Aborigines



Aborigines

- “aboriginal“ = “the first“, “the earliest known“

- Australia was the home of the first people

- 40.000 years ago, the sea passages narrower

- the ancestors of the Aborigines could come to Australie from their islands

- sea levels rose --> isolating Australia 44495iyd12epc7x

- so isolated that Aborigines had little contacts to outside groups

- Aboriginal lived in harmony with their environment

Hunting

- the Aborigines got everything they need from the nature yp495i4412eppc

- they were limited to the range of food in their area



- some groups were static because food was readily obtainable, but some groups had to travel

around in their area to keep alive

- the Aborigines hunted and gathered their food

First Sightnings:

- first recording sightning of Australia was 1606 by the Dutch

- result: the Dutch government decided that the land was not suitable for colonisation

Macassans: The first visitors?

- the Macassans live in camps (well organized)

- taught the Aborigines in making knives and tomahawks

- Aborigines adopted some Macassans words into their own language

Colonisation:

- 1788: the first fleet arrived in Australia

- country was inhabited by about 300.000 Aborigines

- the settlers wanted to become industrious but the Aborigines didn’t want to give up their way

of life

- Aborigines began to lose their hunting grounds and watering holes

Art:

- the art was regarded as an integral part of life

- markings and designs have totemic significance

- paintings tell stories and they reflect what happens around the Aborigines

- there are different kinds of art: Rock engraving, Bark painting, Symbols and Ground paintings

Mythology:

- ”Dreamtime” is the mythological past --> mythology grows up step by step

- Aborigines have a lot of different ceremonies in which they sing, dance and pray

- in Aboriginal society are a lot of problems, for example that the people become sick and they

die

- “mediine man”: he’s a very powerful man and he tries to remove the “evil” from sick persons

with spells

Didgeridoo:

- traditional music instrument of the Aborigines

- made out of a piece of eucalyptus tree

- used in ceremonies

- possibly the world’s oldest music instrument