The locals of Australia are called. Daily life of Australian aborigines
The first inhabitants of the Australian continent were the Aborigines. They are also called native Bushmen. The peoples of Australia form an independent Australoid race. They occupy the mainland and nearby islands. Ethnographers distinguish two large groups. Representatives of one occupy continental lands. The descendants of another family live in an archipelago located in
aborigines
The peoples of Australia have a lot in common. Bushmen have dark skin, large features. With Europeans, they are related by growth. The islanders account for about two percent of the indigenous population. Not most of the inhabitants of the strait consider themselves Melanesians. The rest call themselves aborigines.
History reference
The ancestors of modern aborigines appeared on the mainland about fifty thousand years ago. Scientists believe that the first Australians arrived on the continent by sailing from Asia. Bushmen settled near water bodies with fresh water. They were collecting edible mushrooms, berries and fruits and were skilled fishermen and hunters.
As soon as the tribe grew, it was divided into several families. Young Bushmen moved away from their relatives in search of new places rich in living creatures. So the peoples of Australia spread throughout the continent. In the new lands, an unusual landscape and other climatic conditions. The tribes had to adapt to the inevitable changes. Their way of life changed, and after it their appearance.
One Bushmen got open savannahs. Others have occupied the territory of the mangrove forests. The third went to the swamps. The tribes inhabited deserts and coral shallows, water meadows and lake shores, subalpine foothills and tropical jungles.
resettlement
AT late XVII centuries, colonies of Europeans began to appear on the continent, which began to push the indigenous peoples of Australia. It is believed that at that time about four hundred thousand natives lived on the mainland. But this figure raises a lot of doubts. According to unofficial data, the number of Bushmen exceeded one million people. The decline in the local population was due to the epidemics that the Europeans brought with them. Unfamiliar diseases at times increased the mortality of the natives.
According to the descriptions compiled by the colonists, the indigenous inhabitants of Australia occupied territories located in the north and in the region of large rivers. They basically did not leave their territories, but during the days of trade exchange they met on neutral lands. In 1788 there were about five hundred large tribes. Each family spoke its own language.
Current position
At the moment, the number of aborigines is rapidly increasing. This is due to the high birth rate. In 1967, the indigenous people of Australia became full citizens, they were assigned all the rights listed in the constitution. Today, the state governments are introducing laws that secure the lands of the reservations to the Bushmen. They are self-governing.
A large number of natives speak the Yolngu Matha language. For them, local television broadcasts special channels that are aimed at representatives of national communities. In 2010, cycles of educational television programs were launched. The lessons are devoted to the study of the dialects of the peoples of Australia and Oceania. At the same time, the main broadcast is still conducted in English.
Outstanding representatives of the indigenous population are the performer Jessica Mauboy and actor David Gulpilil, writer David Yunaipon and painter Albert Namatjira, professional football player David Wirrpanda and television presenter Ernie Dingo.
Ethnographers distinguish the following types of national groups inhabiting the territory of the continent:
- barrinoid;
- Carpentarian;
- Murray.
barrinoid group
The tribes of this family live in the tropical thickets of the mainland and occupy the lion's share of the forests of Queensland. This type shares many features with the Melanesian group. The height of the natives is low, barely reaching 157 centimeters. Representatives of the barrinoid type are distinguished by very dark, swarthy skin. They have brown eyes and black curly hair. Beard and mustache grow poorly. The nose of the natives has a concave shape. The teeth of representatives of this group are small and rare, but some natives suffer from macrodontia.
Natives of these tribes can be found today in major cities of Australia and on reservations. Barrinoids have comparatively large heads with a minimum width of the frontal zone. The eyebrows are poorly developed, and the face itself is narrow and elongated. The cheekbones are not sufficiently pronounced.
Carpentarian group
Representatives of this type are common in the northern part of the mainland. Aborigines are distinguished by rich and almost black skin color. They are tall and lean in build. The descendants of this family are rare. They choose quiet and secluded places in the Arnhem Land area and on the lands of Cape York.
