Australian Aboriginal culture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

1 Practices and ceremonies
2 Belief Systems
3 Music
4 Art
5 Astronomy
6 Traditional recreation
7 See also
8 References

[edit] Practices and ceremonies

Fire-stick farming, identified by Australian archeologist Rhys Jones in 1969, is the practice of regularly and systematically burning patches of vegetation to facilitate hunting, to reduce the frequency of major bush-fires, and to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area. "Burning-off", as it is often called, reduces the fuel-load for a potential major bush fire, while fertilising the ground and increasing the number of young plants, thus providing additional food for kangaroos and other fauna who are hunted for meat. It is regarded as good husbandry and "Looking after the Land" by Indigenous people. ^[1].
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 Aboriginal people 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. The reality is that Aboriginal people were usually fulfilling ceremonial, spiritual, or family 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. The term is nowadays usually regarded as derogatory or even offensive.
A Bora is an initiation ceremony in which young boys are transformed into men.
A Corroboree it is a ceremonial meeting for Australian Aboriginal people.

[edit] Belief Systems

Main articles: Australian Aboriginal mythology, Dreamtime, and Dreaming

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.^[2]

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 many Aboriginal people across Australia, whereas Baiame or Bunjil are regarded as the primary creator-spirits in South-East 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.^[3] 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]}

In principle, census information could tell us how widespread are traditional Aboriginal beliefs compared to (for example) Christianity, but the results may be misleading because the census form does not include traditional Aboriginal beliefs as a religion. For example, the 2001 census form listed Catholic, Anglican (Church of England), Uniting Church, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Islam, Greek Orthodox, Baptist, "No religion", "Other - please specify", and Buddhism.^[4]. The following census information is therefore likely to over-represent the listed beliefs compared to traditional Aboriginal beliefs.

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.^[5] In the 1991 census, almost 74% identified with Christianity, up from 67% at the 1986 census. The form of the question changed in the 1991 census, and as the religion question is optional to answer, reducing the percentage of people who did not answer.^[6]

The Aboriginal population also has a small but rapidly growing number of muslims. ^[7] This Islamic community has also seen high profile members such as the boxer, Anthony Mundine ^[8] See Islam in Australia.

[edit] Music

A didgeridoo, or yidaki

Main article: Australian Aboriginal 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.

[edit] Art

Aboriginal memorial at the NGA

Main article: Australian Aboriginal 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.

[edit] Astronomy

Main article: Australian Aboriginal Astronomy

A depiction of the [Emu] in the sky, which is an Australian Aboriginal constellation consisting of dark clouds rather than of stars. The time of year in which the Emu in the sky stands upright in the evening marks the time when emu eggs are ready to be collected.

For many Aboriginal cultures, the night sky is a central repository of stories and law. Songlines can be traced through the sky as well as through the land, and the stories and songs associated with the sky underpin many cultural tenets. This cultural astronomy is said to predate the origins of European or Asian astronomy, so that Indigenous Australians have been called the world's first astronomers.

[edit] Traditional recreation

An Indigenous community Aussie Rules game.

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. ^[9] 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.