Yir-Yoront
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Australia | |
| Languages | |
| Yir-Yoront, English | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Yirrk-Thangalkl, Koko Bera, Thaayorre, Uw Olkola, Uw Oykangand |
The Yir-Yoront are an Australian people living on the southwestern part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia, primarily in the two settlements Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw, having their foundations in the Mitchell River Mission and Edward River Missian, respectively. They are originally speakers of the Yir-Yoront language, but today only a handful of speakers remaining, the others having shifted to English.
The Yir-Yoront remained quite isolated until the early 20th century, when the Mitchell River Mission was established, and they managed to stay politically autonomous until 1933. The mission introduced European goods and easy trading, which slowly and steadily caused their culture to vanish. Prior to the European contact the Yir-Yoront retained a flourishing culture with traditions, one of them being axe making. Only initiated men had the skills to make axes, which meant that those who didn't have these skills had to rely upon those who had. However, along with the Europeans came steel axes, which in general were superior to the handmade ones and much more accessible, and the tradition of axe making died out.[1] The missionaries started handing these out freely to the members of the community. This had a very serious impact on the Yir-Yoront culturally. Traditionally, the axe was a symbol of masculinity and power reserved for men, not for women and children. Also, due to its variety of practical uses, women and children could only borrow an axe from the man. This created a patriarchal subordination that vanished when the axes were spread amongst everyone.
This troubled many of the culture's members a great deal because of the way that their outlook upon life was formed by their religious belief. A central dogma of their religion is that the life of their ancestors will shape how their lives will be today. This goes all the way down to ownership. For example, if one's ancestors never owned a boat, they believe that they were never supposed to own a boat and never will. This religious belief was allowed to stay as the group stayed relatively isolated, and it would not allow for change to happen to anyone's life. Therefore, when the axes were introduced, not just improved but also in multitude and to women and children and men alike, this shook the culture at its foundations and was instrumental to causing its eventual disappearance.[2]
Intertribal marriage and political relations with the other peoples in the area, especially the Thaayorre people, were common and made the peoples in the area very unified. This also means that some of the traditional lands of the Yir-Yoront today are occupied by speakers of other languages than the Yir-Yoront language, but which nevertheless are designated the Yir-Yoront.[3]
They had a developed signed form of their language.[4]
References
- ↑ Potted Histories: Yir-Yoront
- ↑ Sharp, Laurent (1952). Steel Axes for Stone-Age Australians
- ↑ Alpher, Barry (1991). Yir-Yoront lexicon: Sketch and dictionary of an Australian language.
- ↑ Kendon, A. (1988) Sign Languages of Aboriginal Australia: Cultural, Semiotic and Communicative Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.