ARANDA

also spelled Arunta, Aboriginal tribe that originally occupied a region of 25,000 square miles (65,000 square km) in central Australia, along the upper Finke River and its tributaries. The Aranda were divided into five subtribes, which were marked by differences in dialect. In common with other Aborigines, the Aranda were greatly reduced in number during the first 70 years of contact with whites, but by the late 20th century they showed signs of holding their own and even of increasing in number. In 1982 the Aranda people at Hermannsburg in the Northern Territory were given freehold title to their land.