What does an aborigine look like? Australian aborigines. Geography, genes and languages
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AUSTRALIAN NATIVES, the indigenous population of the Australian mainland, including some coastal island groups. Represented by two indigenous peoples, one of which is the indigenous inhabitants of Australia, the other - the islanders of the Torres Strait. Having on average the same height as Europeans, this dark-skinned people are racially different from other peoples and are classified as Australoid. The Torres Strait Islanders occupy numerous small islands in the strait that separates Australia from New Guinea. They, like the peoples of New Guinea, are mostly of Melanesian origin. In the 1991 census, 228,709 people identified themselves as Aboriginal and 28,624 identified themselves as Torres Strait Islanders. Their share in the Australian population was 1.36% and 0.17%, respectively.
Origin.
The settlement of Australia by humans probably began 50 or 60 thousand years ago, although according to some hypotheses this period is extended up to 100 thousand years. Judging by the available evidence, the people who became aboriginal arrived in Australia from southeast Asia by rafts or canoes. However, the question of whether the resettlement process was relatively short in time or extended over millennia, and whether it was accidental or purposeful, still remains without a definite answer.
The original inhabitants were gatherers, hunters and fishermen who needed territories near permanent sources of fresh water. When the number of any group increased so much that food reserves within its territory were in danger of being exhausted, a new subgroup separated from it to settle in new lands; as a result, the entire territory of Australia was developed. As Aboriginal groups faced new environmental and climate conditions, their lifestyles in different parts of the continent adapted to local conditions. Conditions ranged from the savannah, rainforest, and mangrove swamps of the north; from the coral atolls of the northeast coast; and western deserts and to cold subalpine zones of the extreme southeast. Over time, there has also been a diversification of culture, leading to the kind of social, cultural and linguistic diversity that characterized the life of Aboriginal Australians in 1788, when the first permanent settlements of Europeans began to appear on the continent.
The nature of the settlement.
Quantitative estimates of the aboriginal population for 1788 differ among themselves. The generally accepted figure is 350 thousand people, but some estimates raise this figure to the level of 1-2 million. It seems likely that epidemics brought before 1788 by European sailors and merchants from Indonesia decimated a large part of the indigenous population. It was distributed unevenly, being relatively dense along the fertile northern, eastern and southeastern coastlines and the few perennial rivers, and rare in those semi-arid and arid regions that cover three-quarters of Australia's land surface.
Each individual group led a semi-nomadic life within its traditional gathering area and remained mostly within its own territory, except for ceremonial and commercial exchanges when different groups gathered together. Over time, there was, accordingly, a distancing of groups from each other, and this was manifested in language and customs. By 1788 there were about 500 different groups, each with its own language or dialect, with its own territory and its own characteristics. social organization and customs. Such groups are commonly referred to as tribes, although they did not have the hierarchical political unity associated with that term. Often consisting of several smaller divisions, the tribe was usually known under a single name. The center around which the life activity of each group took place was a source of water or some place not far from it. It was considered the historical home of the members of this group and the animals of the area. The myths told how the ancestors and heroes of the group found this place, performed the most important rituals and feats, and died there. The historically indeterminate period when these acts are believed to have taken place is called the Time of Dreams by the Aboriginal people, and it serves as a source of inspiration and self-identification for many modern Aboriginal people.
Obtaining food and tools.
Each Aboriginal group had its own store of knowledge regarding the sources, methods of obtaining and preparing food. In addition to the taboos observed by some groups on certain types of food, the majority enjoyed a mixed and relatively rich diet of plant and animal products, the composition of which varied depending on the season and local environmental conditions. The nutritional and healing properties of natural resources were well known, and there were certain ways to use them. A deep knowledge of their regional resources allowed the natives to survive in environmental conditions that European settlers considered extremely harsh or uninhabitable.
All Aboriginal products were of natural origin, and different groups exchanged with each other to obtain raw materials from remote areas. The technology for making stone tools was complex. The set of stone tools included axes, knives, chisels, drills and scrapers. Aborigines made spears, spear throwers, boomerangs, throwing sticks, clubs, shields, digging sticks, dishes, fire sticks, canoes, musical instruments and various ceremonial items from wood. Twisted from vegetable fiber, animal wool and human hair, the thread was used to make ropes, nets and thread bags. From the fibers of the bark, reeds, palm leaves and grass, baskets and fish traps were made. In cooler climates, processed animal skins were sewn together with bone needles to make cloaks and rugs. Fish hooks and various ornaments were made from shells. Personal adornments consisted of wristbands and headbands; pendants, neck necklaces and bracelets made from shells, bones, teeth and claws of animals, woven and twisted fibers, as well as tufts of feathers and fur.
