According to anthropological data, the aborigines of Australia are a type of Australoid large race. In appearance they are of medium to tall height, with dark hair that is thick and curly. They have thick lips and wide noses, medium-sized eyes. A feature of this race can be considered a protruding eyebrow. Until the 18th century, 1.2 million Aboriginal people lived in Australia. Scientists believed that they arrived on the mainland from Asia. It was also invaded by Europeans in the late 18th century, bringing colonization and disease with them. The indigenous population was not prepared for these processes and many aborigines died. Before colonization, they were engaged in hunting and fishing, and gathering fruits. Crafts such as pottery and weaving, and metal processing were not known to them.
Aboriginal language of Australia
Australia is a developed country. In our time, Aboriginal people live on its territory, whose way of life remains unchanged. They do not know how to produce, do not use the achievements of civilization and even the calendar. Their culture is original. It has nothing in common with the population from other countries of the world. This is explained by the fact that Australia has lived in an isolated space for a long time. Each of the local tribes has its own language, and it is not similar to Asian dialects. Writing is developed among several tribes, and there are approximately 200 dialects of the language. For a long period of time, the indigenous population of the mainland lived on reservations. These were the most deserted areas where outsiders were not allowed. The population of reservations did not participate in the census.
At the end of the 19th century, the State of Victoria passed the Aboriginal Protection Act. This document was a set of legal norms regulating the lives of the indigenous population. And a century later, as a result of a referendum held in this country, the indigenous people of Australia were officially recognized as citizens of the state and received the right to free movement within the country. For many years, the Aborigines sought equal rights with the white population. Many of them moved to live in large cities. The country has launched programs to increase the birth rate and preserve the cultural heritage of the Aboriginal people. In 2007, they launched a television channel for the indigenous population of Australia. It is broadcast on English language, since it is difficult to use 200 dialects at once. 
Aboriginal life in Australia
In modern times, Aboriginal people are involved in tourism. For travelers who come to Australia and have a desire to visit its beauty, excursions to the reservation are organized. Tourists are shown the life and way of life of the indigenous population. It is different from our world. Aborigines of Australia are the best guides. For travelers, performances are created with dance and song accompaniment, in addition, with the staging of rituals that are considered ritual by the indigenous population of Australia. The sale of souvenirs, hunting objects and wicker clothing is very developed in Australia. Interestingly, about ten thousand people inhabiting Australia are still at the Stone Age level. But it is only thanks to them that the pristine culture of Australia is preserved.
Cultural heritage
- Paintings
Art and design lovers are familiar with the canvases painted in the original ethnic technique, which is unique to the indigenous population. Each of the artists describes a different life in his painting. They call it spiritual reality or another life. It's different from modern society and reflects a spiritual connection with the world of the deities. The aborigines still call them the sun and the moon, as well as many animals. - Music
Australian Aboriginals- masters of making musical instruments. One of them is the didgeridoo instrument, which is a pipe with a length of 1 to 2 meters. Made from the trunk of a eucalyptus tree, eaten away by termites in the central part. Not everyone can play this instrument, as it requires practice, as well as good respiratory system. As for the natives, they can easily play this trumpet for several hours in a row. As they play, they spice up the music with guttural sounds they make and, for added effect, imitating the sounds of animals and birds. - Dancing
In their dances, the aborigines imitate the movements of the animals that inhabit the continent. These are kangaroos or snakes, wallabies. During the dance, they skillfully imitate their movements. Many of the dances are similar, they have musical accompaniment playing drumsticks and didgeridoo. But not all dances are entertaining: some of them have a brightly ritualistic overtones. - Boomerang
It was invented as a weapon by the indigenous people of Australia! Means “returning throwing stick” in their language. They used boomerangs for hunting, but also sometimes in local conflicts with other tribes. To return the boomerang to the owner's hands, you must have certain skills: throw it at an angle of certain indicators and hold it correctly, release it in time, taking into account the direction of the wind. A skillfully made boomerang should have cuts at the ends. He simply doesn’t come back without them. In addition, the Australian aborigines use throwing spears, and they throw them at a distance of up to 100 meters, expertly hitting a target the size of a coconut. The shields made by the indigenous people are narrow and are used for dances and ceremonies. Although they can be used as a defensive weapon. - Geography of settlements
Where do the Aboriginal people of Australia live today? The largest group is in Queensland. In addition, Aboriginal people can be seen in Western Australia and New South Wales. There are few of them in Victoria. But the indigenous population, religiously observing their traditions and customs, is trying to escape civilization. For the most part, they act this way. Therefore, it is not surprising that they are concentrated in the desert regions of Australia and the Cape York Peninsula. These places are difficult to reach for an unprepared person.
