = Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia | year = 1891 | volume = 14 | pages = 210–246 | url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/84660#page/218/mode/1up }} *{{Cite book| title = Native tribes of Central Australia | last1 = Spencer | first1 = Sir Baldwin | last2 = Gillen | first2 = Francis J. | author1-link = Walter Baldwin Spencer | author2-link = Francis James Gillen | year = 1899 | publisher = Macmillan Publishers | url = https://archive.org/download/nativetribesofce00spenuoft/nativetribesofce00spenuoft.pdf }} *{{Cite book| title = Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien: Part 1 Mythen, Sagen und Märchen des Aranda –Stammes | last = Strehlow | first = C. | year = 1907 | author-link = Carl Strehlow | editor-last = Leonhardi | editor-first = Moritz von | editor-link = Moritz von Leonhardi | publisher = Joseph Baer & Co | url = https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/61643/3/Die%20Aranda_Issue%201.pdf }} *{{Cite book| title = Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien: Part 2. Mythen, Sagen und Märchen des Loritja–Stämmes | last = Strehlow | first = C. | year = 1908 | author-link = Carl Strehlow | editor-last = Leonhardi | editor-first = Moritz von | editor-link = Moritz von Leonhardi | publisher = Joseph Baer & Co | url = https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/61643/4/Die%20Aranda_Issue%202.pdf }} *{{Cite book| title = Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien Part 3 | last = Strehlow | first = C. | year = 1910 | author-link = Carl Strehlow | editor-last = Leonhardi | editor-first = Moritz von | editor-link = Moritz von Leonhardi | publisher = Joseph Baer & Co | url = https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/61643/9/Die%20Aranda_Issue%203.pdf }} *{{Cite book| title = Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien Part 4: Abteilung | last = Strehlow | first = C. | year = 1913a | author-link = Carl Strehlow | publisher = Joseph Baer & Co | url = https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/61643/6/Die%20Aranda_Issue%204.pdf }} *{{Cite book| title = Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien.: Part 4. 1 Abteilung: Stammbaum Tafeln | last = Strehlow | first = C. | year = 1913b | author-link = Carl Strehlow | publisher = Joseph Baer & Co | url = https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/61643/8/Die%20Aranda%20und%20Loritja-Stamme%20-%20Inserts.pdf }} *{{Cite book| title = Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien: Part 5 | last = Strehlow | first = C. | year = 1920 | author-link = Carl Strehlow | publisher = Joseph Baer & Co | url = https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/61643/7/Die%20Aranda_Issue%205.pdf }} *{{Cite book| title = Aranda traditions | last = Strehlow | first = T. G. H. | year = 1947 | author-link = Ted Strehlow | publisher = Melbourne University Press }} *{{Cite book |chapter =Kukatja (NT) | 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 = https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/collection/archives/language_groups/kukatja-(nt) | archive-date = 20 March 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200320020206/https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/collection/archives/language_groups/kukatja-(nt) | isbn = 978-0-708-10741-6 }} *{{Cite book| title = The Aborigines of Central Australia: with vocabularies of the dialects spoken by the natives of Lake Amadeus and of the western territory of Central Australia | last = Willshire | first = W. H. | year = 1891a | publisher = C. E. Bristow, Government printer | location = Adelaide | url = https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/18481/1/Willshire1.pdf | pages = 1–38 }} *{{Cite book| title = Vocabulary of the Dialect Spoken by the Natives of the Country adjacent to Lake Amadeus in Central Australia | last = Willshire | first = W. H. | year = 1891b | publisher = C. E. Bristow, Government printer | location = Adelaide | url = https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/18481/2/Willshire_vocabs.pdf | pages = 44–46 }} {{refend}}
{{Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory Category:Luritja