As befits a semi-nomadic people, their tools and tools were considered the best if they were light. So, for example, stone tools evolved towards small forms, while larger ones were multi-purpose. Other functions of the boomerang were a digging stick, club and musical instrument; a spear thrower could be used as a chisel if a flint was attached to the handle, or as a blade if its edge was pointed.
traditional social organization.
A local group usually consisted of several families who occupied a certain territory (usually called an estate), which served as their base and which their ancestors had owned since the Time of Dreams. Although this land had great ritual and emotional significance, the life of the group was not limited to its borders. When she had to cross the territory of neighboring estates in order to obtain food, exchange or perform ceremonial actions, she observed the principles of reciprocity, property rights and the rules of good neighborly behavior.
The division of labor was based on gender and age. Men hunted large animals, were warriors and guardians of law and religion. Women collected plant food and small animals and raised children. Aboriginal groups were largely egalitarian with no chieftains and no inherited status. However, their society was gerontocratic. As those who have accumulated the most knowledge about natural resources and religion, middle-aged or older men enjoyed the most authority and had the most prestige. Older women also had great authority and prestige. Kinship was the basis of social organization. The family relations of an individual were divided into several categories, the number of which could vary somewhat in different regions, but the principle remained unchanged: any person more than two steps distant in relationship was usually included in the category called by the name of a closer relative. This statement is true for cases of both direct relatives (parents, grandchildren, children, etc.) and lateral ones (brothers, sisters, cousins, cousins, etc.). The composition of these categories varied from one individual to another. Thus, the mother of a given individual, sisters of this mother, and her parallel cousins (daughters of women who were or were considered to be sisters of the mother of this mother) were included in the same category. All of them this individual called "mother." The situation was similar with the categories of father, son, mother's brother, sister's son and other close relatives.
The category of kinship between one person and another determined the mutual behavior of both persons in all cases of social and ritual actions from childhood to old age. Particularly important was the fact that, on the basis of belonging to these categories, marriage rules established the preference for intra-tribal marriages (usually between specific types of cousins and cousins), the permissibility of some and the inadmissibility of other marriages.
The tribal organization included totemic clans, membership in which was determined by origin. Many tribes were also subdivided into (married) halves; and some had a system of division into four or eight sections, which were like halves, had their own names, were exogamous and were not localized. Intersectional marriages and the origin of sections were determined by rules interconnected with marriages. As a consequence of exogamy, there was a constant division and reunification of groups as members of one group intermarried with members of neighboring groups, and their descendants in later generations returned back through the marriage line.
Totemism.
Aboriginal Australians lived in constant contact with nature and knew it well. Nature filled their entire mental world and artistic creativity, being an integral part of their social system. The groups into which the aborigines were organized, and especially the clans, were named according to the type of animal - emu, kangaroo, eagle, iguana, etc. A particular kind of animal served as the group's totem, linking it to that Dreamtime when everything was still being created; the animal itself was considered a relative of the same "flesh" with the group. Marriage between two persons of the same totemic group was impossible, since, being one "flesh", they would be too close; nor was it permitted to hurt, kill, or eat one's own totem or flesh. The totem not only acted as a fundamental spiritual and social landmark, but it was also believed that it could actively intervene in a person’s life, warning, for example, of dangers, giving strength in times of trial, or bringing news of the needs of loved ones.
All aboriginal tribes had secret and sacred totemic rituals, the central theme of which was the presentation of totemic animals and the reproduction of their mythical deeds. The myths record the actions of those creator beings and ancestors who, often in the form of totem animals, first came to the territory of the tribe, gave it shape, bequeathed to it its population of people, animals and plants and established the corresponding rituals, laws and sacred places. Membership in totemic groups was, as a rule, patrilineal. Members of such groups were supposed to preserve myths, take care of sacred places and symbols, and also represent the creative deeds of ancestral heroes. It was believed that such an action would ensure an increase in food sources at the appropriate time of the year and guarantee a safe and secure future for the group.
Initiation.
