The Umpila people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the eastern Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland . The majority of the remnant of the Umpila now live in Lockhart .
6-584: Umpila is classified as one of the North Cape York Paman languages . It is one of 6 dialects which are often collectively referred to as Umpila, and, though classified as moribund, it is still spoken by elders, along with Kuuku Ya'u/Koko Yao and Kaantju , and efforts are being made to revitalize it. The process of reduplication in Umpila is used for the progressive aspect , creating forms that are "bewilderingly varied". Umpila country has been called 'one of
12-554: The Cape York Peninsula of Queensland , Australia . The languages are grouped largely according to R. M. W. Dixon . The only extant branches of this family are Umpila and the Wik languages . The now-extinct Northern Paman branch was unique among Pama-Nyungan languages in containing fricatives. Sutton (2001) also distinguishes a Ndwa'ngith language among Northern Paman. This Australian Aboriginal languages -related article
18-568: The 1940s. Most now live in the Lockhart River Community The Umpila call themselves Umpila pama malngkanichi , "people of the sand beach", a term which refers to their belonging to the ethnocultural group of Kawadji of north-eastern Queensland coastal dwellers. Their society had two exogamous patrimoieties , kaapay (karrpiya/ karpeya) and kuyan (koiyan), two terms which are also used to classify flora and fauna. The two patrimoieties marry their opposite moiety, resulting in
24-489: The Umpila people had their rights to native title recognised by a Federal Court decision in 2008. They were recognised as custodians of 1,200 square kilometres (460 sq mi) and as freehold owners of half of this land. Source: Tindale 1974 , p. 184 North Cape York Paman languages The North Cape York Paman languages are a subdivision of the Paman languages consisting of forty languages, all spoken on
30-450: The acquisition of the resulting children to the father's moiety. Strict rules also govern social interaction between certain grades of affine relationship. Two of the most knowledgeable informants, the tribal elder Horace Rocky and the young park ranger Johanne Omeenyo cannot speak to each other, since a classificatory nephew like Johanne is forbidden to speak directly to his 'uncle', and they must use clan intermediaries. The descendants of
36-614: The most ecologically intact indigenous domains on earth.' It stretches over some 300 square miles (780 km) around Cape Sidmouth north to Night Island , and to the Chester River . Their territory is very rich in its biodiversity heritage, with some 260 plant species unique to their region. To their north were the Uutaalnganu , while their southern borders ran up to those of the Lama Lama . The Umpila were forcibly removed from their land in
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