The Daii or Dhay'yi are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.

Name

The tribal ethnonym Daii is formed from the demonstrative pronoun for 'this'.

Dhay'yi people

Country

In Norman Tindale's estimation the Daii occupied of land, extending northwards from the shores of Blue Mud Bay as far as the Koolatong River. Their inland extension ran at least to Ngilipidji.

Dhay'yi people

Social organization

The Daii consisted of two clans, which formed the basis for marriage exchanges:-

Dalwangu

Djawark

The Dalwangu moiety was jiritja, the Djawark a dua moiety.

Dhay'yi people

Trade

The Daii's lands accessed the rich quartzite quarry at Ngilipidji, which provided stone for prized implements that could be traded. The local industry was, according to archaeologists, probably spurred by the rise of precolonial contacts with Asia'sSouth Sulawesi Makassar voyagers.

Alternative names

Taii

Tai

Dalwango

Dalwongo

Dalwongu

Darlwongo

Dhalwangu

Djawark

Djarlwa:g

Notes

Citations

Sources

Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory