Yidinji
The Yidinji or Yidiñ (a.k.a. Yidinj, Yidiny, and Idindji) inhabited the area around Cairns, from the Barron River to the Russell River, east to the Murray Prior Range and west to Tolga, Atherton and Kairi. They know the vicinity of downtown Cairns, home to the Walubara clan, as Gimuy and speak Yidin/Yidiny, which has two (coastal and tableland) dialects.
According to Norman Tindale, their territory covered around one thousand square kilometres from Deeral to Cairns and inland to Lake Barrine. Their eastern boundary on the crest of the Prior Range brought Yarrabah into their territory.
Their neighbours to the north and northwest were the Djabugay, with the Dyirbal-speaking Mbabaram, Ngadjanydji and Madjanydji to the southwest and south.
The Yidinji people had eight clans:
- The Gimuy-walubarra (Gimuy: slippery blue fig (ficus albipila); Walubarra: hillside people) are the traditional custodians of Cairns and the surrounding area.
- The Wadjanbarra Yidi (people belonging to the forest) are the traditional custodians of the low-lying forest between the mountains on the Atherton Tablelands. They spoke the tableland dialect of Yidiny in their territory; they also spoke the coastal dialect when they travelled to the coast during winter months, following trails from Giri (Kairi) through Bunda Walpa Gindajay (Lambs Head) and Bunda Gindajay (Lambs Range) to Girriwanday (White Rock).
- Bundabarra Yidi (people from the hills or mountains) were the traditional custodians around Yungabarra.
- Gulgibarra Yidi (the sand or seaside people) were the traditional custodians of the area on the southern side of the Mulgrave River, down to the sea and were neighbours to the Mandigalpi Yidi.
- Wujnur or Bindabarra Yidi (waterfall people) lived in the lush rainforest around Josephine Falls, Fishery Falls and Babinda. The Bindabarra and their neighbours, the Gulgibarra yidi, were also known as the Bellenden Ker blacks.
- Mandigalpi Yidi (mandi: hands; galpi or guljarabay: fighting; a.k.a. the Mulgrave River tribe) are the custodians of the lands on the eastern side of the inlet to the Murray Prior Range and down to the mouth of the Mulgrave and Russel River (Badabadoo). The Mandigalpi helped their neighbours, the Kunganji when the Mamu tribe came to steal their women and extend their boundaries hundreds of years before Europeans arrived.
- Badjabarra Yidi (people belonging to the long grass) were the traditional custodians of the grass plains on the tableland slopes of the mountains of Mount Bellenden Kerr. The Badjabarra were the neighbours of the Mamu and Nadjan tribes and the Mallanbarra and Bindabarra yidin people; they spoke Yidiny, nadjon and djirribal.
- Mallanbarra Yidi (flat rock/stony river people) clan estate extended from Gordonvale along the Mulgrave and little Mulgrave from the coast to the Atherton tablelands with the Bundabarra Yidin people, the Ngadjun-ji people and the Badjabarra yidin as their neighbours. The Mallanbarra have many ceremonial grounds where ceremonies were held between the many Yidiny clans and other tribal groups. The Mallanbarra, Mandiigalpi, and Gulgibarra were known by Europeans as the Mulgrave River blacks.
Links to add:
Babinda
Barron River
Deeral
Dyirbal
Fishery Falls
Josephine Falls
Kairi
Kunganji
Lake Barrine
Lambs Head
Lambs Range
Little Mulgrave River
Madjanydji
Mamu
Mbabaram
Mount Bellenden Kerr
Mulgrave River
Murray Prior Range
Nadjan
Ngadjanydji
Ngadjun-ji
Russell River
Tolga
White Rock
Yarrabah
Yungabarra
