The Thaayorre, or Kuuk Thaayore, are an Australian people living on the southwestern part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia, primarily in the settlement Pormpuraaw, having its foundation in the Edward River Mission.
Kuuk Thaayorre belongs to the Paman language group[1] though its specific genetic affiliation has not been established beyond question.
Many of the 300 native speakers are multilingual, with competence, not only in the above two languages, but also in Pakanha, Uw Olkola and Wik Mungkan.
According to Alice Gaby, the speakers of Thaayorre have a distinctive system, inscribed in the grammar of their language, whereby the cardinal points are a spatial absolute, determining time as shifting in an east-to-west orientation.
[5] The Thaayorre were drawn from their lands in the south-east to the Edward River Mission, which was on their territory, by the ready availability of things like tobacco, sugar, and particularly steel axes.