Knowledge of myths and rituals was considered so vital that it was guarded as a secret, open only to the initiates. All men had to go through, usually in their youth, a long period of strict discipline, various taboos, and a whole series of rituals. Their fortitude and resilience were tested both by the psychological fear of what might happen to them if they violated the tribal laws, and by such painful procedures as circumcision, scarring, tooth extraction and waxing. The central theme of many of these acts was ritual death and rebirth. A long period of initiation was followed by a gradual admission to the secret and sacred knowledge of the group.
One of the important for young man The consequence of initiation was its full acceptance by the senior members of the group - the keepers of myths and rituals. Their knowledge kept continuity with the Time of Dreams, and the acceptance of this knowledge by the initiates ensured their transmission to future generations. It was only gradually, as they reached middle age, that men approached the full realization of the significance of the Time of Dreams, and became worthy of occupying a position of great religious significance. Moreover, both public and moral authority was sanctified by such authority. Thus, religious faith served as the basis for the gerontocratic management of aboriginal society.
Magical rites, healers and healers.
In the understanding of the natives, the world of human events, with its inevitable accidents, injuries, illnesses and premature death, is shaped by magical rites. Such events were not considered natural or spontaneous, but were attributed to the action of witchcraft, as a result of which attempts were made to identify and punish the sorcerer. In the sum of the secret knowledge of each group, there were melodies-conspiracies with a wish to harm or kill, as well as, for example, rituals such as “pointing with the help of a bone”, intended to harm a specific victim.
In some cases, a "witch doctor", an experienced expert in magical rites, could heal by extracting a bone or other harmful object, disease-causing. If the sufferer died, he searched to determine the group or person responsible, and often succeeded in finding a solution acceptable to the group. Beyond practitioners magical rites there were also people who treated diseases with the help of traditional aboriginal medicines from natural substances.
Art, music, dance.
Art, music and dance were closely intertwined with social and religious life. Commonly known today as corroboree, the late-night song and dance performance took place every time several bands parked together. Men with painted bodies danced at a pronounced energetic pace. The women often formed a choir on one side, but they also had their own dances. They usually sang in unison, but on the Arnhem Land peninsula in the Northern Territory, where there were songwriters, both the canonical type of singing and even the fugue structure were developed.
The rhythm was beaten off by blows of special resonating sticks or by tapping boomerangs against each other, or by clapping palms folded into a boat on the hips or buttocks. The natives had only one traditional wind instrument - the didgeridoo, which is a hollow piece of wood or bamboo approx. 1.2 or 1.5 m with an internal diameter of 3.8-5.0 cm. The musical range of this instrument is limited, but it can be used to create complex patterns of tone and rhythm. In recent years, this instrument has been used in Western music for special effects and is used by contemporary Aboriginal rock bands.
Much of the traditional music is secular, but sacred songs were sung on ceremonial occasions. Large cycles of song and dance, often performed in connection with such special events as initiations and funeral rites, served as an object of exchange between groups and, ultimately, were often far from their places of origin. These cycles still persist, especially in the northern regions, and recent years have seen a resurgence.
Wide range of visual art. Stone and wood carvings, rock paintings, ground sculpture, body painting, elaborate headdresses, and intricate carvings and wooden figures are associated with totemic, initiatory, and funerary rituals. Weapons, utensils, and ornaments are carved and painted, often associated with Dreamtime themes.
regional cultures.
Despite the vastness of the distances and the variety of regional conditions for its distribution, the aboriginal culture was uniform in its essence. Variations in kinship and social culture had a common theme, as did variations in language. (All known languages and dialects belong to one of the two major language families, and neither seems to be related to other languages of the world.)
However, regional cultures can be subdivided into large groups based on their mythology and ritual life. The eastern third of the continent is characterized by the belief in celestial cultural heroes, the polished stone axes associated with these cultural heroes, the extraction of teeth as the main initiatory operation, and the preservation of corpses throughout the period of mourning.
In the remaining two-thirds of the continent, there is a fan-shaped spread from the northwest of the rite of circumcision as an important part of initiation. Similarly, the burial custom of placing the corpse on a scaffold (in the branches of trees, followed by ritual burial of the bones) is widespread in the direction from the northwest over a large area of the western third of the continent; while the mythology of this region is focused on totemic heroes, whose path ended in the earth rather than in the sky.
In the myths and rituals of Arnhem Land, the unique theme of the mother of fertility has developed significantly. The role of the hero, usually represented in human form, was more often played by the mother than by the male hero; it was she who led the groups of her men and women, or brought the spirits that preceded them to the respective tribal lands, and by means of her rites brought into being all natural species of living beings. The variety of great rituals in this region (some of them devoted to the themes of plant death and rebirth) is striking in its richness.
