Australian Aboriginal culture
Aboriginal Australia contains a large number of tribal divisions and language groups, and, corresponding to this, a wide variety of diversity exists within cultural practices. There are some similarities between cultures however.
Practices and ceremonies
- A Corroboree it is a ceremonial meeting for Australian Aborigines.
- Fire-stick farming, identified by Australian archeologist Rhys Jones in 1969, is the practice of using fire to regularly burn vegetation to facilitate hunting and to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area.
- Tjurunga or churinga are objects of religious significance by Central Australian Aboriginal Arrernte (Aranda, Arundta) groups.
- Walkabout refers to the belief of non-Indigenous Australians that Aborigines were prone to "go walkabout" (a pidgin or perhaps quasi-pidgin expression) meaning that they would stop doing their jobs and wander through the bush for weeks at a time. Usually Aborigines were fulfilling ceremonial and spiritual obligations, but could generally not convey this to white station owners, either due to its taboo nature, or the sheer clash of the two cultures which generally left misunderstanding on both sides.
Religion
The 1996 census reported that almost 72 percent of Aborigines practiced some form of Christianity, and 16 percent listed no religion. The 2001 census contained no comparable updated data.[1] In the 1991 census, almost 74% identified with Christianity, up from only 67% at the 1986 census. The form of the question changed in the 1991 census, and as the religion question is optional to answer, making it easier reduced the percentage of people who did not answer.[2]
In the world's oldest continent the creative epoch known as the Dreamtime stretches back into a remote era in history when the creator ancestors known as the First Peoples travelled across the great southern land of Bandaiyan (Australia), creating and naming as they went.[3]
Indigenous Australians' oral tradition and spiritual values are based upon reverence for the land and a belief in this Dreamtime. The Dreaming is at once both the ancient time of creation and the present day reality of Dreaming. There were a great many different groups, each with their own individual culture, belief structure, and language. These cultures overlapped to a greater or lesser extent, and evolved over time. The Rainbow Serpent is a major Ancestral being for Aboriginal people across Australia. Dingo Dreaming is a significant Ancestor in the interior regions of Bandiyan as Dingo formed the songlines that cross the continent from north to south and east to west.[4] The Yowie and Bunyip are also well known Ancestral beings.
One version of the Dreaming story runs as follows:
The whole world was asleep. Everything was quiet, nothing moved, nothing grew. The animals slept under the earth. One day the rainbow snake woke up and crawled to the surface of the earth. She pushed everything aside that was in her way. She wandered through the whole country and when she was tired she coiled up and slept. So she left her tracks. After she had been everywhere she went back and called the frogs. When they came out their tubby stomachs were full of water. The rainbow snake tickled them and the frogs laughed. The water poured out of their mouths and filled the tracks of the rainbow snake. That's how rivers and lakes were created. Then grass and trees began to grow and the earth filled with life. [citation needed]
Music
Aborigines developed unique instruments and folk styles. The didgeridoo is commonly considered the national instrument of Australian Aborigines, and it is claimed to be the world's oldest wind instrument. However, it was traditionally only played by Arnhem Land people, such as the Yolngu, and then only by the men. It has possibly been used by the people of the Kakadu region for 1500 years. Clapping sticks are probably the more ubiquitous musical instrument, especially because they help maintain the rhthym for the song. More recently, Aboriginal musicians have branched into rock and roll, hip hop and reggae. One of the most well known modern bands is Yothu Yindi playing in a style which has been called Aboriginal rock.
Art
Australia has a long tradition of Aboriginal art which is thousands of years old. Modern Aboriginal artists continue the tradition using modern materials in their artworks. Aboriginal art is the most internationally recognisable form of Australian art. Several styles of Aboriginal art have developed in modern times including the watercolour paintings of Albert Namatjira; the Hermannsburg School, and the acrylic Papunya Tula "dot art" movement. Painting is a large source of income for some Central Australian communities such as at Yuendumu today.
Traditional recreation
The Djabwurrung and Jardwadjali people of western Victoria once participated in the traditional game of Marn Grook, a type of football played with possum hide. The game is believed by some to have inspired Tom Wills, inventor of the code of Australian rules football, a popular Australian winter sport. Similarities between Marn Grook and Australian football include the unique skill of jumping to catch the ball or high "marking", which results in a free kick. The word "mark" may have originated in "mumarki", which is "an Aboriginal word meaning catch" in a dialect of a Marn Grook playing tribe. Indeed, Aussie Rules has seen many indigenous players at elite football, and have produced some of the most exciting and skillful to play the modern game. Approximately one in ten AFL players are of indigenous origin. [5] The contribution the Aboriginal people have made to the game is recognised by the annual AFL "Dreamtime at the 'G" match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between Essendon and Richmond football clubs (the colours of the two clubs combine to form the colours of the Aboriginal flag, and many great players have come from these clubs, including Essendon's Michael Long and Richmond's Maurice Rioli). Testifying to this abundance of indigenous talent, the Aboriginal All-Stars are an AFL-level all-Aboriginal football side competes against any one of the Australian Football League's current football teams in pre-season tests. The Clontarf Foundation and football academy is just one organisation aimed at further developing aboriginal football talent. The Tiwi Bombers began playing in the Northern Territory Football League and became the first and only all-aboriginal side to compete in a major Australian competition.
See the comprehensive study of Aboriginal people in sport: Aborigines in sport by Colin Tatz
See also
this is official bullshit
References
- ^ "2901.0 - Census Dictionary, 1996". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people". 4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 1994. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 1994-05-27. Retrieved 2006-11-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Andrews, M. (2004) 'The Seven Sisters', Spinifex Press, North Melbourne, p. 424
- ^ Andrews, M. (2004) 'The Seven Sisters', Spinifex Press, North Melbourne, p. 428
- ^ "Influence of Aboriginal players". AFL Info Sheets. Australian Football League.