Bidjara (Bulloo River)

The Bitjara or Bithara were an indigenous people of the state of Queensland. They spoke a dialect of the Ngura language. They are not to be confused with the Warrego River Pitjara or the Badjiri of the Paroo River.

Country

Norman Tindale estimated their lands as encompassing approximately 4,000 square miles (10,000 km²), centered around Bulloo Downs, south to the south to Bulloo Lake floodplain. Their western border lay at the Grey Range. Their northern limits were at Orient, and their eastern frontier was around Clyde.

Social organization and customs

The Bitjara included circumcision in their initiatory rites.

Alternative names

• Bithara.
• Pitteroo.
• Minkabari. (language name),
• Wilya.

Some words

• mirre. (tamne dog)
• urni (father)
• ummadi. (mother)
• birri-birri. (whiteman).

Sources

• Howitt, Alfred William (1904). The native tribes of south-east Australia (PDF). Macmillan. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Myles, F. W. (1886). "Thargominda, Bulloo River" (PDF). In Curr, Edward Micklethwaite (ed.). The Australian race: its origin, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over the continent. Vol. Volume 2. Melbourne: J. Ferres. pp. 36–41. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sullivan, A. P. (1886). "Lower Bulloo River" (PDF). In Curr, Edward Micklethwaite (ed.). The Australian race: its origin, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over the continent. Vol. Volume 2. Melbourne: J. Ferres. pp. 42–43. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Tindale, Norman Barnett (1974). "Bitjara (QLD)". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names. Australian National University Press. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)