Diyari

The Diyari, alternatively transcribed as Dieri, is an Indigenous Australian group and language of the South Australian desert.

The Diyari had a highly developed sign language, which was first noticed by Alfred William Howitt in 1891, who first mistook them for defiant or command gestures until he they realized formed part of an integral system of hand signs, of which he registered 65. One of their functions was to allow women to communicate during mourning, when a speech taboo prevailed.

The traditional lands of the Diyari lay in the delta of the Barcoo River to the east of Lake Eyre. The southern boundary was marked by Mount Freeling, its most northern reach by the Pirigundi Lake (on the Cooper Creek). The most easterly edge was constituted by Lake Hope, and the western limits lay some 80 miles west of Lake Hope. Their neighbouring tribes were the Yandruwandha and Yawarrawarrka, respectively to their east and north-east and, to the north, the Ngameni. To their north-west were the Wangganguru, to their west the Thirrari and Arabana, while on the southern fringes were the Kuyani and Adnyamathanha.

The environment was harsh, and foraging for vegetables was a staple since the kangaroo was absent from their terrain and the emu, their favourite food, quite rare. Native 'rats', snakes and lizards were, however, abundant.

The Diyari creation story imagined Mooramoora, the good spirit, making small black lizards at first, and delighted with them, they decided should hold sway over all other created beings. It was by remodulating this variety of lizard, cutting off the tail, and using his forefinger to create a nose, that man was created, and then divided into male and female. Mooramoora then had the Moon create all creatures. Man could not run down the fleet, tasty emu, and the deity was asked to make heat so that it would tire and allow men to catch up and trap it. Men were asked to perform certain ceremonies, considered obscene by Gason, and after their compliance, Mooramoora created the sun.

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