Yugambeh people

Yugambeh clans

Ancestor exhibition at the Yugambeh Museum Language and Heritage Research Centre
Total population
~10,000 (2016)
Languages
Yugambeh, English
Religion
Dreaming, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Yugara, Gidhabal, Bundjalung

The Yugambeh (/ˌjʊɡʌmbɛər/ YOO-gum-BERR (see alternative spellings)), also known as the Minyangbal (/ˌmɪnjʌŋbʌl/ MI-nyung-BUHL),^[1][2][3] or Nganduwal (/ˌŋɑːndʊwʌl/ NGAHN-doo-WUL),^[4] are an Aboriginal Australian people of South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, their territory lies between the Logan and Tweed rivers.^[5] A term for an Aboriginal of the Yugambeh tribe is Mibunn^[6][7][8] (also written as Miban/Mibanj,^[3] Mibin, Mibiny, Mebbon, Meebin^[9]), which is derived from the word for the Wedge-tailed Eagle. Historically, some anthropologists have erroneously referred to them as the Chepara (also written as Chipara, Tjapera^[10][11]), the term for a first-degree initiate.^[12] Archaeological evidence indicates Aboriginal people have occupied the area for tens of thousands of years.^[13] By the time European colonisation began, the Yugambeh had a complex network of groups,^[14] and kinship.^[15] The Yugambeh territory is subdivided among clan groups with each occupying a designated locality,^[6] each clan having certain rights and responsibilities in relation to their respective areas.^[16]

Europeans arrived within their proximity in the 1820s, before formally entering Yugambeh territory c.1842.^[a] Their arrival displaced Yugambeh groups,^[14] and conflict between both sides soon followed throughout the 1850/60s^[17] By the 20th century, they were being forced onto missions^[18][19] and reserves^[20] despite local resistance.^[19][18] Other Yugambeh people found refuge in the mountains or gained employment among the Europeans.^[13] The last of the missions/reserves in the area closed in 1948^[21] and 1951, though people continued to occupy them.^[20] Throughout the 70s-90s, the Yugambeh founded organisations and businesses in culture/language,^[22] housing and community care,^[23] wildlife and land preservation,^[24] and tourism.^[25] It is estimated there were between 1,500 and 2,000 Aboriginal people in the watersheds of the Logan, Albert, Coomera and Nerang before the 1850s.^[26] The 2016 Australian census records 12,315 Aboriginal people in the four local government areas,^{[27][28][29][30]} a portion of these are non-Yugambeh Aboriginal peoples who have moved into the area for work,^[20] or as a result of forced removals.^[19]

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