The forehead of the Carpentarians has a medium slope. But the eyebrows are strongly pronounced. They are powerful and sometimes merge into a single roller. Aborigines have large teeth. The hair is usually wavy. The hairline on the body and face of the Bushmen is medium. Ethnographers divide the Carpentarian group into two families. The Aboriginal people living in the Arnhem Land area are different from their relatives who have occupied Cape York. The first are tall and stately, the second are more like the Papuans. In the blood of the tribes occupying the Cape York Peninsula, there are admixtures of families belonging to the Murray and Barrinoid types.
Murray group
Scientists are still arguing which peoples inhabit Australia. This question raises many doubts. The life and history of the tribes have not been sufficiently studied. This is due to the disunity of families, many of which are still isolated from civilized society. As for the Murray type, people belonging to this group occupy lands in the south of the continent.
They are distinguished by a relatively light skin tone. There are natives with straight hair. Curly curls are observed in those groups that live in the vicinity. This is explained by the admixture of Tasmanian blood. They actively grow mustaches and beards. Them appearance closest to the appearance of a European.
The Bushmen have a broad forehead and a large head. The bridge of the nose is characterized by a straight profile. Aborigines have very large teeth. All Murrays are carriers of macrodontia. The slope of the forehead is maximum for Australian Aborigines.
The lower jaw is wide, the development of the brow is not as expressive as in the Carpentarians. The face is high and oblong. The height of the average Murray is 160 centimeters. Since there is not enough anthropological information, the description of the ethnic composition of Australia cannot be called exhaustive.
central region
Australians of English descent are rare visitors to this part of the continent these days. This is the least explored area. It is still inhabited by Aboriginal tribes, which have not yet been assigned to any type. Bushman skull of medium length. The forehead is narrow and high. The face cannot be called round or wide. But the nose is massive. A distinctive feature of the representatives of these tribes is the birth of blond children.
Over time, their curls become darker in color, but among women there are blondes. Men have high growth, developed chest, strong physique.
West
The appearance of the natives living in the west of the continent is somewhat different from the appearance of their neighbors. They have an elongated skull, a narrow face with a strong superciliary relief. The nose is set low, which visually makes the shape of the face appear wider.
Oceania
The peoples inhabiting the Australian part of the island archipelago are represented by Melanesians and Papuans. The former are distinguished by dark skin color. The tribes use different language dialects and are highly divided. Most Melanesians are engaged in agriculture. But there are those who travel the sea. They plow the ocean, moving away from their native shores for vast distances.
The vast majority of the inhabitants are converted to the Catholic and Protestant faith. This is the result of the long work of Christian priests who arrived in Oceania along with the colonists.
Papuans sailed to the shores of Australia from Asia. The migration took place about forty-five thousand years ago. This ethnic group consists of several hundred tribes. The Papuans are engaged in gardening, sometimes they are engaged in fishing. Their clothing tells about the belonging of aborigines to a certain type.
As such, there are no leaders among the Papuan tribes. All issues are resolved by adult men who have a high position in the group.
The Yolngu tribe of Australian aborigines do not allow "strangers" to enter the territory of their reservation. You can get there only by special invitation. One of those who succeeded was Reuters photographer David Gray. He observed the life of indigenous Australians and accompanied them during the famous crocodile hunt. Everyday life Australian Aborigines through the lens of David Gray.
