Ngauro
The Ngauro were an ancient people in eastern Peilaš. The Ngauro civilization, which is the oldest urbanized culture in (at least) this part of the world, arose in the lands around the Eigə delta around -4000 YP and remained prominent for almost two millennia thereafter, being displaced only by the rise of the Ndak Empire beginning c. -2200 YP. After this time they remained as a distinct ethnicity only in areas of what became southern Huyfárah.
The Ngauro spoke a language of the Eigə-Isthmus family. It was the first language in Peilaš to have left behind written records; inscriptions are attested from the late fourth millenium to the mid second millenium BP, mainly in Kasca.
Names
| Language | Name | Pronunciation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ndak Ta | Ngauro | [ˈŋaʊ.ro] | "ancient, antique" |
| Ndok Aisô | Ngauxeu | [ˈŋaːw.ʔɛw] | ← NT Ngauro |
| Fáralo | Ŋouru | [ˈŋo.ru] | ← NT Ngauro |
| Buruya Nzaysa | Ñoru | [ˈɲo.ru] | ← F. Ŋouru (borrowed) |
| Adāta | Noru | ['no.ru] | ← F. Ŋouru (borrowed) |
| Æðadĕ | Nuru | [ˈnu.ɾu] | ← Ad. Noru |
| Namɨdu | Ñoru | [ˈɲɔ.ɾu] | ← F. Ŋouru (reborrowing) |
Etymological note
"Ngauro" is the Ndak name for these people; what they called themselves is presently unknown, as is the origin of the Ndak name. In Ndak Ta the same word meant both the Ngauro people and "ancient, antique"; from texts it is clear the Ndak conflated the concept of ancient-ness with the Ngauro civilization that came before them, and which use of the word came first is not known at this time. If we should discover what the Ngauro called themselves, or if a cognate of the term could be found in relatives of Ndak Ta, then the answer would be much clearer.
