Facts & Figures

Population
Aboriginal Australians and Torres Islander are the First People of Australia. In the 2006 Census Aboriginal and Torres Islander people made up 2,3% of the total Australian population—there were 455,031 Indigenous people and 19.855.288 Australians counted in the 2006 Census (27,4% of the Indigenous population lives today in the Northern territory).

Dreamtime
Dreamtime is the Aboriginal Australian equivalent of the big bang. The Dreamtime is the beginning of creation, the process of which is called "dreaming". However, dreaming is also the term used for an individual's or community's set of spiritual beliefs, which may be peculiar to respective Aboriginal countries. The Aboriginals believe that their ancestral spirits descended to the earth in all forms—which is to say these spirits formed the earth, the water, the sky, and all other organic and inorganic creations. The Spirits are omnipresent and the forms they have assumed will remain till they have accomplished their duty, and then they will move on to assume other semblances. These manifestations of the Spirits established relations with other entities, and it is often that the formation of hills, rivers, relationships between organisms and other phenomena have stories attached to them, which explain their nature to the people. The stories which are handed down from generation to generation form an essential part of a person's or community's "dreaming".



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Languages
It is estimated that before European contact, there were over 250 languages spoken in Aboriginal Australia, with over 600 dialects.

Food Resources & Vegetation
Aborigines had a wide range of food resources thatvaried over seasons—they hunted animals such as kangaroos, emus, possums, wild birds like ducks geese, pidgins, swans, but also seafood such as fish, crabs, shellfish and other types; these were hunted by the man. Woman collected fruits, nuts, tubers, seeds for bread, lizards, frogs and honey ants. In some areas of the continent up to 1000 plant spices were used for food. Aboriginals believe that everything is created by the ancestral spirits and that there are still strong totemic relationships between humans and animals—it was taboo for humans to eat their totem. Therefore, some clan groups are not allowed to eat certain animals while others can.

Clans & Tribes
Aborigines lived for ages in extended families or clan groups. These groups were defined by kinship according to the Aboriginal law. Each clan group within the tribe that spoke the same language was responsible for a part of the country that belonged to the tribe. In most Aboriginal tribes, there were 7 or 8 clans and each belonged to a kingroup or moiety. Members were only permitted to marry people of opposing kingroups regulated by the Aboriginal law—interclan, intertribal and tribal contacts were bound by strict protocols.

Customs & Traditions
Aboriginals lived in small family groups by hunting, fishing and gathering food. They belonged to the land as an integral part of it. This land was given to them in the dreamtime and there was no concept of buying, selling or conquering the land. Most tribes spend half of the day hunting and gathering. Water was a meter of life and death for the inland tribes—they knew where the water holes were, how to get water from trees and roots and they even knew where to dig for frogs that stored water under their skins. They made tools from wood, fish hooks and sewing needles from animal bones, nets and ropes from grasses and fibres and also knew how to make glue, mats, skirts and even fish poison. They were and still are the masters of the bush.

Gender Roles
In Aboriginal culture man and woman are equal, but have separate roles. Man hunt and provide meat for the family and woman gather the wild vegetables as well as fruits and look after the children. In some instances, women also hunt small animals that wander past the camp. The gender roles of the Aborigines are manifestations of the actions of ancestral beings that set an immutable eternal pattern. Both genders have their initiation and their secret ceremonies. Marriages are arranged before the children are born—they become promised to opposing kingroups by the elders and the woman within the boundaries of Aboriginal law. The girls marry as soon as they reach womanhood. Man can have more than one wife and all the wife's and children have to be treated equally.

Family Systems
The Aboriginal people live in family groups ranging from 15 to 30 people, called bands. They usually regard themselves as related to other groups in their geographical and linguistic region. Kinship systems are very important to the Aboriginals, because it determines how they behave towards each other. They have a sort of a mental map in their heads about who is related to who. The relationships are determined by “blood” (relatives) and marriage.

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Arts
Arts have an important role in Aboriginal culture. Big aboriginal groups used to come together to exchange many things, varying from boomerangs and didgeridoos to pearl shells. Artefacts could therefore travel great distances. Pearl shells from the Kimberley for example, have been traded all the way down to South Australia. However, they not only traded artefacts. On these big get-togethers they would also teach each other new ceremonial song verses or dances.
Aboriginal ceremonies usually consist of songs, mime and dancing. Young men for example, gather around to paint their bodies and mime stories of the dreamtime. In this ceremony they learn what it is to be Aboriginal men.
The didgeridoo is their most important musical instrument. They have songs for every occasion: for hunting, funerals, dreamtime stories, landscapes and even gossip!
Aboriginal rock art usually depicts daily life stories. It is often about surviving in their land. Painted rock art about fishing for example was used to teach the kids how to recognize particular fish and how to catch them.
Source: http://aboriginalart.com.au/