Australian Aboriginals
| Australian Aboriginals | |
       David Unaipon, Noel Pearson, Ernie Dingo, David Gulpilil, Jessica Mauboy, Cathy Freeman |
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| Current distribution area and numbers | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Racial type | |
| Related peoples | |
Aboriginal handicrafts
The population is 437 thousand (2001, census), including 26.9 thousand people. in the Torres Strait Islands. Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal people are culturally distinct from other Aboriginal people in Australia, sharing many similarities with Melanesians and Papuans.
Nowadays, most Aboriginal people rely on government and other charity. Traditional methods of livelihood (hunting, fishing and gathering, among some Torres Strait Islanders - hand farming) have been almost completely lost.
Before the arrival of Europeans
The settlement of Australia occurred from 70-50 to 30 thousand years ago. The ancestors of Australians came from Southeast Asia (mainly along the Pleistocene continental shelf, but also overcoming at least 90 km of water barriers). The additional influx of settlers who arrived by sea about 5 thousand years ago is probably associated with the appearance of the dingo dog and a new stone industry on the continent. Before European colonization began, the culture and racial type of Australians underwent significant evolution.
Colonial period
By the time of the arrival of Europeans (18th century), the number of aborigines was about 2 million, united in more than 500 tribes, which had a complex social organization, various myths and rituals and spoke more than 200 languages.
Colonization, accompanied by the targeted extermination of Australians, land dispossession and displacement into environmentally unfavorable areas, and epidemics, led to a sharp decrease in their numbers - to 60 thousand in 1921. However, government policies of protectionism (since the end of the 19th century), including the creation of government-protected reserves, as well as material and medical assistance (especially after the 2nd World War) contributed to the growth in the number of Australians.
By the mid-1990s, the Aboriginal population reached approximately 257 thousand people, representing 1.5% of the total population of Australia.
Astronomical and cosmological concepts in Aboriginal mythology
Australian Aborigines believed that there was not only our physical reality, but also another reality inhabited by the spirits of our ancestors. Our world and this reality intersect and mutually influence each other
One of the places where the world of “dreams” and real world, is the sky: the actions of ancestors are manifested in the appearance and movement of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars, however, the actions of people can also affect what is happening in the sky.
Despite the fact that the aborigines have certain knowledge about the sky and objects in it, as well as individual attempts to use celestial objects for calendar purposes, there is no information that any of the aboriginal tribes used a calendar associated with the phases of the moon; Celestial objects were not used for navigation either.
Current situation
Currently, the growth rate of the Aboriginal population (due to the high birth rate) significantly exceeds the Australian average, although the standard of living is significantly lower than the Australian average. In 1967, the civil rights previously granted to Aboriginal people were enshrined in law. Since the late 1960s. A movement is developing for the revival of cultural identity, for the acquisition of legal rights to traditional lands. Many states have enacted laws providing for the collective ownership of reserve lands by Australians under self-government conditions, as well as protecting their cultural heritage.
Famous representatives of the Australian Aborigines are the artist, writer David Unaipon, footballer David Wirrpanda, TV presenter Ernie Dingo, actor and storyteller David Galpilil (Gulpilil), singer Jessica Mauboy (of mixed Australian-Timorese descent).
Since 2007, it has existed in Australia, operating along with other broadcasts for the national communities of the country SBS (broadcasts in 68 languages, including Russian). These programs, which began as domestic broadcasts, are now available throughout the world with the development of the Internet. Although National Aboriginal Television of Australia operates in English due to the limited development of Aboriginal dialects, it provides domestic and international audiences with the opportunity to learn Aboriginal languages through televised lessons launched in 2010.
Aboriginal culture in film
- - “The Last Wave”, a film by famous Australian director Peter Weir
- - “Rabbit Cage” (eng. Rabbit-proof fence), talks about attempts to “re-educate” Australian Aboriginal children.
- - “Ten Boats”, from the life of the Australian aborigines, which enjoyed success in the world film distribution and was even awarded a special prize at the Cannes Film Festival. All the actors in the film were natives and spoke their own language. native language Yolngu-matha.
see also
Notes
Literature
- Artyomova O. Yu. Personality and social norms in an early primitive community according to Australian ethnographic data. M., 1987
- Artyomova O. Yu. Past and present of indigenous Australians // Races and Peoples, vol. 10. M., 1980
- Berndt R.M., Berndt K.H. The World of the First Australians, trans. from English M., 1981
- Cabo V. R. Origin and early history of Australia. M., 1969
- Lockwood D. I am an Aborigine, trans. from English M., 1969
- McConnell W. Myths of Munkan, trans. from English M., 1981
- Rose F. Aborigines of Australia, trans. with him. M., 1981
- Elkin A.P. Indigenous Peoples of Australia, trans. from English M., 1952
- The Cambridge Encyclopeadia of Hunters and Gatherers. Cambridge, 1999 (I.VII, Australia, p.317-371)
- The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia. Vol.I-II. Canberra, 1994
Links
- //
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
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AUSTRALIAN ABORIGENS, indigenous people of the Australian mainland, including some coastal island groups. Represented by two indigenous peoples, one of which is the indigenous people of Australia, the other is the Torres Strait Islanders. Possessing on average the same height as Europeans, these dark-skinned people differ in racial type from other peoples and are classified as Australoid. The Torres Strait Islanders occupy numerous small islands in the strait separating Australia from New Guinea. They, like the peoples of New Guinea, are mainly of Melanesian origin. In the 1991 census, 228,709 people identified themselves as Aboriginal and 28,624 people identified as Torres Strait Islander. Their share of the Australian population was 1.36% and 0.17%, respectively.
