Facts About Aboriginals

Aboriginals are Australia’s original inhabitants. Due to modernisation, technology, and fast-paced life, Australians may have forgotten their indigenous counterparts. To give you a good rundown of interesting facts about originals below is a compilation of information that you or may not know about Aboriginals.

Facts about aboriginals

  • The flag of the Aboriginals was created in the 70s. The colour of their flag has different meanings:
  • Black to represent the Aboriginal people or community of Australia
  • Red is to represent the earth and the spiritual connection to the land
  • And yellow to represent the sun which gives life and protector
  • Before colonisation it was said that there were 250 Aboriginal languages spoken Australia, and because of colonisation, it went down almost to 50 – 75
  • There are traces that aboriginal inhabited 120 000 years back and cleared the land using fire
  • Early time of 19th century, aboriginals were not entitled to Social Security and removed from the census
  • Not until 1962, that aboriginals were given the opportunity to cast their votes in Commonwealth elections
  • Their culture is rich in knowledge, spiritual teachings, and cultural behaviour, including practical knowledge and skills necessary to survive
  • Aboriginals do not have their own written language. Hence the most important stories regarding the people’s culture are based on symbols or traditional icons and artwork, which work hand on hand with song or dance, recounted stories, to effectively pass valuable information and keep their culture
  • Their paintings are used for teaching purposes. Although interpretations vary depending on the audience, such as if audience are children stories are said in different form unlike speaking to elders
  • Artists before they can paint a certain story, they need to get permission first to do so, especially those that contain scared or secret information. They are also not allowed to paint a story that does not belong to their family
  • If you see a dotted painting from aboriginals, watch out as it has a secret message. They were worried that white man might be able to understand and see their private and sacred knowledge, hence using dot paintings to hide them
  • Aboriginals are hunter-gatherers, meaning, they need no go to the grocery to buy food, nor grow crops. They get their food by hunting wild food. They get plant foods like berries and nuts and trapped wild animals
  • As most people believe, a supreme being created the universe, Aboriginals have a different belief. They believed in Dreaming, not the dreaming that you know when you go to sleep. For them, Dreaming had a beginning yet no definite ending. They believe that it was mythical creatures made human life and developed laws on how one should act or behave. They celebrate Dreaming through Rituals that includes music and dancing
  • Regarding Artwork, the highest priced an Aboriginal created is 2.4 million dollars, a painting made by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Museums and galleries own their artworks
  • Indigenous Australian culture has been recorded the longest culture surviving the world

There are more to know about aboriginals, and it makes sense that you give time knowing and discovering them. They have contributed one way or the other to the present culture, believes, arts and the like.