20 PHOTOS
1. The Yolngu are the indigenous people of Australia and the oldest traditional people on the continent. You can meet them mainly on the territory of Arnhem Land - a peninsula located in the north of the country between the Timor and Arafut Seas and the Gulf of Carpentaria. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
2. On the peninsula is the largest Aboriginal reservation, which was established in 1931. Its area is about 97 thousand square kilometers and 16 thousand people live on it. Access to the territory of the reservation for "foreign", non-indigenous residents is limited, you can enter only if you have a special permit. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
3. The name of the indigenous peoples of Australia in Latin means "those who have been here since the beginning." It is believed that the natives arrived on the continent about 40-60 thousand years ago. They traveled for a long time in Africa and Asia and reached the territory of today's Indonesia and New Guinea. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
4. Aborigines led a nomadic lifestyle, hunted kangaroos and other animals, supplementing their diet with what they could gather in the forest. Because of this, the indigenous people of Australia are considered among the most skilled hunters in the world, for example, they know many ways to hunt wild boar. In 1770, there were over 500 Aboriginal tribes in Australia. Currently, the number of indigenous people is just over 200 thousand people who live mainly in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
5. One of the traditions of the indigenous population of Australia is hunting for crocodiles. Currently, the inhabitants of Arnhem Land have the right to kill reptiles only for their own needs. Selling them is prohibited. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
6. Children help their parents hunt these amphibious reptiles, they are better than adults at finding them in marshy areas. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
7. The heaviest part of crocodiles is their thick, scaly hide. Therefore, the natives butcher them right where they caught them, and only bring meat to their village. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
8. Nothing that can be used as food can be lost from the natives. Therefore, indigenous Australians take the insides of dead reptiles (intestines) with them to the village, wrapping them, for example, in large leaves. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
9. Aborigines hunt not only crocodiles. They also consider lizards from the monitor lizard family to be a delicacy. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
10. Indigenous people still hunt buffalo, whose meat is one of the ingredients of their traditional cuisine. In the photo: natives carry the cut off leg of a shot buffalo into the car. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
11. Aboriginal people in Australia had a hard life: for many years they died from disease, hunger and conflict with white settlers. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
12. The government did not help the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland, but rather the opposite. Until the mid-1960s, the authorities tried to assimilate them by force. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
13. Aborigines, in accordance with local laws, were not originally even considered people: they did not have civil rights, because, according to legislators, they did not have a “higher consciousness”. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
14. In order to assimilate the indigenous population of Australia, by decision of the government, children were taken from their parents and placed in special institutions or given up for the upbringing of white families. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
15. It is estimated that between 1910 and 1970, about 100,000 children were selected, who very often were subjected to violence and persecution in the new "houses". (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
16. It was only in 2008 that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd publicly apologized for decades of persecution and inhumane treatment of the indigenous people of Australia during his speech in Parliament. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
17. Not all politicians, however, were of the same opinion as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Tony Abbott, for example, believes that many children were "rescued while others received help, and therefore the history of our country must be faithfully reflected." (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
18. Two hunters from the Yolngu tribe - Norman Daymirringu and James Gengi - brought prey to the village. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
19. Robert Gaykamangu, one of the Yolngu tribe, was photographed in the swampy area while hunting waterfowl. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
20. Yolngu hunters return from a successful hunt. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
The Australian Aborigines are one of the oldest and most distinct racial groups. It was the isolation of the natives of the Green Continent, also called the Australian Bushmen, that caused them to retain their unique, different appearance.
According to geneticists, confirmed by DNA analysis, the indigenous population of Australia remained isolated for at least 50 thousand years. Research has provided evidence of its continuity for at least 2,500 generations.
General information
The Australian Aborigines, whose photos are presented in the article, belong to a separate, Australian branch of the equatorial (Australian-Negroid) race. According to scientists, this is one of the oldest cultures in the world. The settlement of the mainland, according to scientific data, occurred within 75 - 50 thousand years ago. The Australian Aborigines are the descendants of the first modern humans who migrated here from Africa. They have many features in common: well-developed body muscles, dark hair (usually wavy), a wide nose, and a prominent lower face. But among the natives, there are three separate types. Their representatives, with all the external similarities, are noticeably different from each other.
barrinean type
According to scientists, it was the Barrineans who first set foot on the shores of the mainland. They differ from the other two types in their small growth - the result of the so-called reduction. The area of settlement is mainly North Queensland.
Murray type
Representatives of this type of Australoid race are visually distinguished by darker skin and developed hairline. They mainly live in open spaces (steppes) of Southern and Western and the coast of Eastern Australia. According to one of the theories of the settlement of the mainland, called trihybrid, they moved to Australia in the second wave - from the African continent.
Carpentarian type
It is predominantly distributed in the north and in the central part of the continent. Its representatives have even darker skin than the Murrays, and one of the highest average heights in the world. The hairline on the face and body is poorly developed. It is believed that this type of aborigines developed due to the third wave of settlement in Australia.
At the time of the appearance on the continent of the first colonizers from Europe, there were at least 500 Australian Aborigine tribes. The total population, according to various sources, was from 300 thousand to one million people.
Lifestyle
Of course, most of the natives of the mainland joined the achievements of civilization. However, many, nevertheless, did not change the ancient habits. So, in the central part of the mainland, where at least 17% of the total indigenous population of the country currently lives, there are no large cities and towns. The largest settlement here has 2.5 thousand people. There are no schools (children are taught by radio) and medical institutions. It is worth noting that in total, medical assistance to the indigenous population of Australia has been provided for less than a hundred years - only since 1928.
