The Koamu (Guwamu) were 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 the state of
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
.
Language
The
Koamu language, often classified as a dialect of
Bidjara, appeared to be quite similar to that spoken by the
Ualarai
The Yuwaalaraay, also spelt Euahlayi, Euayelai, Eualeyai, Ualarai, Yuwaaliyaay and Yuwallarai, are an Aboriginal Australian people of north-western New South Wales.
Name and language
The ethnonym derives from their word for "no" () to which ...
, and some early ethnographers such as
R. H. Mathews
Robert Hamilton Mathews (1841–1918) was an Australian surveyor and self-taught anthropologist who studied the Aboriginal cultures of Australia, especially those of Victoria, New South Wales and southern Queensland. He was a member of the R ...
confused the two for this reason.
Country
The Koamu are estimated to have ranged over of tribal territory. They were on the
Balonne River
The Balonne River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin system, is a short yet significant part of the inland river group of South West Queensland, Australia.
Course and features
The river is a continuation of the Condamine River. After flowing th ...
starting south of
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
, as far as
Angledool, Hebei, and Brenda. Their western terrain extended to
Bollon and
Nebine Creek.
Dirranbandi
Dirranbandi is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Balonne, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the border of Queensland with New South Wales. In the , Dirranbandi had a population of 640 people.
Geography
Dirranbandi is on the ...
also was part of their territory. According to Thomas Honery, an authority on the nearby
Weilwan, the Koamu also lived around the
Warrego. This was rejected by Norman Tindale as beyond their western frontier.
Mythology
On dying, a Koamu is met on passing into the spirit world by his ''yuri'' or
totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the wo ...
, who then reintroduces him to all of his relations, the natural species belonging to his
moiety
Moiety may refer to:
Chemistry
* Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule
** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species
Anthropology
* Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...
.
The first bee was fashioned by a bat, which gummed on some cockatoo feathers to a sticky milky weed, which immediately took wing, and flew right down to Koamu territory, with the bat in hot pursuit, until it won sanctuary in a cave called Ungwari. The Koamu undertook rituals in this cavern to secure the increase of bees in their area.
Native title
The descendants of the Koamu, under the name the Kooma people, had their
native title rights recognized by the state of Queensland in 2014.
Alternative names
* ''Guamu, Guwamu, Oamu''
* ''Kuam''
* ''Kuamu''
Source:
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of Queensland