The Kalibamu, also known as the Kotanda, were an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland.
Language
Main article: Kukatj languageBesides the oral Kalibamu language (also known as Kukatj, although it may be a separate dialect), the Kalibamu had a sign language: puffed cheeks meant lack of water; a fist on one's forehead indicated the presence of a wallaroo; stroking one's face with splayed fingers a kangaroo, and holding the arm up and bending one's hand, that an emu was nearby.
Country
The Kalibamu had an estimated (Norman Tindale) territorial range of some 1,100 square miles (2,800 km), They inhabited the coastal area running from the Leichhardt River to Morning Inlet. Their inland extension went as far as Wernadinga, Floraville, and Punchbowl.
Social organisation
| Male | Female | Children |
|---|---|---|
| Wungo | Bambi | Korgilla |
| Bambi | Wungoon | Koboror |
| Korgilla | Koboronn | Wungo |
| Korboron | Korgilla | Bambi |
People
The last survivor of the remnant of the Kalibamu died by 1963. They made damper from grass seeds called jaboola. The eating of emu meat was restricted to the aged.
Alternative names
- Kotanda (also occasionally used of the Kareldi)
Some words
- ngoora (tame dog)
- goombeno (wild dog)
- yabboo (father)
- younga (mother)
- mikkaloo (white man)
Notes
Citations
- ^ Middleton & Noble 1886, p. 91 ?
- ^ Tindale 1974, p. 173.
- Middleton & Noble 1886, pp. 90–91 ?
- Middleton & Noble 1886, p. 92 ?
Sources
- Tindale, Norman Barnett (1974). "Kalibamu (QLD)". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names. Australian National University Press.
- Middleton, T.; Noble, E. Irving (1886). "Nogoa" (PDF). In Curr, Edward Micklethwaite (ed.). The Australian race: its origin, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over the continent. Vol. 3. Melbourne: J. Ferres. pp. 90–95.