Origin.
The settlement of Australia by humans probably began 50 or 60 thousand years ago, although according to some hypotheses this period is extended to 100 thousand years. Based on available evidence, the people who became Aboriginal came to Australia from South-East Asia on rafts or canoes. However, the question of whether the migration process was relatively short in time or extended over millennia, and whether it was random or purposeful, still remains without a definite answer.
The original inhabitants were gatherers, hunters and fishermen who needed areas near constant sources fresh water. When the number of any group increased so much that food supplies within its territory were in danger of being exhausted, a new subgroup separated from it to settle new lands; As a result, the entire territory of Australia was developed. As Aboriginal groups encountered new environmental and climatic conditions, their lifestyles various parts continent adapted to local conditions. Conditions varied from the savanna, rainforest and mangrove swamps of the north, from the coral atolls of the northeast coast, from the forest, grassland and grassland areas, and temperate riverine, lacustrine and delta systems of the southeast and southwest, to the central and western deserts and to the cold subalpine zones of the extreme southeast. Over time, cultural diversification also occurred, leading to the social, cultural and linguistic diversity that characterized the lives of Aboriginal Australians in 1788, when the first permanent European settlements began to appear on the continent.
The nature of settlement.
Quantitative estimates of the aboriginal population in 1788 vary. The generally accepted figure is 350 thousand people, but some estimates raise this figure to 1-2 million. It seems likely that epidemics brought before 1788 by European sailors and traders from Indonesia wiped out a significant part of the indigenous population. It was distributed unevenly, being relatively dense along the fertile northern, eastern and south-eastern coastlines and the few perennial rivers, and sparse in those semi-arid and arid regions that cover three-quarters of Australia's land surface.
Each separate group led a semi-nomadic life within its traditional gathering area and remained primarily within the boundaries of its own territory, except during ceremonies and trade exchanges when different groups came together. Over time, the groups correspondingly moved away from each other, and this was manifested in language and customs. By 1788 there were about 500 various groups, each with its own language or dialect, with its own territory and its own characteristics social organization and customs. Such groups are usually called tribes, although they did not possess the hierarchical political unity associated with this term. Often consisting of several smaller divisions, the tribe was usually known under a single name. The center around which the life activities of each group took place was a water source or some place near it. It was considered the historical home of members of this group and animals of the area. The myths told how the ancestors and heroes of the group found this place, performed the most important rituals and feats, and died there. The historically indeterminate period in which these deeds are believed to have taken place is called the Dreaming Time by Aboriginal people and serves as a source of inspiration and self-identity for many contemporary Aboriginal people.
Obtaining food and tools.
Each Aboriginal group had its own stock of knowledge regarding the sources, methods of obtaining and preparing food. In addition to the taboos observed by some groups on certain types of food, the majority enjoyed a mixed and relatively rich diet of plant and animal products, the composition of which varied depending on the time of year and local environmental conditions. Nutritional and healing properties natural resources were well known and there were certain ways of using them. A deep knowledge of their regional resources allowed the Aboriginal people to survive in environmental conditions that European settlers considered extremely harsh or uninhabitable.
All Aboriginal products were of natural origin, and different groups exchanged with each other to obtain raw materials from remote areas. The technology for making stone tools was complex. The set of stone tools included axes, knives, chisels, drills and scrapers. The natives used wood to make spears, spear throwers, boomerangs, throwing sticks, clubs, shields, digging sticks, dishes, fire sticks, canoes, musical instruments and various ceremonial objects. Thread twisted from plant fibers, animal hair and human hair was used to make ropes, nets and thread bags. Baskets and fish traps were made from bark fibers, reeds, palm leaves and grass. In cooler climates, processed animal skins were stitched together using bone needles to make cloaks and rugs. Made from shells fishing hooks And various decorations. Personal decorations consisted of wristbands and headbands; pendants, necklaces and bracelets made from shells, bones, teeth and claws of animals, woven and twisted fibers, as well as from tufts of feathers and fur.
As befits a semi-nomadic people, their tools and tools were considered the best if they were light. For example, stone tools evolved towards small forms, while larger ones were multi-purpose. Other functions of the boomerang were a digging stick, a club and musical instrument; the spear thrower could be used as a chisel if a flint was attached to the handle, or as a blade if its edge was sharpened.
