Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands and the descendants of these peoples. Indigenous Australian currently together make up about 2.7% of Australia's population. These tribes include:
• Koori (or Koorie) in New South Wales and Victoria (Victorian Aboriginal people)
• Ngunnawal in the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding areas of New South Wales
• Murri in Queensland
• Murrdi Southwest and Central Queensland
• Noongar in southern Western Australia
• Yamatji in central Western Australia
• Wangai in the Western Australian Goldfields
• Nunga in southern South Australia
• Anangu in northern South Australia, and neighboring parts of Western Australia and Northern Territory
• Yapa in western central Northern Territory
• Yolngu in eastern Arnhem Land
• Tiwi on Tiwi Islands off Arnhem Land. They number around 2,500.
• Anindilyakwa on Groote Eylandt off Arnhem Land
• Palawah (or Pallawah) in Tasmania.
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| A didgeridoo |
The vibrant cultural life, is told through storytelling. Songs illustrating the Dreamtime and other tales of the land, and dances and diagrams drawn in the sand accompany oral tales.
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| Aboriginal Art |
Sculpture, bark and rock paintings, and baskets and bead work. Rock carvings and paintings are some of the aboriginal art and can be found in such places as Arnhem Land, Ubirr, and Nourlangie. Many aborigines earn a living through selling native artworks.
The didgeridoo, a wind instrument typically made from bamboo, is essential in aboriginal music, it extends about five feet and produces a low, vibrating hum. Aborigines use didgeridoos in formal ceremonies at such events as sunsets, circumcisions, and funerals.
