Thaayorre people
Encyclopedia
The Thaayorre are an Australian people living on the southwestern part of the Cape York Peninsula
, Queensland
in Australia
, primarily in the settlement Pormpuraaw
, having its foundation in the Edward River Mission.
The Thaayorre are semi-nomadic
hunter-gatherer
s with strong tradition
s of historytelling, song
and dance
. Many Thaayorre are still retaining a strong link to their native culture
, and many are living most of the year on outstations in their traditional lands.
Intertribal marriage
and political relations with the other peoples in the area, especially the Yir-Yoront people
, were common and made the peoples in the area very unified.
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, primarily in the settlement Pormpuraaw
Pormpuraaw, Queensland
Pormpuraaw is an Aboriginal community situated on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula approximately half way between Karumba and Weipa on the Edward River. It is by road from Cairns. Pormpuraaw currently has a 2-man police station...
, having its foundation in the Edward River Mission.
The Thaayorre are semi-nomadic
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s with strong tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
s of historytelling, song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
. Many Thaayorre are still retaining a strong link to their native culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, and many are living most of the year on outstations in their traditional lands.
Intertribal marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and political relations with the other peoples in the area, especially the Yir-Yoront people
Yir-Yoront people
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...
, were common and made the peoples in the area very unified.