The basis of the diet of the natives, leading a primitive way of life, like thousands of years ago, is the fruits of hunting and gathering - roots, rare plants, wild animals, lizards, and in coastal areas - fish and other seafood. They process the found cereals and roast cakes from them on coals. Still, many centuries later, most of the day in remote communities is spent foraging. If necessary, insect larvae are also used.
The boomerang, the most famous weapon of the Australian Aborigines, is still used by them for hunting. According to ancient beliefs, only a true warrior, brave at heart, could master the possession of a boomerang. This is really not easy, given that the speed of a launched weapon can reach 80 kilometers per hour.
Consequences of colonization
The development of Australian lands by Europeans, as in most cases, was accompanied by forced assimilation or even the destruction of the indigenous population. Aborigines of Australia, driven from their lands to specially created reservations, suffered from hunger and epidemics. Until the early 1970s, it was legal to forcibly remove indigenous children from their families in order to make them servants and farm workers. As a result of this policy, the number of aborigines in the early 90s of the twentieth century was only 250 thousand people (only 1.5% of the total population).
Aborigines achieved equal rights with other inhabitants of the country only in 1967. Their situation gradually began to improve, for which special programs were developed aimed at preserving cultural heritage and increased fertility. Separate tribes began to move to big cities and settle in them.
However, the consequences of colonization still make themselves felt. So, among the prisoners in Australian prisons, representatives of the indigenous population, with their small total number, make up about 30%. The average life expectancy of the natives is about 70-75, and the white population is about 80-85 years. They are six times more likely to commit suicide.
Aboriginal children continue to be discriminated against in schools on racial grounds. This was stated by about a quarter of those interviewed in the course of a national study on the life of the indigenous population. At the same time, the level of education among the Aborigines of Australia is below average. So, at least a third of the adult population cannot read and write, perform arithmetic operations. And in remote communities, located in areas densely populated by the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland, about 60% of children do not have access to school.
Australian Aboriginal language
History has preserved evidence that by the time travelers from Europe arrived on the mainland, at least 500 dialects existed here. Moreover, many of them differed from each other as seriously as the languages of peoples living in different parts of the world.
Currently, there are about 200 local dialects. Australia is a real paradise for linguists, because, according to them, the melody of the indigenous languages radically distinguishes them from any African, Asian or European. It is difficult to study the absence of writing in the vast majority of tribes, because many of them created only primitive signs to display the plots of ancient legends and elementary calculations (drawings, notches).
At the same time, almost all natives speak the official language of the country - English. With such a variety of dialects, this is the only option that allows Australian residents to communicate with each other without any problems. Even a special channel for Aboriginal people, launched in 2007 and designed to promote the cultural community of various tribes (Australian National Aboriginal Television), broadcasts in the language of Shakespeare. By the way, contrary to popular belief, the word "kangaroo" in the language of the Australian Aborigines does not mean "I do not understand." But more on that later.
- Probably, everyone knows the anecdote about how James Cook, having set foot on the coast of Australia, asked the locals what the name of the animal they saw was called. In response, he allegedly heard: “Kangaroo!”, Which means: “I don’t understand!”. However, this version has not been confirmed by modern linguistic studies. A similar word - "gangaroo", used in the language of one of the tribes of the Australian aborigines to refer to kangaroo, in translation means "big jumper".
- In one of the national parks on the east coast of the mainland, Australian aborigines willingly accept tourists. They are shown, among other things, the art of owning a boomerang, as well as teaching it to everyone. However, not everyone manages to master this difficult science.
- It turns out that Australia has its own Stonehenge. A stone structure of 100 boulders was discovered about halfway between Melbourne and Geelong, the second largest city in Victoria. As scientists have found out, the location of the stones in ancient times allowed local residents to determine the days of the solstice and equinox.
- 10% of the natives living in the Solomon Islands, which are located northeast of the mainland, have blond hair. The reason is a genetic mutation, which is about 1000 years old.
