Gawambaraay

The ethnonym is thought to derive from a language name, kawam being equivalent to guin, and bearing the sense of 'no'. One other word used denoting the tribe, Wirriri also seems to reflect a word for no, namely wir:i^[1]

The Gawambaraay or Kawambarai language is a dialect of the Gamilaraay language group.^[2]

According to Norman Tindale's estimate, the Kawambarai held sway over roughly 8,000 square miles (21,000 km²) of tribal lands, concentrated on the areas of the upper Castlereagh River, the middle the middle sectors of the Macquarie River and part of Liverpool Plains. Their southern extension ran to the vicinity of present-day Dubbo.^[1]

Richardson affirmed that the Kawambarai were closely connected to the Gamilaroi.^[1]

Source: Tindale 1974, p. 195

• bubbeen/bobbeen/babin (father)
• gunnie/koonie/gunnee/gunnibong (mother)
• kubbun, gibrigal (goeen)^[3] (gunwan)^[4][5] (white man)
• meerie/merri (tame dog)
• womboin, bundar