Claim: Djanga refers to the notion that Europeans were returned spirits of the dead partially because Europeans odors were found offensive to Aboriginal people.
Evidence: Djanga (or djanak or djăndga), supposedly meaning "white spirits", was the initial name given to Europeans (now more commonly called wetjala), by indigenous Noongar Australian Aboriginal people of the south west corner of Western Australia. The fact that Europeans seemed ignorant of Aboriginal language and culture confirmed for the Noongar that these people had somehow forgotten who they were and where they really came from, typical of the spirit of a dead person. The notion that Europeans were returned spirits of the dead, was reported in the case of George Grey, who was recognised by one Aboriginal woman as the spirit of her dead son. Europeans odours were found offensive to Aboriginal people, as clothes were frequently not washed for long periods, and bathing of the British settlers was not frequent. The odours were considered similar to the odours that accompanied corpses.