Traditional social organization.
A local group usually consisted of several families occupying a specific territory (usually called an estate) which served as their base and which their ancestors had owned since the Dreaming Time. Although this land had great ritual and emotional significance, the group's activities were not limited to its borders. When she had to cross the territory of neighboring estates in order to obtain food, exchange or perform ceremonial actions, she observed the principles of reciprocity, property rights and the rules of good neighborly behavior.
The division of labor took place according to gender and age. Men hunted large animals, were warriors and guardians of law and religion. Women collected plant foods and small animals and raised children. Aboriginal groups were largely egalitarian with no chiefs or inherited status. However, their society was gerontocratic. As those who have accumulated the greatest knowledge about natural resources and religion, middle-aged or older men enjoyed the greatest authority and enjoyed the greatest prestige. Older women also had greater authority and prestige. Social organization was based on kinship. The kinship relationships of an individual were divided into several categories, the number of which could vary somewhat depending on the different regions, but the principle remained unchanged: any person distant in kinship by more than two degrees was usually included in a category called by name more than close relative. This statement is true for cases of both direct relatives (parents, grandchildren, children, etc.) and lateral relatives (brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.). The composition of these categories varied from one individual to another. Thus, the same category included the individual's mother, that mother's sisters, and her parallel cousins (daughters of women who were or were considered to be the sisters of that mother's mother). This individual called all of them “mother.” The situation was similar with the categories of father, son, mother's brother, sister's son and other close relatives.
The category of family relations between one person and another determined the mutual behavior of both persons in all cases of social and ritual actions from childhood to old age. Particularly important was the fact that, based on membership in these categories, marriage rules established the preference for intra-tribal marriages (usually between specific types of cousins), the permissibility of some marriages and the inadmissibility of others.
The tribal organization included totemic clans, membership in which was determined by descent. Many tribes were also divided into (marrying) halves; and some had a system of division into four or eight sections, which were like halves, had their own names, were exogamous and were not localized. Intersectional marriages and the origin of sections were determined by rules interconnected with marriage rules. As a consequence of exogamy, there was a constant division and reunification of groups as members of one group intermarried with members of neighboring groups, and their descendants in later generations moved back along the marriage line.
Totemism.
Aboriginal Australians lived in constant contact with nature and knew it well. Nature filled their entire mental world and artistic creativity, forming an integral part of their social system. The groups into which the Aborigines were organized, and especially the clans, were named after the species of animal - emu, kangaroo, eagle, iguana, etc. A particular type of animal served as a totem for the group, linking it to that Dreamtime when everything was still being created; the animal itself was considered related to the same “flesh” with the group. Marriage between two persons of the same totemic group was impossible, since, being of the same “flesh”, they would be too close; It was also not allowed to hurt, kill or eat one's own totem or flesh. Not only did the totem act as a fundamental spiritual and social guide, but it was also believed that it could actively intervene in a person's life, warning, for example, of dangers, giving strength in times of trial, or bringing news of the needs of loved ones.
All aboriginal tribes had secret and sacred totemic rituals, the central theme of which was the presentation of totemic animals and the reenactment of their mythical deeds. Myths record the actions of those creator beings and ancestors who, often in the form of totem animals, first came to the territory of the tribe, gave it shape, bequeathed to it its population of people, animals and plants and established the corresponding rituals, laws and sacred places. Membership in totemic groups was generally patrilineal. Members of such groups were supposed to preserve myths, care for sacred sites and symbols, and represent the creative deeds of ancestral heroes. It was believed that such an action ensured an increase in food sources at the appropriate time of year and ensured a safe and secure future for the group.
Initiation.
Knowledge of myth and ritual was considered so vital that it was guarded as a secret, to be revealed only to the initiated. All men had to go through, usually in their youth, a long period of strict discipline, various taboos and a number of rituals. Their fortitude and resilience were tested by being exposed to both psychological fear before what could happen to them if they violate the laws of the tribe, as well as such painful procedures as circumcision, scarring, pulling teeth and depilation. The central theme of many of these activities was ritual death and rebirth. A long period of initiation was followed by gradual admission to the secret and sacred knowledge of the group.
One of the important consequences of initiation for the young man was his full acceptance by the older members of the group - the keepers of myths and rituals. Their knowledge maintained continuity with the Dream Time, and the acceptance of this knowledge by the initiates ensured its transmission to future generations. Only gradually, as they reached middle age, did men come closer to fully comprehending the meaning of the Dreamtime and becoming worthy of positions of great religious significance. Moreover, such authority sanctified both social and moral authority. Thus, the basis of gerontocratic management of aboriginal society was religious faith.
Magic rituals, healers and healers.
