The Jarildekald people, also known as Yarilde or Yaralde, are an Aboriginal Australian people of South Australia originating on the eastern side of Lake Alexandrina and the Murray River.

Name

The tribal name Jarildekald is said to derive from Jarawalangan?, a phrase meaning "Where shall we go?'" referring to a tradition according to which on migrating from the interior to the mouth of the Murray, the tribe at that point was perplexed as to where they were to continue their travels.^[1] They were grouped as the Ngarrindjeri by the early ethnographer George Taplin, though Norman Tindale and others have argued that while his data refer predominantly to the Jarildekald. It would be mistaken to confuse them with the Narinndjeri.^[1]

In 2019 law professor Irene Watson wrote in an article about the Maria massacre: "The ancient identity and name of the Milmendjeri, one of the Tanganekald peoples, belong to the Coorong. They are ancient names that have become almost lost to living memory. Post-invasion, the peoples and territories of the Coorong have become known as Ngarrindjeri — this name is now privileged in native title claims over the lands and affairs of traditional First Nations nations such as Ramindjeri, Tanganekald, and Yaralde."^[2]

Language

Their dialect of Ngarrindjeri is known as Yarildewallin (Jaralde speech).^[3]

Country

The lands of the Jarildekald extended over some 1,300 square kilometres (500 sq mi) They were located on the eastern side of Lake Alexandrina and the Murray River, their territory running from Loveday Bay on the Narrung Peninsula to Mobilong, and east to Meningie and the Cookes Plains.^[1]

Alternative names

• Jaralde (short form)
• Lakalinyeri (group at Point McLeay)
• Piccanini Murray people
• Warawalde (a northern group at Nalpa)
• Yalawarre
• Yarilde, Yaralde, Yarrildie, Jaraldi, Yarildewallin (Jaralde speech)

People

The Jarildekald people consisted of over 15 groups.^[4] A. R. Radcliffe-Brown provided a list he said was incomplete, totally 22.