The Kalibamu, also known as the Kotanda, were an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

people of the state of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Language

Besides the oral Kalibamu language (also known as Kukatj, although it may be a separate dialect), the Kalibamu had a

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...

: puffed cheeks meant lack of water; a fist on one's forehead indicated the presence of a

wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies, that are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'' wi ...

; stroking one's face with splayed fingers a

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

, and holding the arm up and bending one's hand, that an

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

was nearby.

Country

The Kalibamu had an estimated (

Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. He is best remembered for his work mapping the various tribal groupings of Aboriginal Australians ...

) territorial range of some , They inhabited the coastal area running from the

Leichhardt River The Leichhardt River is a river in north-west Queensland, Australia. Course The source of the river is in the Selwyn Range under Rifle Creek Hill and fed by Rifle Creek approximately south of the mining town Mount Isa. It runs in a generally n ...

to Morning Inlet. Their inland extension went as far as Wernadinga, Floraville, and Punchbowl.

Social organisation

People

The last survivor of the remnant of the Kalibamu died by 1963. They made

damper A damper is a device that deadens, restrains, or depresses. It may refer to: Music * Damper pedal, a device that mutes musical tones, particularly in stringed instruments * A mute for various brass instruments Structure * Damper (flow), a mech ...

from grass seeds called ''jaboola''. The eating of

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

Sources

* * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of Queensland