In the Aboriginal understanding, the world of human events with its inevitable accidents, injuries, illnesses and premature death is shaped by magical rites. Such events were not considered natural or spontaneous, but were attributed to the action of witchcraft, as a result of which attempts were made to identify and punish the sorcerer. In the sum of the secret knowledge of each group there were chants-plots with the desire to harm or kill, as well as such, for example, rituals as “pointing with a bone”, intended to harm a specific victim.
In some cases, a "witch doctor", an experienced expert in magical rites, could heal by removing a bone or other harmful object, disease-causing. If the sufferer died, he would search to determine the group or person responsible, and often succeed in finding a solution acceptable to the group. In addition to practitioners of magical rituals, there were also people who treated diseases with the help of traditional aborigines. medicines from natural substances.
Art, music, dance.
Art, music and dance were closely intertwined with social and religious life. Commonly known today as corroboree, the nightly performance of song and dance took place whenever several groups camped together. Men with painted bodies danced at a distinctly energetic pace. Women often formed a chorus on one side, but they also had their own dances. They usually sang in unison, but on the Arnhem Land Peninsula in the Northern Territory, where there were specialist songwriters, the canonical type of singing and even the fugue structure were developed.
The rhythm was beaten out by hitting special resonating sticks or tapping boomerangs against each other, or by clapping palms cupped on the hips or buttocks. The Aborigines had only one traditional wind instrument - the didgeridoo, which was a hollow piece of wood or bamboo approx. 1.2 or 1.5 m s internal diameter 3.8-5.0 cm. The note range of this instrument is limited, but it can be used to create complex patterns of tone and rhythm. In recent years, this instrument has been used in Western music to create special effects and is used by modern Aboriginal rock bands.
Much of the traditional music is secular, but sacred songs were performed on ceremonial occasions. Large song and dance cycles, often performed in connection with special events such as initiations and funeral rites, served as objects of exchange between groups and, ultimately, often took place far from their places of origin. These cycles still persist, especially in the northern regions, and recent years have seen a resurgence.
The range of visual art is wide. Stone and wood carvings, rock paintings, ground sculpture, body painting, elaborate headdresses and intricate carved and wooden figures are associated with totemic, initiation and funerary rituals. Weapons, utensils and jewelry are carved and painted, and the corresponding patterns are often associated with the theme of the Dreaming Time.
Regional cultures.
Despite the vastness of distances and the diversity of regional conditions of its spread, aboriginal culture was uniform in its essence. Variations in kinship systems and social culture shared a common theme, as did variations in language. (All known languages and dialects belong to one of two major language families, neither of which appears related to other languages of the world.)
However, regional cultures can be divided into large groups based on their mythology and ritual life. The eastern third of the continent is characterized by belief in celestial culture heroes, polished stone axes associated with these culture heroes, tooth extraction as a major initiation operation, and the preservation of corpses throughout the mourning period.
The remaining two-thirds of the continent saw a fan-shaped expansion from the northwest of the rite of circumcision as an important part of initiation. Likewise, the funerary custom of placing the corpse on a platform (in the branches of trees followed by ritual burial of the bones) is widespread in the northwest direction over a large area of the western third of the continent; Moreover, the mythology of this region focuses on totemic heroes whose path ended in the earth rather than in the sky.
Arnhem Land's myths and rituals feature a unique theme of the mother of fertility. The role of the hero, usually represented in human form, was more often played by the mother than by the male hero; it was she who led groups of her men and women or brought the spirits who preceded them to their respective tribal lands and, with the help of her rites, called into life all natural views Living creatures. The variety of great rituals in this region (some of them dedicated to the themes of death and rebirth of plants) is amazing in its richness.
Aborigines after 1788.
The settlement of Australia by Europeans, which began in 1788, caused radical changes in the economic, social and religious life of the aborigines. The countryside became occupied by cities, farms and mining. The process of colonization was in many cases violent. The Aborigines resisted the encroachments of the settlers by usually resorting (and this was most practical for a society built on the basis of small autonomous local groups) to the practice of guerrilla attacks on remote farms of the settlers. In some areas this resistance continued for many years, but was eventually broken due to both the numerical superiority of the settlers and the superiority of firearms over the spear. The number of deaths during the border crossings across the continent is uncertain, but recent estimates put the figures at 20,000 Aboriginal people and 3,000 settlers.
Even more devastating than the carnage was disease. Smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, measles, influenza, and later leprosy, brought to Australia by settlers, sharply reduced the Aboriginal population. The remnants of many dispossessed tribes were forced to wander near settlements, relying on handouts of food and clothing and living in makeshift or temporary camps. Many natives became addicted to alcohol and tobacco. Despite the creation of reservations, which usually allocated unclaimed marginal lands, and the introduction of paternalistic “protective” legislation, the number of Aboriginal people continued to decline, reaching a level of 74 thousand people in 1933. Only in sparsely populated semi-arid regions did the aborigines manage to adapt their way of life to that of the sheep and other pastoralists who settled there. In many areas, sheep farming was actually possible only due to the availability of cheap Aboriginal labor. And only in the remote deserts and in the large reservation of Arnhem Land did the aboriginal culture survive until the mid-20th century, when the traditions of the aboriginal artistic creativity began to be revived and received a new direction.
