According to the 2001 census, Australia's Aboriginal population makes up only 2.7%. This is about half a million people, whereas in the 18th century, at the time of the British landing, there were more than five million natives. The colonial period is one of the most difficult for the aborigines of Australia in history, because during this time the tribes were mercilessly exterminated and persecuted. From the favorable conditions of the southern coast with a comfortable climate, the aborigines had to move to the arid desert areas in the north of the continent and in its central part.
Modern Australian Aboriginal lifestyle
Since 1967, when representatives of the Aboriginal people of Australia achieved equal rights with the white population of the country, the situation of the indigenous population began to improve. Many tribes, with government support, assimilated and moved to live in cities. Programs began to work to increase the birth rate and preserve the cultural heritage of the Aboriginal people. In 2007, a television channel for the indigenous population even began operating, although due to the wide variety of dialects of Australian languages, broadcasting is conducted in English.
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 in English, 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. Australian Aborigines 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 is 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 Aborigines are 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 a 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 by playing sticks 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 population of Australia! Means in their language "returning stick for throwing." 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.
The Australian Aborigines are considered to be perhaps the oldest living civilization on Earth. And at the same time, one of the most little-studied and understood. The English colonists who arrived in “Australia” (then called “New Holland”) in 1788 called its indigenous inhabitants “aboriginals,” borrowing this term from Latin: “ab origine” - “from the beginning.”
It has not yet been established exactly, and it is unlikely that it will ever be established exactly when and how the ancestors of modern aborigines got to this continent. But it is generally accepted that the indigenous people of Australia came here across the sea approximately 50,000 years ago from what is now Indonesia.
Before the arrival of Europeans in Australia, the Aborigines lived throughout Australia and numbered about 250 peoples with their own languages (which do not belong to any other language group), most of which are now “extinct”. The Aborigines led a primitive lifestyle (picked fruits, hunted birds and animals, fished, burned fires and lived in forests, deserts, savannas) for thousands of years until recently. At the same time, it cannot be said unequivocally that the Australian Aborigines were primitive people, since they had a kind of religion (beliefs, mythology of the “Dream Time”, ceremonies, traditions, initiations) and maintained their own cultural heritage (Aboriginal music, dances, rock paintings , petroglyphs). The Australian aborigines had certain concepts about astronomy, although the interpretation and names of stars and constellations did not at all coincide with European astronomy.
The most striking thing, perhaps, is how far the “progress” of aboriginal civilization lagged behind the European one, being located at a considerable distance from Europe and in special climatic conditions. This difference dates back perhaps tens of thousands of years. Some tribes maintained this way of life until the early 20th century on the remote islands of northern Australia, continuing to live in solitude with nature.
With the arrival of Europeans, the life and future of the Aboriginal people of Australia changed radically and irrevocably. In 1788, a dark streak began in the history of the original inhabitants of Australia. Most of the indigenous people of Australia initially greeted the newcomers from Europe peacefully and with interest, although some tribes greeted the colonists with hostility. During the first 2-3 years, about half (and in some cases more) of all Australian Aborigines who had contact with European newcomers died out from diseases and viruses unknown to them (introduced by Europeans), from which the indigenous people of Australia had no immunity. The most common diseases that killed the Aborigines were smallpox and measles.
In addition, the colonists killed the Aborigines, drove them from their ancestral lands, abused them, raped their women, poisoned them, forcibly resettled them, and forcibly took away their children. The government policy of forcibly removing children from Aboriginal families under the title “Assimilation of Aboriginal Australians” continued until 1970 (and in some places longer). These Aboriginal children, deprived of their own parents, are now called the "Stolen Generation". For much of the 20th century, Aboriginal Australians didn't even have citizenship until 1967.
Nowadays, the situation has begun to change for the better. Since 1998, 26 May in Australia has been celebrated as "Day of Regret" (or "Day of Asking Forgiveness") to the Australian Aborigines for all that they have had to endure and endure since January 26, 1788, when the English captain Arthur Philip founded the first British colony in Australia. For a long time, the Australian government refused to make a public apology to Aboriginal people for the injustices, genocide and deliberate policies to eradicate the Aboriginal race that were carried out during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, on 13 February 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made his first public apology to all Aboriginal Australians on behalf of the Australian Parliament. This was an important step in the "reconciliation" of the Aborigines with the rest of the Australian population. Although this apology was made in English and not translated into any of the Aboriginal languages, which a priori can be considered an injustice and humiliation of the Aboriginal people. Now the aborigines do not like to remember and talk about the topic of the “Stolen Generation”, which is “sick” for them.
