Traditional Aboriginal Culture

study about aboriginal communities and social sciences

by : Pringgo Danarko (20100060117)

Introduction
The original inhabitants of the continent of Australia took up residence there at least 40,000 years before Europeans landed at Botany Bay in 1788. In 1788, the Aborigines were clearly the majority, numbering around 300,000. In the late 1990s, they were a minority struggling to claim rights to their traditional lands. They also seek money for lost lands and resources. So it made the relations between Aboriginal and nonAboriginal inhabitants of Australia have not been very good.

Musical Instrument
Aborigines have 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. It was traditionally played by Arnhem Land people, such as the Yonlgu, and then only by the men.

Didgeridoo

Clothing
Australian Aborigines were one of the only groups of people in the world not to wear any type of clothing. Both men and women went naked. Today, of course, things have changed considerably and Aboriginals dress the same as Australians.

Language
There were approximately three hundred different Aboriginal languages spoken in 1788. Now, there are only about seventyfive remaining. Some of these, like Walpiri, Kriol, and Western Desert language.

Religion
Totems are an important part of Aboriginal religious identity. Totems are symbols from the natural world that serve to identify people and their relationships with one another in the social world. For instance, a family or clan may be associated with a certain bird. That bird's nature, whether it is ferocious or peaceful, a bird of prey or a songbird, is associated with the family or clan that uses it as its totem.

Hunters and Gatherers

The Aboriginal economy was based on a stable, considered management of the environment and an effective organisation of labour. Males and females made different but complementary economic contributions. Women were primarily the gatherers of vegetables, roots, herbs, fruits and nuts, eggs and honey, and small land animals such as Snakes, Goannas. Men were the hunters of large land animals and birds and also co-operated to organise largescale hunting drives to catch Emu's and Kangaroos. The collection and preparation of this wide variety of bush food required the development of an efficient, multifunctional technology, considerable practical skills, and its seasonal changes. Some plant foods were easy to collect but required complex preparation before they could be eaten.

Sources :
www.culturalsurvival.org/Aboriginal www.aboriginalculture.com.au/ www.aboriginalheritage.org/history/h istory/