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In Australia there are 1,5% Aboriginies. They came 40.000 years ago to that continent. The Aboriginies lived in more than 250 tribes which were made up in smaller groups which are called "clans" and spoke 300 different languagse and dialects but now there are only 50 left. The numbers of Aboriginies before the white men - European-came is not clear but experts think that there were ca. 300.000 - 1.000000 Aboriginies. There are now 18 millon people living in Australia and there are only 380.000 Aboriginies left. When the white men came they destroyed sacret things and took away their children and brought them to white familys. Many Aboriginies were so sad that they became alcoholics and used drugs. Now they live on farms and work.
The Dreamtime:
The Aboriginies believe that the first people lived during a period called the "dreamtime." These people were spirits who lived long before the tribes were formed. These spirits made all the natural wonders like: the sea, the stars, the sun, the rain, the fire,... The Aboriginies have no written language. So the culture has been told with art, music, dance and story telling. The histrory and the beliefs are told in narrative poetry which are called "Corrobees".
Music and Art
The Aboriginies' art can be found everywhere in Australia like on rocks, bark, of trees, cave walls, on boomerangs and on the famous music instruments, the digeridoos. They use colours from the earth like red, yellow, black and white. Aboriginies used their fingers as paintbrushes. They call their drawing "Playwork".
The Clothing:
Over most of the continent people have almost no clothing and do not need any. In the south where it is cooler they have fur cloaks made of opossums skin or other animals sewn together.
How they travel:
They travel by, boat, rafts or some other watercaft because they are nomads and need something to go fishing.
There are so many things which we could learn from the Aboriginies because they are so naturely friendly:
For their food the Aboriginies hunt animals with boomerangs and spears. The women gether fruits, nuts and yams. They know which plants to find for making medicine. Sometimes the women make bread. The Aboriginies would never kill an animal which is the last on a field or would take all the fruits of a tree. When they see a hurt or sick animal they would kill it to take it's fur and meat. That´s so because the Aboriginies protect the nature. When the rain is heavy, Aboriginies live in huts so that they can shelter several families at once. When the rain becomes lighter they make their houses on platforms so they can smoke out the mosquitoes.
Those were a few facts about the Aboriginies !
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