The Kinship of Australian Aborigines

The Kinship of Australian Aborigines

Australian aborigines are native people of Australia who may have come from somewhere in Asia more than 40,000 years ago (answers.com, 2010). There have been noted to be about 500 language named groups of aboriginal Australians (answers.com, 2010). Existence of widespread social systems meant that people had to be multilingual to communicate, which meant the music and dance, kinship systems, art forms and ceremonies varied considerably between regions (Alice Springs, 2010). These groups had underlying similarities that brought them together for ceremonies and to intermarry. These similarities allowed the groups to share their myths and songs and trade goods that extended over vast areas (Alice Springs, 2010).

The Aboriginal people used the resources of the land with expertise. Their movements in search of food were not random but in response to seasonal availability of resources. The waterways, rivers, creeks, lakes, and waterholes supplied an abundance of fish and freshwater mussels.

Playing the traditional aboriginal musical instrum...

English: From frontpiece of Legendary Tales of the...

Albert Namatjira Gallery - Alice Springs Cultural ...

Game included ducks, snakes, lizards, kangaroos, emus and small mammals such as echidnas (aboriginalculture.com, 2010). The Aborigines were hunters and gatherers who participated in intergroup trading throughout the country (crystalinks.com, 2010). Plant foods provided a major part of their staple diet and included a wide variety of berries, seeds, roots, pods, fruits, bulbs and greens resulting in a well balanced diet.

In the early 21st century most facets of the aboriginal culture had been destroyed and they were thought to be about 400,000 strong (encyclopedia2.com, 2008). In Aborigines civilization, Dreamtime is crucial to their culture. Dreamtime is relevant to every aspect of their lives. Dreamtime is the period of creation when the continent was formed and transformed by a number of ancestral beings (aboriginalculture.com, 2010). These beings were larger than life and thought in human form could...