5 th July 06 - Mark Davis
“The Culture of the Aborigines”
This was a very interesting presentation by Mark (left), well supported by over fifty slides and given in a most interesting and sometimes humorous fashion, a good indication of the quality of the lecture is the number of questions raised in the latter part of the session, in this case more questions than the time available and the President had to curtail these, well done Mark.
Ken Robinson (shown in the picture below with Mark, waiting for their soup!) summarised the valuable insight into the aboriginal culture presented, although many of our members had been to Australia few had any one to one relationship with these folk and as Ken said not our vision after Crocodile Dundee!
The following text is a summary of Mark's presentation, for which we are most grateful.
The Culture of the Aborigines of Australia
Australia was the last great landscape to be discovered by Europeans in the 18th century. The continent they found had already been inhabited for tens of thousands of years by about 500 different tribal groups.
There is much evidence to indicate that Australia's indigenous people have lived in the region for more than 60,000 years, having come to Australia across the sea from south-east Asia during the last Ice Age. They lived in total isolation from the rest of the world, existing by hunting and food gathering. Today, there are about 1,200 remote communities of Aboriginals, of which 1,000 have fewer than 1OO people in them. The total Aboriginal population is about 250,000 people.
They have lived in harmony with the land and sea, utilizing its resources, never taking more than was needed to survive, and they form an integral part of the environment. Indigenous Australians are a proud people, filled with passion, humour and enthusiasm.
The Aboriginals semi-nomadic way of life influences their attitude to property. Personal possessions are limited to what the family can carry around and what are necessary to hunting and food-gathering.
Aboriginals concepts and values differ from those of European society which tends to abuse its environment. The Aboriginal developed a pattern of living and social behaviour, which has proved to be remarkably stable. It ensured survival with the minimum of interference with their environment unlike Western societies. Who is to say which culture and which method of survival is the better?
The Australian Aboriginal kills only for food, traditionally a nomadic hunter and food gatherer, he lives in close association with his environment and is entirely dependent upon it. Therefore, he respects the essential dignity of life, both in man and animals, and he is a natural conservationist.
Aboriginals are skilful hunters. Larger marsupials are stalked and on the open plains they approach a kangaroo within spear-throwing distance, anything between 5 and 15 metres without being detected. They smear themselves with clay, as a camouflage. Colours are chosen to suit the surroundings. Always with the wind against them and working as a team. Incidentally, the boomerang is a development of the throwing stick. The prime function is for it to go straight and hit an animal at which it is aimed; the returning boomerang is mainly a toy.
Hunting is uncertain and men may labour all day, yet can return to camp empty-handed. Flesh foods are therefore the unreliable part of the Aboriginal diet, and when men do make a catch, it is a feast for the whole tribe, divided on a reciprocal basis in accordance with food-sharing rules.
The basic element of diet is gathered foods collected by women in their daily foraging. This is a much more individual affair, and even when the women go out in groups, each gathers food for her own family, and perhaps near relatives, such as parents and sister. Accompanied by the children they search for vegetable foods such as roots and tubers, nuts, berries and succulent fruits. They also collect edible insects, such as witchetty grubs, honey ants, grasshoppers and so on. This division of labour between the sexes is a logical one, based on physical capacity and the need for all members of a family to co-operate in order to explore fully the resources of their entire environment. The men provide the feasts the women provide the basic necessities.
Polygamy is becoming rarer nowadays. However, each partner can take pride in his or her personal skill, knowledge and usefulness.
Woman does not regard herself as a drudge because she carries the household goods when shifting camp, in order that her husband, un-encumbered and carrying his spear, can chase any animal which may come into sight. The family unit is thus very self-sufficient.
Children below the age of puberty have no set place within the network of family duties, and are not expected to contribute much, though they do accompany women on their foraging. They are just learning. That is the attitude they can learn by example. They are never isolated or secluded from normal adult activities. Older people, unable to hunt or forage for themselves, are usually looked after by relatives, especially sons, or in the case of an elderly first wife, by the younger wife or wives.
Dancing is very much part of Aboriginal life and the corroboree is an important medium of expression practiced by all men, women and children alike. Dancing may tell a particular story, or may be purely imitative. Performers act out their mythology, portray contemporary events, imitate the strutting of an emu, the hopping of a kangaroo, and much more.
When solemn ceremonies are held at rare intervals, many hours of preparation precede the event. Sacred emblems are brought out and reverently restored. Performers are elaborately painted and decorated. The body paintings and head-dresses may well have taken hours to prepare.
Aboriginals are mainly a non-literate people, but they do express themselves through the medium of art. Art is an essential part of Aboriginal culture, telling stories of the close association between the people and their land. Rock engraving is the oldest and most lasting form of traditional Aboriginal art. It is found in most parts of Australia where there are suitable rock surfaces. Many different methods were used. These include rubbing, scratching, drilling and pitting. Stone, wooden and other implements were used, depending on the texture of the rock.
From that point, let us now look at what Aboriginal people call 'Tjukurpa', which we interpret as the 'Dreamtime'. It reflects the close association between people and their environment. Aboriginal people believe in a creation time when ancestral beings emerged from beneath the earth. They resembled plants and animals, but were part human.
Journeying across the land, the ancestors created everything that formed the world, including languages, ceremonies, etc. They behaved like human beings hunting, fighting, loving and hating. They taught their descendents the sacred rituals plus the symbols and signs used in body painting. The ancestors were the law makers and from their deeds Aboriginal people learnt the correct way to behave and to live with each other. As these mythical creatures tired of their life they disappeared under the earth again.
Often these places are marked by rocky outcrops and trees, and so have special religious significance to Aboriginal people.
There is such a deep personal bond between artist and the land that variations in the landscape have a strong influence on the style of the art. In the vast desert areas the landscape varies considerably, and this is reflected in the art.
Following European settlement the number of languages was drastically reduced. Today, only around 30 are regularly spoken and being taught to children.
There are a number of words, however, that occur right across the continent, such as fina = foot, and mala = hand, and similarities also exist in the often complex grammatical structures.
Aboriginal Kriol is a new language which has developed since European arrival in Australia. It is spoken across northern Australia and has become the 'native' tongue of many young Aboriginals. Since the beginning of 2006 the Australian Government wants education to be one of the top priorities, along with health and housing, to improve the welfare and future prospects for the Aboriginals. Books, radio and television broadcasts are all available in Aboriginal languages.In conclusion:-
The Aboriginals have a belief in which,
What happened in the past is happening now and will go on unchanged forever.
© Mark Davis July 2006
