Kalibamu

The Kalibamu, also known as the Kotanda, were an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland.

Language

Main article: Kukatj language

Besides the oral Kalibamu language (also known as Kukatj, although it may be a separate dialect), the Kalibamu had a sign language: puffed cheeks meant lack of water; a fist on one's forehead indicated the presence of a wallaroo; stroking one's face with splayed fingers a kangaroo, and holding the arm up and bending one's hand, that an emu was nearby.^[1]

Country

The Kalibamu had an estimated (Norman Tindale) territorial range of some 1,100 square miles (2,800 km²), They inhabited the coastal area running from the Leichhardt River to Morning Inlet. Their inland extension went as far as Wernadinga, Floraville, and Punchbowl.^[2]

Social organisation

Male	Female	Children[1]
Wungo	Bambi	Korgilla
Bambi	Wungoon	Koboror
Korgilla	Koboronn	Wungo
Korboron	Korgilla	Bambi

People

The last survivor of the remnant of the Kalibamu died by 1963.^{[citation needed]} They made damper from grass seeds called jaboola. The eating of emu meat was restricted to the aged.^[3]

Alternative names

• Kotanda (also occasionally used of the Kareldi)^[2]

Some words

• ngoora (tame dog)
• goombeno (wild dog)
• yabboo (father)
• younga (mother)
• mikkaloo (white man)^[4]