Political power.
With the slow growth of the Aboriginal population, the Aboriginal Advancement movement began to develop. Its objectives were to provide Aboriginal peoples, including Torres Strait Islanders, with the full rights and privileges of citizenship. Until the late 1950s and early 1960s, various states denied them these rights, and government welfare authorities adopted assimilation as a goal to eliminate Aboriginal racial and cultural identity. In 1967, the country voted to change the constitution to give the federal government jurisdiction over Indigenous policies, and in 1973 the government created the Office of Aboriginal Affairs. This body sponsored and supported programs on housing, education, health, land ownership, business, and legal and administrative reform. The Authority was replaced in 1991 by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, which spent $900 million annually to support Aboriginal self-determination.
The search for better jobs, education and health care, coupled with the mechanization of farming and herding jobs that previously required Aboriginal labor, prompted many Aboriginal people to migrate to large cities. The collapse of the pearling industry, which in the past employed large numbers of Torres Strait residents, forced many of them to move to the mainland.
The highest concentrations of indigenous populations at the beginning of the 21st century were observed in major cities, often in low socioeconomic status suburbs such as the Sydney suburbs of Redfern and Mt Druitt. The state with the largest indigenous population is New South Wales (68,941 Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, or 1.2% of the total population). The next states with the largest indigenous population are Queensland (67,012, or 2.25%); Western Australia (40,002, or 2.52%); Northern Territory (38,337, or 21.88%); Victoria (16,570, or 0.39%); South Australia (16,020, or 1.14%); Tasmania (8683, or 1.92%); and Australian Capital Territory (1,768, or 0.63%).
As the Aboriginal political movement gained momentum, its focus became focused on certain key issues. The first of these was the land rights movement, which aims to return to specific communities the lands that once belonged to their ancestors. By 1991, a seventh of Australia's total landmass was owned by Aboriginal people. In 1992, the Supreme Court of Australia ruled in favor of a group seeking recognition of its customary title to land on Murray Island in the Torres Strait. Accepted in the so-called In the Mabo case (named after the plaintiff, Eddie Mabo), the decision refuted the legal premise that before its development by Europeans, the land of Australia belonged to no one. Another civil case involved the deaths of Indigenous people in police custody and prison. As a result of a number of such deaths between 1987 and 1991, a special commission examined 91 cases and found that they arose from historical prejudice and dispossession of Aboriginal people. The National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, created as a result of these decisions, was charged with developing a plan to establish harmonious relations between the indigenous and other peoples of Australia by 2001. However, separatist sentiment among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples has given rise to a movement for sovereignty for both peoples, and over the past few years each group has introduced its own flag.
The Aborigines of Australia are the oldest living culture on Earth. And one of the least studied. The English conquerors of Australia called the indigenous people "aboriginals", from the Latin "aborigene" - "from the beginning"
Photo by State Library of New South Wales Women have traditionally been involved in gathering. During migrations in search of food, women collected edible roots and shoots of plants, nuts, seeds, emu eggs, different kinds insects, larvae and put them in special wooden vessels that were worn on the head. In the evening, at the camp site, they prepared food from the food they found. The production of weapons and tools, as well as household items, was carried out by men. Australians made weapons, tools and most household items from stone, shells, bone, wood, plant fibers, skins, and human hair. Many types of weapons and tools resembled those that our distant ancestors, Stone Age hunters, made from stone and bone. For example, the “pirri” spearheads were made with jagged edges and were similar in the manufacturing method to the Early Neolithic ones. To prepare food they used the fire of a fire. The fire was started by rubbing two pieces of wood against each other. The work of extracting the spark took from half an hour to an hour. The food was not boiled; meat and fish were fried over direct fire or baked in coals, wrapped in leaves. An earthen oven was sometimes used to cook meat and plant products. The Australians lived in huts. Household utensils were not very diverse and were completely adapted to nomadic life. Loincloths made from plant fibers and skins were used as clothing. The scarcity of clothing of the aborigines was made up for by the abundance of jewelry made from various materials and differing in a variety of forms. Jewelry was mainly worn by men. Necklaces were made from beans, shells, reeds, and animal teeth. Mother-of-pearl pendants were decorated with complex geometric patterns. They were worn around the neck or forehead. Legs and arms were decorated with bracelets made of shells, tree bark, brightly colored bird feathers, and plant fibers. Much attention was paid to body painting. The coloring had aesthetic (to attract the attention of members of the opposite sex), hygienic (a thick layer of paint diluted with fat protected the skin), magical (an unusual combination of colors could frighten the enemy) and symbolic (a certain pattern made it possible to determine the social status of the owner) meanings. In Australian Aboriginal society, rites of passage from one age or social category to another, or initiations, have become widespread. The rite of age initiation marked the transition. Australian boys to the status of adult men. At the age of 9, boys were isolated from the life of the tribe and in special secluded places - sanctuaries - adult men subjected them to various tests of courage and endurance. Scars were made on the chest and back with sharp flint knives, which were then sprinkled with hot ash for hygienic purposes. After this procedure, the scars became voluminous and persisted. for the rest of my life. A stick was inserted into the nasal septum, the ears were pierced, and earrings made from bird bones were threaded into the holes. The Australian tribe was divided into clan groups, each of which had its own guardian spirit or "totem". Such a guardian spirit could have the appearance of some animal, plant, inanimate object or natural phenomenon: a snake, a frog, an ant, a kangaroo, a rainbow, etc. According to the mythological beliefs of Australians, the receptacles of totems or patron spirits - churingi- served specific items oval shape made of wood or flat stones of oblong shape. The elders of clan groups kept churingas in special sacred places, securely hidden from the eyes of the uninitiated.
