The Jitajita, otherwise spelt ''Yitayita,'' are an
indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
people of southern
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
Language
The Yitayita
spoke one of the languages of the lower Murray river group that included
Dadi Dadi
The Dadi Dadi or Tatitati are an Australian Aboriginal people whose traditional lands are located along the southern banks of the Murray River in Victoria Australia.
Language
The Dadi Dadi language is a nearly extinct member of the Lower Murr ...
and
Kureinji
The Kureinji, otherwise known as the Keramin, are an Aboriginal group whose traditional lands are located in southwest New South Wales, Australia, along the north side of the Murray River roughly between today's settlements of Euston and Wentw ...
, as is distinctive for the large number of monosyllables in its vocabulary.
Name
The tribal name Jitajita is a reduplicative
endonym formed from their word for 'no' (''jita''). Numerous tribes in the area defined themselves in terms of the negative used. Early ethnographers marveled at the variety of words for 'no' among the Riverine tribes, as an index of the differences in their languages. Peter Beveridge remarked:
Each tribes possesses a ''gnalla wattow'' or postman, who can speak and understand the dialects of all the tribes within a radius of 150 miles. The persons of these officials are held sacred, even by tribes which are at feud with their own: they therefore negotiate all matters of barter and trade policy.
Country
The Jitajita lands covered some , north of the
Lachlan River
The Lachlan River is an intermittent river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Southern Tablelands, Central West, and Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia.
The Lachlan Riv ...
from near
Booligal
Booligal is a village in the Riverina area of western New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It is located on the Cobb Highway, on the Lachlan River north of Hay. Booligal is a part of Hay Shire local government area.
The name of the village is an ...
- to vicinity of
Balranald
Balranald is a town within the local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia.
The town of Balranald is located where the Sturt Highway crosses the Murrumbidgee River in a remote, semi-deser ...
, west to Carrawathal. They appear to have been closely related to the
Muthi Muthi
The Muthi Muthi people are an indigenous Australian people whose traditional lands are located in the Northern Riverina and Far West regions of New South Wales.
The Muthi Muthi are the traditional owners of Nimmie Caira and the Lowbidgee and ...
. Their northwestern boundaries reached the edge of the
Parintji domain.
Alternative names
* ''Eethie-Eethie, Eethee Eethee, Eetha-eetha''
* ''Ita-ita, Ithi-ithi, Iti-iti''
* ''Tjuop''
* ''Yetho, Yit-tha, Yitsa''
Source:
Some words
* ''tin'' (foot)
* ''kapul'' (leg)
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
External links
Nari-Nari Tribal Council- Official website
{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales