Humpy
Temporary shelter traditionally used by Australian Aboriginals
A humpy, also known as a gunyah, wurley, wurly, wurlie, mia-mia, or wiltija, is a small, temporary shelter, traditionally used by Australian Aboriginal people. These impermanent dwellings, made of branches and bark, are sometimes called a lean-to, since they often rely on a standing tree for support.
01Etymology
The word humpy comes from the Turrubal language (a Murri people from now-inner Brisbane, e.g. Coorparoo, Nundah). Other languages had different names for the structure. In South Australia, such a shelter is known as a "wurley" (also spelled "wurlie"), possibly from the Kaurna language. They are called wiltjas in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara languages; mia-mia in Wadawurrung language around Melbourne.
02Usage
They were temporary shelters made of bark, branches, leaves and grass used by Indigenous Australians. Both names were adopted by early white settlers, and now form part of the Australian lexicon. The use of the term appears to have broadened in later usage to include any temporary building made from any available materials, including canvas, flattened metal drums, and sheets of corrugated iron.
In Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe argues that contrary to popular perception of Aboriginal dwellings being only temporary, some gunyahs in the Channel Country could accommodate up to 50 people and formed part of permanent agricultural communities.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Humpy”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Native Encampment by Skinner Prout, from Australia (1876, vol II).jpg by Skinner Prout., Public domain
- Aboriginal winter encampments in wurlies, near Adelaide, South Australia, Eugene von Guérard ca. 1858.jpg by Eugene Von Guerard (1811, 1901), Public domain
- Aboriginal camp, ca.1858.jpg by Richard Daintree and Antonie Fauchery, circa 1858, Public domain
- Queensland-aboriginal-architecture-walater-roth.jpg by Walter Roth, Public domain
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