Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the Anangu people in central Australia

During April I have taken annual leave with my family. We are visiting Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park in the centre of Australia. Uluru (named Ayers Rock by white explorers), is one of the largest monoliths in the world with a circumference of 9.4 kilometres. Kata Tjuta means “many heads” (named The Olgas by white explorers). It consists of more than 30 rounded red domes rising from the desert floor. There has been a lot of rain recently, so the landscape is lush with vegetation, and the gorges contain water. This is very unusual for this desert region of Australia.

The Anangu people are the traditional Aboriginal owners and oversee the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. They believe that there are three ancestors to the region: Mala (hare wallaby), Kuniya (woma python) and Liru (poisonous snake). Uluru and Kata Tjuta are sacred to the Anangu people.

The Anangu people mainly speak Pitjantjatjara (pronounced as pit-jan-jah-jarra) and Yankunytjatjara (pronounced as yan-kun-ja-jarra) (see next post) and some Anangu people speak up to six languages.