Talk:Yirrganydji

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Copied from the "Lifestyle" section

The Yirrganydji people lived in units of Yila: la [married couples] with their Pipunpay [children] and older relatives, often on the sand dunes of the beach and close to water ways or native springs. Tyimurru [shelter huts] were erected using Yapulam [Brown hairy mary/loya cane] or River mangrove, which were tied with strips of Pukul [fish tail loya cane] or Tumpul [stripped bark]. The roofing was completed with the bark of Kiti or Wurpu [Paper bark / tea tree].

Fires were very important to all Aboriginal people of Australia. To the Yirrganydji, the Piri [fire] was used for cooking food, preparing medicines or artefacts, keeping warm, and chasing away the mosquitoes and sand flies. Fires were usually made close to the entrance of a shelter.

The Yirrganydji were a hunter-gatherer society. They would move about from place to place within their traditional country following the seasons and food resources. Men would hunt for the large game and fish, while the women would gather and prepare the plant foods. Women would also be the predominant caretakers of the children.

The Yirrganydji people sought food from waterways (creeks, rivers, coast and sea) such as Kuyu (fish), Nyingkarra / Kuykal (eels), Ngawuyu / Patyikal (turtles), Tyala (oysters) and Kanytyil / Tyunparra (crustaceans).

The Yirrganydji people also hunted animals in their region such as Tulpil (wallabies), Tyuntyurru (bandicoot)s, Puta: tyi (scrub pythons), Kanyal / Ngunal / Patya Patya (lizards), Kukiny (flying foxes), Punta: rra (cassowaries), and other Tyarruy (birds).

Ma: (Fruits and vegetables) that were gathered were: Karu: / Tanti (yam), Ngalka (figs), Munumpa / Wakatay (plums) and Ngapala / Kurrntu (nuts) and (berries). They would also treat and prepare toxic items such as Mutala (Orange mangrove fruit), Tanykatcha (Grey Mangrove fruit), Yiwurra (Black bean), and Patil (Cycad nut), from the rainforest, coastal plains and mangroves to add to their diet.

Fire burn offs were an important part of the annual life cycle and were performed at various times of the year. They were a way on managing the country, cleansing and encouraging regrowth as well as attracting food resources back to the country. It also lowers the risk of a major Tawaray [bush fire] which could be devastating to both the country and people. Fires were usually carried out during the Kurraminya [dry season] from April to October. From October through to March was a dangerous time for fire burn offs with the exception of a small burn off before the onset of the Kurrapana [wet season].

Annually, they would meet with their neighbouring groups at various sites along the coast. They would fight, trade, feast, celebrate, and sometimes intermarry. Some of the meeting sites include: White Rock, Palm Cove, and Port Douglas. Some meetings were only for special occasions such as the initiation ceremony for male members of the tribe.

The trading of goods between tribes would consist of Miya Miya / Milka (nautilus shell necklaces), Yimpi (Dilly baskets), Wakuy (swords) and Matyay (shields). Regular trades were made between the Yirrganydji and neighbouring tribal groups of the Djabugay, Yidinyji, Gunggandji, Kuku Yalanji, and Kuku Muluridji.

The Barron and Port Douglas areas exported hour glass pattern dilly bags, round based dilly bags, beeswax necklaces, straight shell shafted spear throwers, a variety of bamboo spears, square cut nautilus shell necklaces and cockatoo top knot head dresses.

They imported Bent spear throwers, swords and shields from Cape Grafton...

(Jones 1976:294)

There is no indication of whether the terms used here belong to the Yirgay dialect, required for this article, or to some other dialects of the Dhabugay language. One of the sources is a deadlink. etc.Nishidani (talk) 18:40, 3 October 2017 (UTC)

Well I'm not going to be much use at finding sources, but the deadlink above is archived at <https://web.archive.org/web/20060821165939/http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/files/esplanade/Cultural%203%20Node.pdf>. --NSH001 (talk) 19:08, 3 October 2017 (UTC)

Well done!, as is everything you do. Unfortunately, it doesn't help the sourcing issue. There's something odd that two words are constantly used to gloss the one English word, leading me to suspect we have a language mixture. The Yirrganydji are descendents in part of the Irukandji, but the latter were culturally extinct by the 1930s, as was the language, and their area was taken over by Mamu and Djabugay people, with intermarriage etc., making for a very confusing picture, adding to that of the 5 distinct dialects spoken there, of which the Irukandji spoke just one, which is poorly recorded. The page had a formal vice, of presenting the Yirrganydji as if they were lineal heirs of the Irukandji. They were, to some extent, but cultures remake themselves often, as do many Aboriginal groups, which meld, amalgamate, mix tongues and traditions. In so far as the Yirrganydji define themselves in contrast to the major Djabugay group, this page must stick strictly to what we know of the irukandji. I'm not happy with using Aboriginal Corporation sources for things like language: what we know of the languages reliably has been documented by linguists, and since the corporations draw, when reliable, on that work, we need to stick to the articles and books written by professional linguists and anthropologists.Nishidani (talk) 19:24, 3 October 2017 (UTC)