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The Yirrganydji people[3] (aka Irukandji[4]) are a group of Australian Aborigines who are the original custodians of a narrow coastal strip within Djabugay country that runs northwards from Barron River (Queensland) (near Cairns, Queensland) to Port Douglas, Queensland (Mowbray River).[5]
The Yirrganydji people were, until relatively recently, regarded as seafarers who shared in common, descent from predecessors who once all spoke Yirrgay (a Djabugay language dialect), and were particularly associated with the coastal strip, river mouths, islands, and seas along the coast between the Barron River and Port Douglas.[2]
Country
Norman Tindale's (1974) Catalogue of Australian Aborignal tribes identifies Yirrganydji (aka Irukandji) country as follows[4]:
"Narrow coastal strip from Cairns to Port Douglas (Mowbray River) and on the tidal waters of the Barron River at Redlynch. In 1897 six persons of the 'Yettkie' [sic] were listed.. and are thought to be of this tribe. They were still remembered in 1938"
Past
The Yirrganydji people lived in units of married couples with their children and older relatives, often on the sand dunes of the beach, lighting fires to keep mosquitoes away and in the wet season, in semi-permanent huts comprised from loya cane, palm fronds and paperbark [3]
They were a hunter-gatherer society. Men would hunt and fish and women would gather and prepare food. Women would also be the predominant caretakers of the children. The Yirrganydji people sought food from waterways (creeks, rivers, coast and sea) such as fish, eels, turtles, oysters and crustaceans. The Yirrganydji people also hunted animals in their region such as wallabies, bandicoots, scrub pythons, lizards, flying foxes, cassowaries, and other birds. Fruits and vegetables that were gathered were yam, figs, plums and nuts and berries. They would also treat and prepare toxic items from the rainforest to add to their diet[3][6].
At the end of the dry season, they would burn off vegetation to encourage regrowth[3].
Annually, they would meet with their neighbouring groups at what is now known as Palm Cove for trading, feasting and to undertake initiation ceremonies. They also undertook marriages and the settlement of disputes. Trading goods would consist of nautilus shell necklaces, dilly baskets, swords and shields[3]
External links
References
- ^ a b c d Bottoms, T. (1999) Djabugay Country: An Aboriginal History of Tropical North Queensland. Allen & Unwin. Sydney
- ^ a b Duffin, Rhonda & Brim, Rosetta (1993?) Ngapi Garrang Bulurru-m: All Things Come from Bulurru. Kuranda, Queensland. ISBN 0-646-09380-0
- ^ a b c d e Yirrganydjii Tribal Aboriginal Corporation (n.d) Yirrganydjii display on the Cairns Esplanade (originally reported at http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/files/esplanade/Cultural%203%20Node.pdf/)
- ^ a b Normal Tindale's Catalogue of Australian Aboriginal tribe's entry for Irukandji
- ^ Cribb, Roger & Hollingsworth, Lloyd (1994) Report to the Wet Tropics Authority for the Wangetti Management Plan: Aboriginal Heritage Yirrganydjii Tribal Aboriginal Corporation. Cairns.
- ^ Skeene, George (2000) "The Yirrganydji cultural project" in Rainforest Aboriginal News. No.5, (Jul 2000). p. 12-13
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