Finally
The article provided information about the indigenous population of the Australian continent. To date, a paradoxical situation has developed here, because on the territory of the state of Australia, which is industrialized, in which there is a rather high general level life, in parallel there is another world - people living almost the same as their very distant ancestors. This is a kind of window into the ancient world for everyone who wants to join the unique culture and understand how people lived on Earth tens of thousands of years ago.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
You can get acquainted with the way of life of the natives of Australia by going on an excursion to one of the reservations, where the indigenous population of the continent has preserved their usual way of life to this day.
How Australian Aborigines live
Australia demonstrates high rates of economic growth. However, it is in this country that numerous tribes still live, whose way of life and level of development have not changed since the Stone Age. The indigenous population of the continent does not know how to mine iron, does not know writing, the Australian aborigines do not have a calendar. These people do not use their usual modern man achievements. At the same time, it is the Australians who are the most ancient civilization on the planet.
Their culture is unique and original, it has nothing to do with the heritage of other countries, since the continent has been in complete isolation for a long time. At the moment, the indigenous population of the mainland stands out as an independent race - the Australoid. Each of the numerous local tribes of the Australian Aboriginals has its own language, which in terms of melody is not similar to any of the European, African or Asian dialects. There are more than two hundred dialects, and the vast majority of them exist only in oral form, because only a few tribes developed writing.
Australian aborigines
The period of the conquest of Australia
According to the 2001 census, Aboriginal Australians make up only 2.7%. This is about half a million people, while in the XVIII century, at the time of the landing of the British, there were more than five million natives. The colonial period is one of the most difficult for the Australian Aborigines in history, because at this time the tribes were mercilessly exterminated and persecuted. From the favorable conditions of the southern coast with a comfortable climate, the natives had to move to arid desert regions in the north of the continent and in its central part.
Modern Australian Aboriginal Lifestyle
Since 1967, when representatives of the Aborigines of Australia achieved equal rights with the white population of the country, the position of the indigenous population began to improve. Many tribes, with state support, assimilated and moved to live in cities. Programs to increase the birth rate and preserve the cultural heritage of the aborigines began to work. In 2007, a television channel for the indigenous population even began to operate, however, due to the wide variety of Australian languages, broadcasting is conducted in English.
Australian aborigines
A fairly large percentage of Australian Aborigines are currently involved in tourism. So, excursions to reservations are very popular among travelers - places where the indigenous population has retained their usual way of life. The natives also act as guides.
In addition, colorful performances with songs, dances and performance of ritual ceremonies are organized for tourists. Many Australians are engaged in the manufacture and sale of souvenirs - tools and hunting, knitted and wicker clothing, utensils. About ten thousand aborigines living in the northwest and in the center are still at the level of development in the Stone Age. Thanks to them, the unique culture of the local population of Australia is preserved.
*************************************************************************************************************************
Australian aborigines
Any navigator who moored to the shores of Australia found here the indigenous inhabitants of these lands - the aborigines, who were not very friendly to the newcomers. It is believed that Australia was discovered in 1606 by the Dutchman Willem Janszoon. Then other Dutch explored its shore (H. Brouwer, D. Hartog, A. Tasman and others), calling it New Holland. In the XVIII century, the eastern coast of Australia was explored by the brave English navigator James Cook. Then Matthew Flinders went around the entire mainland and proposed calling it Australia (from the Latin "australis" - southern). The local indigenous people were called aborigines. Wandering hunters and gatherers, they lived in a primitive communal system until the 19th century and used stone tools. The most famous tribes are: Kurnai, Narinieri, Kamilaroi (southeast); kabi, wakka (east); dieri, arabana, aranda, warramunga (center); nyol-nyol, cariera (northwest). According to the modern racial division, the Australian aborigines are classified as the Australoid race, common in Australia, South Asia (Veddas, Dravidians, Cuba, etc.) and Oceania. Indigenous Australoids are distinguished from other modern Australians by their dark skin, wide nose, thick lips, wavy hair, and their abundant growth on the face and body. In fact, anyone who has seen an Australian aborigine at least once in his life will never again confuse him, for example, with a black African.