The colonists who arrived in 1788 expelled the aborigines from their lands, which led to the death of some cultures and stratification in society. The British introduced diseases against which the local population had no immunity. Epidemics and alcohol finally finished them off. The armed resistance of the aborigines to the colonialists resulted in the extermination of the local population.
For a long time, the indigenous population of Australia lived on reserves - remote desert parts of the continent where outsiders were not allowed. Even in population censuses, Aborigines were not counted. On November 11, 1869, in the state of Victoria, for the first time in Australia, the “Aborigines Protection Act” () was adopted - legislative norms regulating the life of Aborigines. Only in 1967, as a result of a popular referendum, the indigenous people were recognized as citizens of the country and received the right to free movement.
Some tribes have preserved a way of life that is no different from the one they led for many millennia: in a daily battle with nature, an endless search for water and food.
The Australian Aboriginal language is unlike any other and includes six language groups and many dialects. Their speech is complemented by gestures. Most dialects still do not have their own written language.
A feature of Aboriginal culture is the unique designs on eucalyptus bark and sacred rocks. In hundreds of places in different parts of the continent - in caves, on steep cliffs, on individual stones - the ancestors of the aborigines have been imprinting their daily life. This includes hunting, dancing, ritual ceremonies, and ideas about the world around us.
more about Australia and its indigenous people
According to archaeological data, Australia was inhabited by humans approximately in the period 30-12 thousand years BC. According to anthropological characteristics, the Aborigines belong to the Australian branch of the Negro-Australoid race. Based on language, Australian Aborigines are divided into two large groups: southern and northern. Until the 19th century. The aborigines maintained a primitive communal system. The Australian Aborigines led a nomadic lifestyle and lived in tribal communities that were governed by a council of adult men. Australia's climate is harsh. A significant part of the continent is occupied by rocky desert, unsuitable for human life. But over thousands of years, the local population developed skills that allowed them to adapt to harsh natural conditions. Men traditionally hunted kangaroos, wallabies, couscous, possums, ostriches, emus, birds, turtles and snakes. They were experienced hunters, able to navigate among wildlife. A semi-wild dingo dog provided them with great help.
classic australoids - aborigines Australia.
Australian Aborigines pass on to their children the unique ability to find water in a lifeless rocky desert stretching for many hundreds of kilometers. A spear was used as a weapon when hunting mammals. The spear was sent to the target using a spear thrower, which increased the flight range and impact power. A spear thrown by hand flies 25-30 m, and with the help of a spear thrower it flies 100 - 150 m. For hunting birds they used boomerang. It was made from hard wood - iron, eucalyptus, acacia. The peculiarity of this type of weapon was that in flight it described a closed line, and without hitting the target, it returned to the feet of the one who threw it. The flight trajectory of this type of hunting weapon was determined by the presence of uneven blades and small helical roughness on its surface. Making a boomerang required skill and special craftsmanship. Shields were used as military equipment to protect against spear attacks.
Aborigines of Australia
Australian aborigines belong to the Australoid race, whose representatives are characterized by a massive protrusion of the facial part of the skull, dark skin, hair growth on the face and body, a wide nose, and wavy hair. The indigenous population of Australia is (as of 2001) 437 thousand people. Aborigines live in remote areas of Northern, North-Western, North-Eastern and Central Australia, some in cities.
Aboriginal languages
By the beginning of European colonization, the number of Australians was about 700 thousand people, united in about 500 tribes who spoke more than 260 languages.
