Saturday, October 3, 2009

Experience Aboriginal Australia

By Jennifer Schellington

As part of your trip to Australia, you must make sure you experience some Aboriginal Culture

Aboriginal (or Aborigine) means Indigenous to Australia. They were the sole inhabiters of Australia before it was occupied by the British and other Europeans

There were over 300,000 Aboriginals in Australia before the settlers arrived. With them, they brought Old World Diseases which simply wiped out thousands of Aboriginals. As well as this, they were not given any rights to the land which pushed them out.

Nowadays, Aborigines account for just 3% of the Australian population and many suffer from alcohol and poor health problems. But there are pockets within Australia where you can still see their old values and traditions which are very interesting indeed. There are certain places, such as Ayers Rock, that are very sacred to the Aboriginal community. These are key places to learn more about Aboriginal culture and beliefs.

Music and art are two key elements of the Aboriginal culture. The didgeridoo is one of the most well known instruments but is in fact only really used by those from the East of Australia. The clapping sticks are in fact more well known.

Aboriginal Rock art is the oldest form of Aboriginal Art in Australia. You can find them in sacred areas such as Kakadu National Park and Ayers Rock. The dot paintings are well known throughout the world and can be found all through Australia. They are very popular souvenirs for tourists.

Where To Experience Aboriginal Australia

Unfortunately there isn't room in this article to tell you about all the best places to learn about Aboriginal Culture. One of the best places is Arnhem Land This is in the top end of Australia not too far from Darwin. Remember that this area has distinct seasons so you can only really come here between May and October. Arnhem Land is one of the few places that still has Aboriginals living in their villages with their old traditions. Numbers of tourists are strictly limited to this area and so you are guaranteed a much more authentic experience. You will see dot painting and get a broad understanding of these wonderful people. This is an easy day trip to incorporate into your Darwin or Kakadu experience.

If you want to incorporate some Aborigine experience into the more visited areas try the blue mountains walkabout as part of your trip to Sydney. The Rocks Half Day Dreaming tour which is taken by an Aboriginal Elder, Margaret Campbell is also very good.

A trip to Australia just isn't complete without an understanding of this spiritual race.

About the Author:

0 comments:

Post a Comment