Yaithmathang facts for kids

The Jaitmatang, also spelled Yaithmathang, are an Indigenous Australian people from the state of Victoria in Australia. They are one of the many First Nations groups who have lived on this land for thousands of years.

What Does Their Name Mean?

The name Jaitmatang (or Yaithmathang) might come from two words in their language. According to an early researcher named Alfred William Howitt, Ya-yau meant "yes," and thang meant "speech" or "tongue." So, their name could mean something like "the people who say yes" or "the people of this speech."

Their Language

The Jaitmatang people spoke their own special language. Historians like Ian D. Clark have studied old lists of words. They found that the Jaitmatang language was different from the languages spoken by groups living nearby, like the Dhudhuroa and Pallanganmiddang peoples.

Some experts, like Harold Koch, think the Jaitmatang language might have been a southern version of the Ngarigo language. It was part of a larger language family called Yuin-Kuric. This means that the Jaitmatang, along with their neighbors the Wolgal and Ngarigo, might have spoken different versions (or dialects) of the same main language.

Where Did They Live?

The Jaitmatang people lived on a large area of land, covering about 3,000 square miles (7,770 square kilometers). This land included the areas where the Mitta Mitta and Tambo rivers begin. Their country stretched from the Indi River all the way to a place called "Tom Groggin Run" in the Shire of Towong. It might have even reached the Ovens River.

To the south, their land went as far as Omeo and a place called Mount Delusion, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Omeo.

How They Lived Together

The Jaitmatang people lived in groups called "hordes." These were smaller family groups that lived and hunted together.

• The Kandangoramittung was a group that lived on the Omeo plains.
• Some early records also mentioned the Djilamatang as being a group of the Jaitmatang people.

The Jaitmatang had a yearly cycle of moving around their land. During the colder winter months, they would camp on the lower parts of their land. When the snow started to melt, they would move up into the highlands. They spent the summer hunting in the high mountain areas, where food was plentiful.

What Happened When Europeans Arrived?

European settlers first came into the Jaitmatang lands and started setting up farms in 1828. Later, during the Victorian gold rush, gold was found in the Omeo area, near Livingstone Creek. When news of the gold spread, many gold miners rushed to the area to dig for gold.

This sudden arrival of many new people caused huge problems for the Jaitmatang. Their way of life was disrupted, and their numbers quickly dropped. Sadly, within just ten years, by 1862, only about 4 or 5 Jaitmatang people were known to have survived these changes.

Other Names for the Jaitmatang

The Jaitmatang people were known by several different names, including:

• Ya-itma-thang
• Yaithmathang
• Muddhang (This name referred to a group near the Mitta Mitta River)
• Mudthang
• Kandangoramittung (This was a group on the Omeo plains)
• Jandangara
• Gundanara, Gundanora
• Brajerak (This was a rude name used by some coastal groups for them)