Aborigines after 1788.
The settlement of Australia by Europeans, which began in 1788, caused radical changes in the economic, social, and religious life of the aborigines. The countryside became occupied by cities, farms and mining. The process of colonization was in many cases violent. The Aborigines resisted settler encroachments by resorting, usually (and this was most practical in a society built on the basis of small autonomous local groups), to the practice of guerrilla attacks on remote settler farms. In some areas, this resistance continued for many years, but was eventually broken by both the numerical superiority of the settlers and the superiority of firearms over the spear. The death toll from crossing the border across the continent is uncertain, but recent estimates put the figures at 20,000 Aboriginal and 3,000 settlers.
Even more devastating than the carnage was disease. Smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, measles, influenza, and later leprosy brought to Australia by settlers drastically reduced the Aboriginal population. The remnants of many destitute tribes were forced to wander near the settlements, relying on handouts of food and clothing and living in makeshift or makeshift camps. Many natives are addicted to alcohol and tobacco. Despite the creation of reservations, which were usually assigned to unclaimed marginal lands, and the introduction of paternalistic "protective" legislation, the number of Aboriginal people continued to decline, reaching a level of 74 thousand people in 1933. Only in the sparsely populated semi-arid regions did the aborigines manage to adapt their way of life to the life of the sheep farmers and other pastoralists who settled there. In many areas, sheep breeding was actually possible only because of the availability of cheap work force aborigines. And only in the remote deserts and in the large reservation of Arnhem Land did aboriginal culture survive until the middle of the 20th century, when the traditions of aboriginal art began to revive and took on a new direction.
Political power.
With the slow growth of the number of aborigines, a movement began to develop for their civil rights(Aboriginal Advancement movement). Its goals were to give indigenous peoples, including the Torres Strait Islanders, full rights and privileges of citizenship. Until the late 1950s and early 1960s, various states denied them these rights, and government bodies social security took assimilation as the goal to eliminate the racial and cultural identity of the aborigines. In 1967, the country voted to change the constitution to provide the federal government with jurisdiction over Aboriginal policy, and in 1973 the government created the Office of Aboriginal Affairs. This body sponsored and supported programs in housing, education, health care, land ownership, business, and legal and administrative reform. In 1991, this Office was replaced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, which spent 900 million dollars annually to support the principle of Aboriginal self-determination.
The search for better jobs, education, and health conditions, together with the mechanization of those farming and shepherding jobs that previously required Aboriginal labor, prompted many Aboriginal people to migrate to the big cities. The collapse of the pearl industry, which in the past employed a large number of Torres Strait residents, forced many of them to move to the mainland.
The largest concentrations of indigenous people in the early 21st century were in major cities, often in low socioeconomic status suburbs such as the Sydney suburbs of Redfern and Mount Druitt. The state with the largest indigenous population is New South Wales (68,941 Aboriginal Australians and Torres Straiters, or 1.2% of the total population). The next most indigenous states are Queensland (67,012 or 2.25%); Western Australia (40,002 or 2.52%); Northern Territory (38,337 or 21.88%); Victoria (16,570 or 0.39%); South Australia (16,020 or 1.14%); Tasmania (8683 or 1.92%); and the Australian Capital Territory (1768, or 0.63%).
As the Aboriginal political movement gained momentum, its focus shifted to certain key issues. The first of these was the land rights movement, which aims to return to specific communities the lands that once belonged to their ancestors. By 1991, a seventh of the entire landmass of Australia turned out to be owned by the Aborigines. In 1992, the Supreme Court of Australia ruled in favor of a group seeking recognition of its traditional ownership of land on Murray Island in the Torres Strait. Adopted in the so-called. In the Mabo case (named after the plaintiff, Eddie Mabo), the decision refuted the legal premise that prior to its development by Europeans, the land of Australia did not belong to anyone. Another civil process involved the death of indigenous people in police stations and prison. As a result of a number of such deaths in 1987-1991, a special commission considered 91 cases and found that they arose against the backdrop of historical bias and cases of dispossession of Aboriginal people. The National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, formed as a result of these decisions, was given the task of developing a plan for the establishment by 2001 of harmonious relations between the indigenous and other peoples of Australia. However, separatist sentiments among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have given rise to a movement for the sovereignty of both peoples, and over the past few years, each of the groups has introduced its own flag.