Today, Aboriginal people live throughout Australia, although they are rarely seen in large cities. Most Aboriginal people now speak English and live in the central and northern territories of Australia. Alcohol and drug abuse is common among Aboriginal people, they have higher mortality and crime rates and very high unemployment rates, which again is partly “stimulated” by the state.
At the same time, there are outstanding personalities among the Australian aborigines: famous athletes, talented musicians, scientists, businessmen and politicians. Unfortunately, there are few of them. Usually the aborigines themselves prefer not to be called “aboriginals”, since they all belong to different nationalities (tribes) and do not like to be generalized by this term.
Where to see Aboriginal people in Australia? How to see Australian Aborigines? Where do Aboriginal people live in Australia?
Most Aboriginal Australians today live in the eastern and northern territories of Australia (New South Wales and Queensland), although they can be found in almost any city. The estimated number of Aboriginal people is about 520,000 people, i.e. 2.5% of Australia's population. Almost every city in Australia has an “Aboriginal culture center” where you can come into contact with this culture, and sometimes even meet an Aboriginal person.
In order not just to “look” at the Aborigines, but to learn more about them, understand them, and at least get a little acquainted with their culture, knowledge and history, I suggest you come to Australia and visit one (or perhaps more than one) of our individual excursions.
On our excursions, a Russian-speaking guide will tell you in detail about the past and present life of the Aborigines in Australia, about their mythology and knowledge, about their problems and culture. We know different places where we can show you real Australian Aborigines. On some of our excursions you will be able to see Aboriginal dances, hear music performed by Aboriginal people on traditional Aboriginal instruments (see Digiridoo), watch them throw boomerangs and spears while hunting, and just chat with real Australian Aboriginal people. Our Russian guides in Australia also know places where you can see authentic ancient Aboriginal rock paintings and petroglyphs (from 2000 to 20,000 years old), grindstones and firestones (not in a museum!), Aboriginal caves and ceremonial sites used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years.
You can see all this with your own eyes with me or our Russian-speaking guides in Australia and learn more about the aborigines of Australia.
Our excursions in Australia, where you can see real Aborigines, talk to them or see traces of their life (drawings, footprints, petroglyphs, Aboriginal places, caves):
Sydney:
- Excursion with a Russian guide to the North from Sydney to the Cooring Chase National Park - S5
- Sightseeing tour of Sydney with a private Russian guide in an individual car - S2 (full day)
- Blue Mountains and Australian Animal Park - tour with Russian guide - S4
- Travel to the capital of Australia - Canberra - tour with a Russian guide - S9
Melbourne:
- Full-day sightseeing tour with a Russian guide to the sights of Melbourne - M2
- Tour package of excursions from Melbourne with a Russian-speaking guide for 4 days -TPM4-5-8-2012
Cairns:
- Excursion to Kuranda by cable car with a Russian-speaking guide - CR07
- Excursion from Cairns with a Russian guide to Australian wildlife and the tropical Tablelands full day - 10 hours - CR08
- Multi-day Tour Package 3 days/2 nights with excursions and accommodation from Cairns with Russian speaking guide - TPCR01
Australian Aboriginal culture
Music
From time immemorial, Australian Aborigines have been able to make musical instruments. The most famous of them is the Digiridu - a pipe 1 to 2 meters long from a branch or trunk of a eucalyptus tree, eaten through the center by termites. It is very difficult to learn to play it: it requires a lot of practice and you need strong lungs. Good Aboriginal Digiridoo players can play it continuously for an hour (without stopping or pausing). When playing the Digirudu, the performer often diversifies the playing with guttural sounds or tongue to give an additional effect and imitates the sounds of animals and birds, because kookaburra (laughing kookaburra).
Dancing
Aborigines often imitate various indigenous animals of Australia in their dances, because... kangaroo, wallaby, emu, snake, imitating their gait and movements.
Many dances are similar to each other and are accompanied by playing the digiridoo and percussion sticks. Some dances are used by Aboriginal people only for certain purposes or times of the year, and there are ritual dances.
Aboriginal rock art and petroglyphs
There are approximately 50,000 sites throughout Australia where traces of Aboriginal art have been found (rock paintings or petroglyphs carved into stone, or hand and fingerprints made using ocher - dried ground clay with sandstone). However, in order to avoid vandalism, most of these places are kept secret and are not accessible to non-specialists. There are some places where you can still see Aboriginal rock art.
In order to see these drawings or petroglyphs and get acquainted with Aboriginal culture, we invite you to our Russian-language excursions with Russian guides in Australia. We know these places and are ready to show them to you on our excursions in Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns.
