Category Archives: Cultures
Australian National Museum
National Museum of Australia * Lawson Crescent * Acton Peninsula, Canberra ACT 2601 * (02) 6208 5000 * One of Australia’s most brilliant and diverse museums is the National Museum of Australia in Canberra within the heart of the Australian … Continue reading
Boomerangs and Throwing Sticks
Australian National Museum, Canberra, ACT, Australia Boomerangs One of the popular icons of Australia, the “boomerange” is a throwing weapon with a curved shape used for hunting, battle, or sport. Most commonly made of wood or bone, some modern boomerangs … Continue reading
Ochre
Australian National Museum, Canberra, ACT, Australia Ochre A common denominator amongst indigenous cultures around the globe is the use of ochre in ritual magic, painting, and funerary customs. You can find this intriguing use amongst the Australian Aborigines, the Native … Continue reading
The Dreaming and Dreamtime
Australian National Museum, Canberra, ACT, Australia The Dreaming and “Dreamtime” As I take a career and life journey’s “Walkabout” around Australia and Europe during the Summer of 2011, during my visit to the Australian National Museum I really for the … Continue reading
Milky Way and the Crocodile Story
Australian National Museum, Canberra, ACT, Australia The Milky Way and Crocodile Story Upon wandering around the Australian National Museum in Canberra of the Australian Capital Territory, I discovered this fine bark painting. This unique Aboriginal folklore masterpiece consists of a … Continue reading
Pukamani Poles
Pukamani Poles The Australian Aborigine “Tiwi” people of the Bathurst and Melville Islands of the Northern Territories have symbollic material cultural artifacts littering their landscape similar to the use of headstones or grave markings in Western culture. These are called … Continue reading
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines The Aborigine are the Indigenous Australians or Original Inhabitants of the Great South Land. The term “Aboriginal” in English means “first or earliest known indigenous peoples”. The term “Aboriginal” is seen by some of the communities as insensitive … Continue reading
Kungkarangkalpa: Seven Sisters Tjukurpa Dreaming
Kungkarangkalpa: Seven Sisters Tjukurpa Dreaming “A Man pursues the seven sisters across many parts of Australia, trying to trick them into marriage with him. They create landforms as they travel and eventually flee into the sky to become the constellation … Continue reading
Kangaroo: Macropus sp.
Kangaroo Taxonomy: Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Marsupialia; Diprotodontia; Macropodidae; Macropus; Macropus and Osphranter Common Names: Kangaroo, gangurru, boomers, jacks, old men, bucks, does, flyers, jills, joeys, roos Localities: Native to Australia. Some relatives in New Guinea. Description: One of the unique … Continue reading
Walkabout
Walkabout A “Walkabout” comes from the Australian Aborigine “rite of passage” that young males undergo as a journey during adolescence to live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months. It is through this journey that the … Continue reading