Locke (in Smythe, 1878:333) describes a tract of land called Kotoopna (~Kotupna) 'in the native language ... extending nearly across the angle formed by the Goulburn and Murray' belonging 'to a small tribe ... called Pangorang (S40) or Waningotbun'.
The identity of Bangerang with respect to Yorta Yorta D2 has been a matter of some debate. Curr (1887) details the Bangerang groups, noting that they all spoke closely related dialects and always referred to themselves collectively as Bangerang (vol. 3, p. 569). However, several of the clan names attributed to Bangerang in Curr (1887) are linked to Yorta Yorta in James (1897), as noted by Bowe and Morey (1999:8). According to Bowe and Morey (1999:3), the term Bangerang refers to some of the Yorta Yorta speaking groups.
Sommer (in Bowe 2002:107) says that the early linguistic literature suggests that Bangerang was both a specific name for two groups, the Wongatpan and the Towroonban, as well as a cover term for ten 'bands' including speakers of Yoda yoda D2 and Yabala yabala S38.
Tindale (1974), placing 'Jotijota' D2 on the New South Wales side of the border, includes Yoorta Yoorta / Yurt among the alternative name for his Pangerang (S40), identifying it as an exonym applied by 'northerners and the Ngurelban'. Clark (1990) treats Bangerang as an alternative name for Yorta Yorta, as do Wafer and Lissarrague (though noting that this may be only partly applicable).
Eira (2014 p.c.) says that, from the current perspective, Bangerang and Yorta Yorta are both people names and the names of very closely related language varieties, the distinct identities of which are highly salient to the contemporary communities. Previously the code S40 included not only Bangerang but Kwat Kwat S97 and Waveroo S89. Waveroo is a variant of Waywurru S89 so this has been removed from S40. Further, although the identity of Kwat Kwat is uncertain, it is treated as a distinct language variety in Clark 1996 (as a dialect of Waywurru), Bowe 2002 (as 'a dialect, or a set of dialects, of the macro-language grouping Bangerang/Yorta Yorta'), and Bowe and Morey 1999 (as a 'subgroup of the Yorta Yorta / Bangerang macro group'). Consequently, Kwat Kwat now has its own code, S97.
In the broad valley of the lower Goulburn west to the Murray River east and west of Shepparton; at Wangaratta, Benalla, and Kyabram; south to Toolamba and Violet Town. Not at Albury as stated incorrectly in the 1940 edition. There were eight well-defined hordes the names of which generally terminated in [-pan] or [-ban]. Curr and Mathews both show that Pangerang hordes extended a little way downriver from Echuca on both banks; these western hordes were called Jabalaljabala by downriver tribes. Three of Curr's Pangerang hordes are separated as the Kwatkwat. The hordes shown by Curr north of the Murray River belong to other tribes. Color plates 43-46 are relevant (Tindale). Curr (1833, 1887, vol.3, p566ff) describes the use of the term Bangerang to refer primarily to the Wongatban and Towroonban clans who lived in the Lower Moira (on the Victorian side of the Murray River); however, he explains that the term was also used more generally by other tribes to refer to the total group now referred to as Yorta Yorta (Bowe and Morey 1999: 3).
Search MURA people®
Search MURA language®
Search OZBIB
Search Trove
Search Worldcat
Speaker numbers were measured differently across the censuses and various other sources listed in AUSTLANG. You are encouraged to refer to the sources.
Speaker numbers for ‘NILS 2004’ and ‘2005 estimate’ come from 'Table F.3: Numbers of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages (various surveys)' in 'Appendix F NILS endangerment and absolute number results' in McConvell, Marmion and McNicol 2005, pages 198-230 (PDF, 2.5MB).
Bowe, Heather and Morey, Stephen. 1999. The Yorta Yorta (Bangerang) language of the Murray Goulburn including Yabula Yabula: Pacific Linguistics C154. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