Australian languages have a large number of dialects, which are very different from each other, mutual understanding between speakers of some of them is impossible. The autochthonous languages (that is, the languages of the indigenous population) of the Australian mainland do not have clear genetic connections with other languages. They can be divided into two main groups: the Pama-Nyunga languages (characteristic of the southern part of Australia), and non-Pama-Nyunga (the languages of the north and north-west).
Presumably, all languages of Australia are related and descended from a single proto-Australian language, but this hypothesis has not yet been proven in detail. Information about the languages of Tasmania is even more fragmentary. There were approximately nine communities there, each speaking its own language.
aboriginal with didjiridoo
Indigenous Australians were multilingual; the adult population knew at least three languages. Since the beginning of the colonization of the mainland by Europeans, new languages have developed - the so-called “pidgins”.
The Australian aborigines were characterized by polygynous marriage; the husband was most often older than his wife.
Life and culture of the aborigines
traditional aboriginal painting
Traditional activities of the Australian Aborigines were hunting, fishing and gathering, and among the people of the Torres Strait Islands - manual farming. Australians hunted animals and birds, fished, dug up roots and plant bulbs, collected berries, leaves, insect larvae, bird eggs, honey from bees and wasps, and caught mollusks and crustaceans. Australians had no pets, with the exception of the dingo.
All tools were made of stone, shells, bones and wood. Hunting weapons (spears), digging sticks and troughs for carrying plant food, sacks, bags, and ropes were used. The Aboriginal costume included woven belts, bracelets, and feather headdresses. The Aborigines did not use bows and arrows for hunting, nor did they use poison for spears.
At the same time, they knew poisonous plants, poured them into water bodies to poison fish, emus and other birds. Fire was made by rubbing two sticks against each other. Grain grinders were used to grind hard roots and grains, crack nuts, and crush animal bones. Roots, tubers, and seeds were soaked in water or baked in a fire. The snakes were rolled into a ring and baked in ashes. Small animals, birds, caterpillars and snails were fried on coals. Large game was cut into pieces and fried on hot stones.
The Aborigines led a semi-nomadic lifestyle. During long stops, huts were built from poles, branches, stones, and earth. Women were engaged in gathering, men hunted big game. Women shared the food they collected only within their families. A large animal brought by a man was divided among all members of the production group from several families, thus a wide circle of relatives received meat food. When food resources within a radius of 10-13 km from the site were depleted, the group moved to a new place.
Australian Aboriginal Beliefs
Australian Aboriginal flag
Aboriginal religion of Australia is associated with the ritual life of tribes and reflects totemic cults, initiation rites, inticium (magical reproduction of animals of their totem) and calendar rituals. Ideas about space are poorly developed. The most common myths explain the origin of natural objects - lakes, hills, trees, etc. In mythology, the “dream time” is distinguished, when mythical heroes completed their life cycle and brought people, animals, and plants to life. Then they turned into sacred objects - rocks, trees.
Mythical heroes are totemic ancestors, progenitors of a certain breed of animals or plants and, at the same time, of a certain human group; in totemic myths there are kangaroos, dogs, snakes, crabs, emus, and opossums. In myths, totemic ancestors introduce various customs and rituals, teach people to use a stone ax, and make fire. The northern tribes have the image of a matriarchal ancestor, symbolizing the fertile earth; the tribes of the southeast have the patriarchal universal father living in the sky.
Government policy towards Aboriginal people -
Colonization, accompanied by the extermination of Australians, their displacement into environmentally unfavorable areas, and epidemics, led to a decrease in their numbers - to 60 thousand in 1921. Since the 19th century Until the 1960s, the Australian government took half-breed children from Aboriginal families and sent them to assimilation camps. There they had to learn to live in white society. During this government campaign, approximately 50 thousand children were sent to assimilation camps. The situation of the Aborigines began to improve in the second half of the 20th century.
In 1967, the civil rights previously granted to Aboriginal people were legally enshrined. Since the late 1960s. A movement is developing for the revival of cultural identity and the acquisition of rights to traditional lands. Many states have enacted laws that provide reserve lands for the collective ownership of Australians under conditions of self-government, protecting their cultural heritage.
photograph from 1906
In 2010, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized to the indigenous people of Australia for the actions that white colonialists committed against the aborigines.
Official apology from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Currently, the rate of growth of the Aboriginal population exceeds the Australian average. Aborigines live in remote areas and often make up the majority of the population there. Thus, over 27% of the population of the Northern Territory are Aboriginal. However, their standard of living is below the Australian average. Few aborigines retain the way of life of their ancestors. Traditional hunting, fishing and gathering have been lost.
Aboriginal Australian stamp
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“The liberals were and remain the ideologists of the bourgeoisie, which cannot tolerate serfdom, but which is afraid of revolution, afraid of a mass movement capable of overthrowing the monarchy and destroying the power of the landowners. Liberals therefore limit themselves to the “struggle for reforms”, “struggle for rights”, i.e. division of power between serf owners and the bourgeoisie" Lenin, 1911.