Who Are the Arrernte?
The Arrernte (also spelled Aranda, Arrarnta) are Aboriginal Australian people of the Central Australia region, numbering approximately 5,000-6,000 people. They speak the Arrernte language, part of the Arandic language family. The Arrernte are the traditional owners of lands around Alice Springs (Mparntwe in Arrernte) and the MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory. Their country encompasses some of Australia's most iconic landscapes. The Arrernte became particularly significant in anthropological literature through the foundational studies by Spencer and Gillen (1899), which shaped early understandings of Aboriginal religion, kinship, and ceremony.
Anthropological Significance
The Arrernte occupy a unique place in anthropological history. Spencer and Gillen's "The Native Tribes of Central Australia" (1899) documented Arrernte religion, totemism, and social organization in detail that influenced early anthropological theory. Their accounts of Arrernte ceremonies, including the churinga (sacred objects), shaped scholarly understanding of Aboriginal spirituality. Émile Durkheim used Spencer and Gillen's data to theorize about religion in "The Elementary Forms of Religious Life." Later scholars like T.G.H. Strehlow (himself raised among the Arrernte) deepened ethnographic knowledge. This academic attention created both recognition and concerns about cultural sensitivity regarding sacred knowledge.
Tjukurpa and Country
Arrernte spirituality centers on the Altyerre (Dreamtime), the creative epoch when ancestral beings shaped the landscape. Each person has connections to particular Dreamtime beings and sites. The MacDonnell Ranges and surrounding country feature numerous sacred sites associated with specific ancestral narratives. Caterpillar (Yeperenye) Dreaming is central to Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Ceremonies and songs maintain connections between people, ancestors, and country. Custodianship of specific Dreaming stories and sites involves responsibilities passed through generations. This spiritual connection to country remains fundamental to contemporary Arrernte identity and land claims.
Contemporary Arrernte
Modern Arrernte people live in Alice Springs and surrounding communities. Native Title determinations have recognized Arrernte traditional ownership of much of their country. The Arrernte gained legal recognition as traditional owners of Mparntwe in 2000. Contemporary issues include health disparities, housing, and education gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Arrernte people are active in cultural maintenance, art production, and land management. The Strehlow Research Centre holds significant Arrernte cultural materials. Language revitalization efforts continue. How the Arrernte balance cultural preservation with contemporary challenges, in one of Australia's most iconic landscapes, shapes this historically significant Aboriginal group's future.
References
- Spencer, B. & Gillen, F. J. (1899). The Native Tribes of Central Australia
- Strehlow, T. G. H. (1947). Aranda Traditions
- Morton, J. (1997). "Arrernte (Aranda) Land Tenure"