Yintyingka facts for kids

The Yintyingka were an Indigenous Australian people who lived in the central and eastern parts of Cape York Peninsula in Australia. Sadly, this group of people is now extinct, meaning there are no longer any living Yintyingka people.

Their Language

The Yintyingka people spoke the Yintyingka language. This language was part of a larger group called the Middle Paman language branch, which itself belongs to the huge Pama-Nyungan language family. The Yintyingka language was very similar to the Ayabadhu language. In fact, some people think they were just different ways of speaking the same language, like different dialects.

How They Lived

The Yintyingka people lived in two main groups, based on where they lived and how they got their food:

• Coastal People: These groups were often called the Sandbeach people. They lived along the eastern coast of the Cape York Peninsula. Their lives revolved around the sea, and they got most of their food from the ocean.
• Inland People: These groups lived further away from the coast, across the Great Dividing Range. They were connected to the Ayapathu people and lived near the beginnings of the Lukin and Holroyd rivers. Their way of life depended on the rivers and the land around them.

The Yintyingka shared their land with other Indigenous groups. To their north were the Umpila people. To their west, near the Ayapathu, lived the Kaantju tribe. Along the coast to their south were the Umpilthamu, and further inland were the Olkola and the Rimanggudinha.

A Look at Their History

Life for the Yintyingka people changed a lot, especially after the 1860s.

Changes from New Industries

New industries like collecting sea cucumbers (called beche-de-mer) and pearling started to grow quickly. Many Yintyingka men, women, and children were made to work on the boats that sailed in the waters near their homes.

Impact of Gold and Settlement

In the 1880s, even more changes came. There was a gold rush, and more settlers started to bring their cattle to the land. Many workers also arrived to build the telegraph line across the Cape York Peninsula. All these changes made life very difficult for the Yintyingka people.

Clashes and Disappearance

The first cattle farmers, the Massey brothers, had many conflicts with the Indigenous people who owned the land. The farmers thought the Yintyingka were stealing their cattle. To get revenge, the farmers and the native troopers (police officers who were Indigenous themselves but worked for the settlers) cleared out many areas, forcing people off their land.

By the early 1900s, the male family lines of the coastal Yintyingka people had died out. Their traditional land rights then passed to the Lamalama people, who lived in Port Stewart.

Learning About the Yintyingka

We know about the Yintyingka people thanks to researchers who studied them.

Early Studies

The first researchers to write notes about the Yintyingka were Norman B. Tindale in 1927 and Donald Thomson in 1928 and 1929. Thomson's notes are especially important because they give us a lot of information about the Yintyingka language.

Recording Their Language

The only sound recordings of the Yintyingka language were made by La Mont West, Jr. He recorded the language in 1961 and 1965. These recordings are very valuable because they help experts understand exactly how the language sounded.