Yir-Yoront facts for kids

The Yir-Yoront (also known as the Yir Yiront) are an Indigenous Australian people. They originally lived on the Cape York Peninsula in Australia. Today, most Yir-Yoront people live in the towns of Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw. These towns are not on their traditional lands.

The Yir-Yoront People

Their Language

The Yir-Yoront people speak the Yir-Yoront language. It is part of the large Pama-Nyungan language family. The name "Yir-Yoront" comes from two words: yirrq (meaning "speech") and yorront. Some people think yorront means "sand," because sand ridges are a big part of their traditional lands.

The Yir-Yoront also use sign language. They use it when people want to be quiet or feel shy.

Where They Lived

The Yir-Yoront people lived on the coast of the Cape York Peninsula. Their land was near the mouths of the Mitchell River and the Coleman River. Each family group had its own part of the land. A researcher named Norman Tindale estimated their traditional lands covered about 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles).

Their Beliefs and Society

The Yir-Yoront believed in special ancestral beings called Pam-nhing. These beings created the world and set up how their society worked. Every place on their land was connected to an ancestral pam-nhing. Living Yir-Yoront people were linked to these places through their male family lines.

Their society was organized into family groups called clans. Each clan had its own area of land. When a baby was born, a part of the clan's land was given to them based on their totem. Their names were also connected to their clan totems. The Yir-Yoront had two main groups in their clan system: the Pam-Pip and the Pam-Lul.

The Yir-Yoront had ways of telling different kinds of beings apart. They saw ordinary humans (pam-morr) as "real." Other beings included spirits (wangrr) and dream figures (pitthar). They also had special names for the ancestral beings from the time of creation. Interestingly, they sometimes thought of white people as wangrr, meaning they were seen as "other world beings."

A Look at Their History

In 1623, a Dutch exploration ship led by Jan Carstenszoon landed on the Yir-Yoront coast. The Dutch wanted to trade for supplies. Their records say the Yir-Yoront people did not know about precious metals or spices. The Yir-Yoront used most of the goods the Dutch traded, except for iron pieces and beads.

Later, in 1864, there was a conflict known as the "Battle of the Mitchell River." This happened when European settlers were moving cattle through the area. About 30 Yir-Yoront people died in this event. It was unusual because Indigenous Australians rarely stood their ground against European gunfire for long. For a while, it seemed this event was forgotten by the Yir-Yoront. However, much later, a researcher named Nonie Sharp found that the people living in Kowanyama still remembered the event clearly.

By the 1930s, the Yir-Yoront were still living mostly on their own land. But soon, they started moving to missions like the Mitchell River Mission and the Edward River Mission (known to them as Lirrqar). At the missions, they could easily get steel axes, fishhooks, sugar, and tobacco.

The introduction of steel tools changed their culture a lot. Before, they had to trade for stone axes from far away, because their land didn't have suitable rocks. This trading system was important and controlled by the elders. When steel axes became easy to get at the missions, young men and women no longer had to rely on the elders. They could get axes by working at the missions, which changed the traditional ways of their society.

Alternative Names

The Yir-Yoront people have been known by several other names, including:

• Koka-mungin
• KokoMandjoen, Koko-manjoen
• Kokomindjan
• KokoMindjin, Kokominjan, KokoMinjen
• Yir-yiront

Some Words from Yir-Yoront

• wart (bad)
• wart'uwər (woman)