Scientists are still arguing about the origin of the local natives. Some scientists believe that a person entered here about 50,000 years ago from Asia, and from that moment the indigenous population of these places began to form - the natives, who have been living without any changes for the past 40 thousand years. "Arrival from Asia" can be disputed, for example, by the earlier split of the Pangea pra-continent or the gradual separation of Africa, Australia and the eastern "piece" of Antarctica from each other. It is only indisputable that if the Europeans had not disturbed their primordial existence, then it could have continued in such a "conserved" and self-sufficient form indefinitely. However, in some places of this amazing continent it continues even now, and first of all in the deserted and magical Outback - the heart of aboriginal Australia.
Here is the famous sacred rock of Uluru - the main shrine of all the natives and one of the most mysterious places on the Australian continent. According to local concepts, Uluru is a door between the world of people and spirits. The natives are convinced that this huge red rock, 348 meters high, consisting of sandstone, appeared here even before the "Eternal Period of Dreams" (according to scientists: about 6 million years ago!) - the main cult concept of the local population. In fact, this is a rather loose translation. In different tribes in different dialects, the number of which in Australia reaches six thousand, this concept may sound differently: Ngarunggami, Dyuguba, Unzud, Bugari, Alderinga, and so on. They all mean the same thing though. This is something like a parallel non-material world of spirits and mythical ancestors, which has always existed and laid the foundations of human behavior. Everything on this earth is filled with spiritual power, and it is connected with a person into a single related-mythological knot. And the Uluru rock, otherwise Ayers Rock or simply Ayres (as the Europeans called it), occupies a key place in this system of the universe, being the door between the worlds. Next to it, the natives performed their rituals for centuries. And today their attitude towards Uluru has not changed at all. Not a single aborigine dares to climb to its top, as this is considered a terrible sacrilege, capable of incurring the wrath of spirits or ancestors on a person, from that very "Eternal Period of Dreams". Some mysterious cases of wicked tourists confirm that in many ways the natives are right. Uluru has a certain power beyond scientific understanding. Perhaps that is why the natives, possessing this higher knowledge, did not strive for progress. Everything that they needed for life was invented long ago by their ancestors and did not require any improvement. For hunting birds and kangaroos, their ancestors invented spears and boomerangs - the main and only technical discovery of the natives. Dealing with a boomerang, despite the apparent simplicity of its design, is not so easy. You can verify this from your own experience.
In the town of Tzhapukai on the east coast, not far from Cairns, the natives have created a kind of traditional park where every white can try his hand at handling the original weapons of the indigenous population and, of course, get to know their fantastic culture better.
For example, boomerangs are of two types: heavy - for hunting kangaroos and non-returning, and light - for hunting birds. It is the latter, having described an ingenious arc, that return to where they were thrown from. It is they who are of the greatest interest to the public, because, having described an ingenious arc, they return to where they were thrown from. In scientific terms, in order to accurately calculate the flight path, the boomerang must be thrown at an angle of thirty degrees to the momentary wind. Only then can you understand where it will fly. Otherwise, of course, he can return, but his flight will be completely unpredictable. Moreover, an inept throw may well lead to a blow to your own head when the boomerang returns. And since the speed of its flight can reach up to 80 km / h, the consequences of this blow can be very sad.
No less interesting are the aboriginal spears, which are thrown not just by holding the shaft, but using the principle of leverage. Additional acceleration is given to the spear using a special stick with a hook at the end. This hook, just, rests on the end of the spear.
In the Tjapukai park, you can see how the natives can easily make a fire with the help of friction. For them, this is a common thing, because for centuries they have been able to live where it is impossible to live, to get water where it would seem that it does not exist at all, and food in such conditions in which a white man would not last even a few days.
The natives also have their own means of communication and their own special musical instruments. For example, this is the balroer ratchet known to the whole world from the movie "Dundee, nicknamed Crocodile" - a small oval plate that makes chirring sounds when rotated, and didgeridoo, a special musical instrument that sometimes makes an indelible impression on an unprepared tourist. This is due to its special mesmerizing sound. And the sound of the didgeridoo is given by the material from which it is made - termite-eaten eucalyptus wood. The secret of playing the didgeridoo is in the material from which it is made, and in the special circular or continuous breathing of the performer. Although once one of the natives, in front of the eyes of surprised tourists, played a classical melody on a piece of ordinary water pipe. Thus, it turns out that an impressive piece of wood painted with ritual scenes is just a magnificent natural resonator, although it carries a symbolic meaning, and the whole secret is in a special circular or continuous breathing, which is impossible to master without long and hard training. Trained human lungs are the main tool. For centuries, all the ritual dances and rituals of the natives were accompanied by the magical sounds of the didgeridoo, which perfectly correspond to their totemic worldview. Its essence is that man is an integral part of Nature and has no fundamental differences from its other components.
