The Music-Dance-Instruments of the Dreamtime

Prayers, songs, dances, music, story telling and offerings allow Aborigines to communicate with spiritual and Ancestor Beings through a variety of rituals.

Important rituals associated with the Dreaming of an individual or a group must be performed regularly. Through these rituals the Dreaming comes alive and is kept alive among the worshippers.

Aboriginal traditional music consists of haunting rhythmic singing supported by a limited number of instruments mainly percussive

A variety of instruments are utilised:

• Sticks, one, long and slightly flattened the other, more rounded is brought sharply and cleanly on to the first. The paired sticks can vary considerably in shape.
• Boomerang clapsticks, these provide a similar function as the sticks.
  Digeridoo
• Hand clapping and slapping various parts of the body are used by singers of both sexes, sometimes as a substitute for a pair of sticks.
• Set of percussion sticks, three or four wooden sticks of various length hit with a stick A percussion tube, a hollow log drum.
• Stick beaten on a shield or on another stick lying on the ground and the women’s bark bundle hit on the ground.
• Rasp,a notched stick or the side of a spear thrower is scraped by a second, smaller stick.
  Rattle: bunches of seed pods shaken in the hand.
• A single-headed hour glass shaped drum, whose head is made from lizard or goanna skin.
• Bull roarers flattish carved wood connected to a piece of twine and swung vigorously around in circles, various shapes and sizes create different sounds are also used for communication.

Making and playing a didgeridoo (didjeridu): When a branch of a tree, naturally hollow, is further hollowed out by termites. these branches were cut to a suitable length (approx. 1.5 metres), hollowing out both ends a little more and sometimes smoothing the mouthpiece with gum.

Blown with vibrating lips, the didgeridoo gives a fundamental note with a rich and complex harmonic series emanating in the haunting, mesmerising music of the dreamtime.

Constant air pressure is maintained by simultaneously blowing out through the mouth and breathing in through the nose, using the cheeks as a reservoir.

Corroboree the English version of the Aboriginal word Caribberie was first used by early European invaders to describe Aboriginal ceremonies that involved singing and dancing.

Dances often imitated animals or birds. Serious ritual, like those taught in initiation ceremonies or sacred dancing was quite distinct from light hearted camp dancing that men, women and children could share.

Everyone watched and performed the songs and dances and played the instruments from a young age. Songs and dances performed during the ceremonies passed on information about The Dreaming.

In some dances all participated, however others were reserved for a small few due to the sacred nature of dance.

Some music and dance is restricted to women or men only and there are others used by all or in combinations with men, women and children.

As a part of these dances, members of the language would paint particular designs on their bodies to indicate the type of ceremony being held and the language group and family group performing.

Special costumes were worn and special instruments were used for particular ceremonies.