Boomerangs, shields and spears
Australian aborigines invented a unique type of weapon - the boomerang. The word boomerang comes from the Aboriginal word "Womurrang" or "Bowmarrang", which means "returning throwing stick" in the Aboriginal language of the Turuwal tribe. Boomerangs were mainly used for hunting birds, but were also used as weapons in conflicts with other tribes or for hunting large animals. In order for the boomerang to return, you must have skills: be able to throw it at a certain angle, hold it correctly, release it in time and take into account the wind. Also, a proper boomerang should have some cuts on its limbs, without which it will not be able to return.
The Aborigines also used a variety of throwing spears for hunting and conflict, and some can throw spears up to 100 meters to accurately hit a target the size of a coconut.
Shields were mostly narrow and were used for ceremonial purposes and dances, but could also be used to protect against attacks from other tribes.
If you want to see how to throw a boomerang or spear correctly, try to throw a boomerang yourself and get to know the Aboriginal culture better, we invite you to our Russian-language excursions with Russian guides in Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns.
Copyright 2012 Samoorai International
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 spoke 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 (polygyny), 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 and added them to 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 family. 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 location.
Aboriginal Australian 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 heaven.
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 Australians with collective ownership of reserve lands under self-government, protecting their cultural heritage.
photograph of 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 growth rate 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
Watch the video Aboriginal Australia:
“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.
Australian Aborigines, that is, the indigenous people of Australia, who now number about half a million people, live mostly in remote areas of the northern half of the continent. Until recently, the existence of the original peoples inhabiting Australia was under threat. With the beginning of European colonization, epidemics, displacement from their native lands and uncontrolled physical destruction came to their lands. The British, having come to new lands and considering the tribes living there to be the most primitive people, not far removed from the monkey, unceremoniously massacred them in entire villages. By 1921, their number had dropped to 60 thousand people, while by the time of the discovery of Australia by Europeans there were approximately 1 million people.
But in the 20th century, the Australian government became concerned about the problems of the indigenous population, reservations began to be created, government funds were allocated and donations were collected, so that, given the high birth rate, their numbers have now increased sharply.
Scientists distinguish Australian aborigines into a separate Australian branch of the Australoid race. In appearance, they are tall people with black wavy hair, large protruding brow ridges, large noses with wide nostrils and deep-set eyes. They are distinguished by very large teeth, an elongated skull shape with very thick skull bones, and extremely dark pigmentation of the skin and eyes. Among the Aborigines there are natural blondes, this is a mutation that has become established as a result of isolation. Initially, they were classified as a Negroid race, but later genetic studies proved their closeness to the Mongoloid race and the maximum distance of kinship with Negroids.
In their heyday, Australian Aborigines were gatherers, hunters and fishers. They were not engaged in agriculture or other productive activities, they did not have writing, laws, or social hierarchy. They did not build cities and large settlements, and did not engage in handicrafts. Australians lived in groups based on a common language and family ties. Only related Tasmanians had a more primitive cultural and material environment. The spiritual and religious side of life of the indigenous population was more developed. Hundreds of scattered tribes spoke their own languages or dialects, had rich oral traditions and an extensive mythology.
Indigenous Australians were grouped into approximately 400 ethnic groups and spoke several hundred dialects grouped into 26 language groups. The Aboriginal tribes of southern Australia developed a special sign language as an alternative form of communication with speakers of other languages. Sign language was also used in special cases where speech was taboo. The wealth of myths and legends of different tribes have much in common; common plot lines and heroes stand out. They developed their own system of understanding the world, in which, in addition to the real world around us, there is also a world of dreams where the spirits of ancestors live. These worlds meet in the sky and the movements of the Sun, Moon and stars can depend on the actions of ancestors or living people. The natives paid special attention to the starry sky and the movements occurring in it, but at the same time they did not use celestial objects either for navigation or for calendar readings. Structurally, society consisted of communities, led by elders and hereditary leaders. There were initiations - special rituals preceding the entry of young men and women into adulthood. Severe restrictions on marriage were based on a complex system of kinship. Funeral rites included cremation, which was invented in Australia earlier than anywhere else.
Unfortunately, the new Australians, white-skinned settlers, paid little attention to the indigenous population. Even when the era of hard labor development of the continent passed and scientists from Europe began to come to the cities, there was no special attitude towards the collection and analysis of materials about aspects of the life of indigenous peoples. Therefore, much knowledge about the culture and heritage of the Australian Aborigines is now irretrievably lost. Modern descendants of the aborigines have almost completely lost traditional means of livelihood, are focused on government and charitable assistance and preserve religious traditions. Aboriginal people were recognized as citizens of the state of Australia with corresponding rights and responsibilities only in 1967. Currently, in modern Australia, movements for the preservation of cultural identity are developing, lands are allocated for collective ownership for the protection of cultural heritage, National Aboriginal Television operates, and lessons are held in the study of Aboriginal languages. You can see firsthand how the aborigines live and get to know their culture better by visiting