Aborigines, indeed, have existed for centuries in harmony with nature. When Captain Cook landed on the coast of Australia, the number of natives reached half a million people. Today this figure is much less, about 1.5% of the total population of Australia. Acquaintance with the "benefits" of Western civilization was not in vain, having a detrimental effect on the gene pool of the indigenous inhabitants of this continent. For a long time they were not considered human at all. Surprisingly, but representatives of one of the most ancient and isolated civilizations of the planet received citizenship on their land only in 1967, and the right to self-government - in 1989. Naturally, without the intervention of modern civilization, the natives could continue to live for centuries as they have always lived. But the question is, is this antiquity so important, if tomorrow is no different from the same day, but only a thousand years ago? And is there any sense in such a miserable, almost animal life? We do not undertake to answer this question, especially since it sometimes arises not only in front of Australian aborigines.
In conclusion, it would not be superfluous to add that only the inhabitants of Australia could observe an amazing and incredibly fantastic sight in the sky for centuries: a huge Star Cloud in the constellation Sagittarius, which is the center of our galaxy - the Milky Way. Such a spectacle, at least once seen, will be remembered for a lifetime, and for those who saw it over the rock of Uluru, everything told about the millennia-old faith of the natives in its magical power and the "Eternal Period of Dreams" will become a strong and indisputable proof of the inextricable connection between man and space.
Source magazine "Around the world"
The material of the article gives students an idea about the indigenous population of Australia. Forms an idea of the ways of settlement of tribes. Indicates the negative aspects of the colonization of the continent by Europeans.
The Australian Aborigines are considered the oldest civilization on the planet. These tribes are also some of the least explored and least understood by mankind.
It is still not known exactly when and how the ancestors of the natives ended up on the mainland. It is only known that the indigenous population of Australia settled on these lands thanks to sea routes.
Rice. 1. Aborigines of Australia.
The indigenous people of Australia have led a predominantly primitive way of life for many thousands of years. However, it cannot be unequivocally stated that the inhabitants of the continent were absolutely primitive peoples. In favor of the fact that the natives were not primitive, the fact of the existence of their own religion testifies. They formed a system of beliefs, as well as mythology, which is called the "Time of Dreams".
The Indians of Australia had ideas about astronomy.
TOP 1 articlewho read along with this
A feature of the Australian Aboriginal civilization
It is assumed that the natives lagged behind Europe in their development by several tens of thousands of years. This backwardness is due to factors such as:
- remoteness from Europe;
- specific climatic conditions.
Some tribes retained their way of life until the beginning of the 20th century. Their settlements were located on the remote islands of the Australian north.
However, with the advent of the white man, the life of the Aborigines of Australia has changed dramatically.
Rice. 2. English colonist.
For 2-3 years of active conquest of the continent by Europeans, more than half of all Australian aborigines who came into contact with newcomers from Europe died out from diseases and viruses unknown to them. The reason is that the indigenous people of Australia lacked natural immunity.
- The most common ailments from which Aboriginal people suffered and died were:
- smallpox;
- measles.
Today things have changed for the better. Since May 26, 1998, Australia has been celebrating "Regret Day" in front of the Australian Aborigines for all they have had to endure.
For a long time, the Australian government did not express a desire to apologize to the Aborigines for the injustice and policy of destroying their race.
Rice. 3. Aboriginal with a boomerang.
The original inhabitants of the continent themselves prefer not to be called "natives". The reason is that they are all related to different tribes and are not happy when they are generalized by one term.
What have we learned?
It was possible to find out what explains the backwardness of the Australian tribes in comparison with the Europeans. Determine the factors that provoked the high mortality of the local population during the period of colonization. The cause of all the hardships and hardships that the indigenous population of the mainland had to face was revealed. What ended difficult times for the natives. What steps has the government taken to resolve the situation?
Topic quiz
Report Evaluation
Average rating: 4.1. Total ratings received: 187.