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Aboriginal Australians : The Indigenous People Of Australia Essay

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Introduction Aboriginal Australians are the indigenous people of Australia. They are one of the oldest existing cultures in the world and the first known inhabitants of Australia. The Aboriginal Australians are believed to be the first people to leave Africa “about 70,000 years ago” (“Migration to Australia”). The Aboriginals Australian community consists of unique characteristics of cultural expression, social structure, diversity, and have faced many contemporary challenges. Cultural Expressions The Aboriginal community was very expressive with their culture and still is to this day. They performed many different ceremonies and use music, dances, and body paint to express their symbolisms of the ceremonies. “There were songs for every occasion, some of which were expressed in special ceremonies” (“Australian Indigenous Cultural Heritage”). Some of the ceremonies included funeral ceremonies and initiations for young boys. One of the ceremonies that is performed most often is called Dreamtime. This ceremony is an expression of their religion. Dreamtime “is the way Aboriginal people explain life and how their world came into being” (“Introduction to Aboriginal Art”). It is what “determines their values and beliefs and their relationship with every living creature and every feature of the landscape” (“Introduction to Aboriginal Art”). The aboriginals believe in the Creation Period, which is “the time when the Ancestral Beings created landforms”, such as “creating lagoons or

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