For example, both lesbian and heterosexual Aboriginal women may refer to themselves as 'sistergirls', 'sisters' or 'tiddas', which is an Aboriginal English term for the word 'sisters'. Gay Aboriginal men may also refer to themselves as sisters.
Sistergirls are Indigenous women who were classified male at birth but live their lives as women, including taking on traditional cultural female practices.
Mob. Colloquially used to mean a group of Aboriginal people associated with an extended family group, clan group or wider community group, from a particular place or "Country". It is used to connect and identify the person and where they are from. "My mob" means my people, or extended family.
#1 – Most Used Aboriginal Term – “Bung”
The word “bung” has a rather long history. Back in 1841, it was first recorded and the record explicitly said that “bang” meant “dead” in the Yagara Aboriginal lexicon. The current usage was established towards the end of the 19th century.
Assimilationist terms such as 'full-blood,' 'half-caste' and 'quarter-caste' are extremely offensive and should never be used when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Pap(a) is also found as 'mother', mainly in Victoria. Other kinship roots (for grandparents) have been shown to have a split distribution with one root dominating in the east and one in the west for what is apparently a single proto-meaning.
So the word kurturtu covers 'niece' and 'nephew' as well as 'daughter' and 'son'. A woman and her brother will both call his children ngalawuny. So both words mean 'niece', 'nephew' 'daughter' and 'son', but which word is used will depend on who is the parent, a woman or a man.
Aboriginal people refer to an Elder as 'Aunty' or 'Uncle'. However, it is recommended that non-Aboriginal people check the appropriateness of their use of these terms as referring to an Elder or leader as Aunty or Uncle may not be appropriate for an outsider unless a strong relationship has been established.
kesalul - I love you.
'Aborigine' is a noun for an Aboriginal person (male or female).
3. Is it OK to call Indigenous Australians 'Aborigines'? 'Aborigine' is generally perceived as insensitive, because it has racist connotations from Australia's colonial past, and lumps people with diverse backgrounds into a single group.
Bunda- title of a marital class; a man of that class {Kabi} (Watson 1944: 26) Bundaberg - The city name is thought to be an artificial combination of bunda, the Kabi Aboriginal word denoting important man and the German suffix berg indicating mountain. Bunda is one of the moieties attributed to the Kabi Language Group.
What is slang for sister? Seesta, sista, sib, sis, siska, and skin and blister are some common slang terms for sister.
niece. a daughter of your brother or sister, or a daughter of your husband's or wife's brother or sister. Their son is called your nephew.
They may share the same mother but different fathers (in which case they are known as uterine siblings or maternal half-siblings), or they may have the same father but different mothers (in which case, they are known as agnate siblings or paternal half-siblings. In law, the term consanguine is used in place of agnate).
Overall there are many common words in Noongar, for example: kaya= hello, moort = family, boodja = country and yongka = kangaroo.
Koori (or Koorie)
Koori is a term denoting an Aboriginal person of southern New South Wales or Victoria. 'Koori' is not a synonym for 'Aboriginal'. There are many other Aboriginal groups across Australia (such as Murri, Noongar, Yolngu) with which Indigenous Australians may identify themselves.
It is a sign of respect to refer to those older than you as Aunty or Uncle especially if they are family. This includes extended family. By using Aunty or Uncle you show that you respect them, their leadership and their lived experience which typically outweighs those who are younger.
Waratah is the Aboriginal word for 'Beautiful' -how they got this name is no surprise.
According to the beliefs of Indigenous people from central Australia and Arnhem Land, Mimi are mischievous and capricious spirits who are believed to possess mystical powers and to live forever. Mimi taught the first Indigenous people in western Arnhem Land how to hunt and paint, and are often consulted by the people.
"Koori" comes from the word gurri, meaning "man" or "people" in the Indigenous language Awabakal, spoken on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. On the far north coast of New South Wales, the term may still be spelt "goori" or "goorie" and pronounced with a harder "g".
For example, in Bardi the maternal grandmother (on Mother's side) is Garminy whereas the paternal grandmother (on Father's side) is Golli. By the same token the maternal grandfather (on Mother's side) is Nyumi and the paternal grandfather (on Father's side) is Galoonoordoo or Gooloo for short!
Acknowledgement of Country should be everyone's responsibility. Why is the term "Aunty" and "Uncle" used so widely in the Aboriginal Community? Put simply - RESPECT! It also relates to recognition of Aboriginal Elders, kinship and extended families.