The Umpithamu, also once known to

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

s as the Koko Ompindamo, are a contemporary

Aboriginal Australian people Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

of the eastern

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

in northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. Life Tindale was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1900. His family moved to Tokyo and lived ...

, transcribing their ethnonym Umpithamu as Umbindhamu, referred to them as a

horde Horde may refer to: History * Orda (organization), a historic sociopolitical and military structure in steppe nomad cultures such as the Turks and Mongols ** Golden Horde, a Turkic-Mongol state established in the 1240s ** Wings of the Golden Hor ...

of the

Barungguan The Barungguan are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Cape York Peninsula of Northern Queensland. The name is associated with three languages: Ganganda, Umpithamu and Morrobolam. Name The anthropologist Donald Thomson classified them (spe ...

. They are one of several

Lamalama people Lama Lama or Lamalama may refer to: * Lama Lama people, an ethnic group of Australia * Lama-Lama language, a language of Australia * Lama Lama National Park, in Australia See also * Llama llama (disambiguation) * Lama (disambiguation) A lama ...

Language

The

Umpithamu language Umpithamu, also spelt Umbindhamu, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. In July 2020, ''A Dictionary of Umpithamu'' was published, compiled by Flemish linguist Jean-Christophe Verstraete, with ...

belongs to the Paman subgroup of the

Pama–Nyungan languages The Pama–Nyungan languages are the most widespread family of Australian Aboriginal languages, containing 306 out of 400 Aboriginal languages in Australia. The name "Pama–Nyungan" is a merism: it derived from the two end-points of the rang ...

. By the early 2000s, there were only two completely fluent speakers of Umpithamu, one of them being Florrie Bassani. In July 2020, ''A Dictionary of Umpithamu'' was published, compiled by

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

linguist Jean-Christophe Verstraete, with main language consultants Florrie Bassani and her niece Joan Liddy.

People and country

The Umpithamu were the southernmost group of the

Kawadji The Uutaalnganu people, also known as Night Island Kawadji, are an Aboriginal Australian group of Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland. The name is also used collectively for several peoples in this area, such as the Pontunj / Jangkonj (Ya ...

or "sandbeach peoples" (in Umpithamu ''ma-yaandhimunu'' or "people who own the sandbeach".), followed in order to their north, by the

Yintyingka The Yintyingka, now extinct, were an Indigenous Australian, Indigenous Australian people of central and eastern Cape York Peninsula. Language The Yintyingka language belonged to the Paman languages, Middle Paman language branch of the Pama-Nyunga ...

, the Umpila, the Pontunj (Yankonyu) the Pakadji(Koko Yao) and the Otati(Wuta(h)i). Their territory embraced an estimated on the western coastline of

Princess Charlotte Bay Princess Charlotte Bay is a large bay on the east coast of Far North Queensland at the base of Cape York Peninsula, 350 km north northwest of Cairns. Princess Charlotte Bay is a part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and it is a habit ...

with its northern limits around Cape Sidmouth.

History

For some years in the 1950s a cattle station owner in Umpithamu territory had been complaining of the presence of this Aboriginal people on his grazing lands, and after successful lobbying, he managed to have them removed in 1961. The Umpithamu were deported, reportedly by a ruse that deceived them, by the local police from their home country around

Port Stewart Portstewart () is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leadin ...

to the

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th ce ...

near

Bamaga Bamaga ( , ) is a small town and locality about from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australia and ...

, to their north. After decades they eventually managed to return south, to Coen, a mere from their tribal centre. Since then they have managed to set up three outstations in the

area. They form one of the several peoples composing the Lama Lama people.

Alternative names

* Baka (Kaantjuu term) * Banjigam (Bakanambia term) * Barungguan * Ganganda * Njindingga, * Umbuigamu//Umbindhamu * Yintjingga (native name of a place at mouth of Stewart River) Source:

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of Queensland