Bidhawal

Map of Victorian Aborigines language territories

The Bidhawal (also known as Bidawal and Bidwell) were an Australian Aboriginal tribe of Gippsland, Victoria. According to A. W. Howitt, the Bidhawal were composed of "refugees from tribal justice or individual vengeance" from neighbouring tribes.

Language

The Bidhawal spoke a dialect of the Kurnai language, which was also spoken by the Kurnai tribes to the west. However, the Bidhawal dialect had borrowed a number of words referring to mammals, birds and celestial bodies from Ngarigo, as well as a smaller number of words from Thawa and Dhudhuroa.

The Bidhawal called their own dialect mŭk-dhang ("good speech"), and that of the neighbouring Kurnai gūnggala-dhang. The Kurnai, however, called their own dialect mŭk-dhang, and that of the Bidhawal kwai-dhang ("rough speech").

External links

• Bibliography of Bidawal language and people resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies