Yawijibaya facts for kids

The Yawijibaya people, also known as the Jaudjibaia, are an Aboriginal Australian group from the Kimberley area in northern Western Australia. They are the traditional owners of the Buccaneer Archipelago near Derby. They share this role with the Unggarranggu people. Together, they are called the Mayala group for native title purposes. The Yawijibaya's traditional lands include Yawajaba Island and the nearby Montgomery Reef.

History of the Yawijibaya People

In the 1930s, a missionary named J. R. B. Love studied the Worrorra people. He believed that the Yawijibaya people were slowly becoming part of the Worrorra. They were seen as a clan within the Worrorra's 'Atpalar' family system.

Later, in the early 1970s, a researcher named Valda Blundell found one very old Yawijibaya man. He was from the Montgomery group and lived at the Lombadina mission.

Yawijibaya Country

The Yawijibaya's traditional country is about 130 square kilometres (50 square miles). It includes the Montgomery Islands, the Montgomery Reef around them, and other islands in the southern part of Collier Bay. The main island in this group, which Europeans called Montgomery Island, was known as Jawutjap or Yawajaba by the Yawijibaya.

The Yawijibaya and Unggarranggu peoples are the original custodians of the Buccaneer Archipelago. They are known together as the Mayala group for native title claims. This means they have special rights to their traditional lands and waters.

Mayala Marine Park Proposal

As of 2020, there is a plan to create a very large marine park. This park would cover about 660,000 hectares (1.6 million acres) of the Indian Ocean. It would stretch around the Dampier Peninsula and include the many islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago.

There would be three main marine parks in this area:

• The Lalang-gaddam Marine Park in the north, which includes Camden Sound and Horizontal Falls.
• The Mayala Marine Park, which will cover the Buccaneer islands. This park is in the traditional lands and waters of the Yawijibaya (Mayala) group.
• The Bardi Jawi Marine Park in the south.

Each of these marine parks will be managed together by the local traditional owner groups. This ensures that the First Peoples have a say in protecting their ancestral waters.

Yawijibaya Language

The Yawijibaya language seems to have been a dialect. This means it was a version of a language closely related to the Worrorra branch. The Worrorra language is part of the larger Worrorran language family spoken on the mainland. It was also similar to the Umiida and Unggarrangu languages.

Not much is known about the Yawijibaya language today. However, a short grammar of it still exists. It was written down by a missionary named Howard Coate.

Social Organisation and Culture

The Yawijibaya people had a social system similar to the mainland tribes nearby. Early researchers thought the Yawijibaya lived only on islands. But later, informants told Valda Blundell that some Yawijibaya clans also had lands on the mainland. Other clans kept their lands on Montgomery and High Cliffy islands.

Ancient Stone Structures on High Cliffy Island

Excavations on High Cliffy Island have revealed amazing stone structures. Some of these are made of dry-stone formwork. This is a building method where stones are stacked without mortar. Similar structures have only been found far away in Lake Condah in Victoria. High Cliffy Island is east of the Montgomery Islands. It gets its name from its steep cliffs, which rise about 15 metres (49 feet) high.

Researchers also found three rock shelters and several work sites on the island. There were quarries for high-quality quartz sandstone, chert, and limestone. They also found areas where dugongs were butchered and places for working metal harpoons. At first, some thought the stone buildings might have been made by Makassar traders. This was because glassware, pottery, and clay pipe material were found. However, further analysis showed that the structures were made by Aboriginal people.

One idea is that these stone buildings were refuges during the monsoon season. The Yawijibaya people could go there to escape the many mosquitoes and sandflyes. These insects would have been a big problem on their low-lying, mangrove-filled islands when the rains came.

The quarry works on High Cliffy Island were clearly used for trade. They are unique for this area and are not found in similar places on the mainland. As O'Connors explains:

large quantities of artefactual material found all over the High Cliffy Island testify to a level of stone working not seen in any of the mainland rockshelters and open sites.

Mythology and Legends

Howard Coate suggested that the 'rai' myths were part of Yawijibaya beliefs. These myths are about a spirit-child and are common in this region. They are also found among the island and coastal peoples near the Yawijibaya, such as the Bardi, Umiida, and Unggarranggu. These myths are linked to "conception totems" (raya).

One of the Yawijibaya legends tells a story about the islands. It says that the islands were once one continuous landmass. But then, a huge tidal event washed over the area. This event destroyed the land, leaving only the islands we see today.

Alternative Names

• Bergalgu (name for their language, according to Joseph Birdsell)
• Jadjiba
• Jadjibaia, Jaudjibara
• Jawutjubar
• MontgomeryIslanders
• Yaudjibaia, Yaujibaia