In Australia, there has long been a debate about who is considered the original inhabitants: Australian Aborigines or the first settlers from Holland. The indigenous tribes of Australia are representatives of the most ancient and little-studied civilization on earth. Their way of life is so unique, and the history of the settlement of Australia is so mysterious that, until now, the natives of this continent are considered the descendants of the first inhabitants of the planet.
Aborigines of Australia. Who are they?
It is believed that the indigenous tribes of the Australian continent sailed there through the sea about 50 thousand years ago. The very word "aboriginal" began to be used in relation to the representatives of the tribes by the British, who, like the Dutch, set foot on the lands of Australia in order to gain a foothold on them forever.
An aboriginal is a native inhabitant of a territory, living in a communal-tribal system, and having preserved a primitive way of life.
Aborigines of Australia are considered the first navigators. After all, they were able to get to the new mainland by sea. If the Europeans had not set foot on new lands, the way of life of the natives would still remain unchanged.
Australia's largest tribal settlement is located in the arid Outback region. About 2500 people live there. Aborigines today teach their children with the help of radio, in the settlements, as before, there are no schools. Medicine came to the tribes only in 1928.
What do Australian Aborigines look like?
From the photo taken by Europeans, one can judge the appearance of the indigenous peoples of the mainland, as dark-skinned and dark-haired people, rather tall and thin.
The Solomon Islanders are dark-skinned people with blond hair and a wide nose. For a long time it was believed that the blond hair of the representatives of the tribes appeared due to ties with the first Europeans on the continent, but genetic analysis has refuted this assumption..
All indigenous peoples of Australia can be divided into three types:
- Tribes of the Barinean type with the darkest hair;
- Murray-type tribes of medium height with a lot of body hair;
- Northern tribes with tall stature and very dark skin.
Scientists think that in total the mainland was inhabited by aborigines three times: there were three waves of seafaring settlers.
Aboriginal dialects and languages of Australia
At the time of the arrival of the Dutch and the British, more than 500 different dialects existed on the mainland. Today, each tribal community has its own languages. They can be counted at least 200, and writing exists only among a few tribes.
It is known that at present almost all the indigenous peoples of Australia have mastered English language. Therefore, in 2007, a separate television channel was launched for them, where broadcasts are conducted exclusively in Shakespeare's native language.
Australian Aboriginal Traditions
Mount Uluru - for indigenous peoples is the door between the worlds. This place is considered sacred. Today, excursions to the red sandstone mountain are a popular pastime for tourists. In European language, the mountain, sacred to the tribes, is called Ayres, its age is impressive - the mountain is more than 6 million years old.
Representatives of indigenous tribes never climb the sacred mountain. Such an action for them is a terrible sacrilege. They perform rituals at the foot of the mountain. According to the natives, the spirits of ancestors live on this mountain formation, and the Gods descend there.
Local wars from different tribes with early years learn how to handle a boomerang. Ancient art only at first glance seems simple, but in reality it requires a certain skill.
Tribal music is played on primitive instruments. There is quite a bit of everyday music, mainly ritual songs and melodies are held in high esteem among the natives.
The discovery of the Australian Stonehenge confirmed the version that the natives have long been versed in astronomy. The construction accurately reflects the movement of some stars, as well as the days of the equinoxes.
If someone still has doubts about classifying the Aborigines as the indigenous inhabitants of Australia, then they should remember that the foot of the first European navigator set foot on the continent only in the 17th century.
Aborigines, wild tribes that once inhabited Australia are the indigenous inhabitants of this continent. Now they make up only 1% of the total population. Australian Aborigines settled the young continent 40-64 thousand years ago. Scientists believe that they arrived here from Asia. Prior to colonization, Australian Aborigines lived by gathering, fishing and hunting. These wild tribes did not know weaving, pottery, metalworking.
But on the other hand, they created a very deep and interesting system of mythology and related art. Australian Aboriginal works of art include mainly household utensils and religious objects.
The wild tribes of Australia, its indigenous inhabitants, in our time have received part of the territories as property. Tourists are not allowed to enter some areas. In their tribes, they lead an ancient primitive way of life, like their ancestors for many centuries in a row.
Modern Australian Aborigines.
The "time of dreams" in the mythology of the Australian Aborigines is the basis of all their traditional beliefs and worldviews. "Time of dreams" for them is the era when everything that was created appeared. The time when the earth appeared, all living beings, rain, wind, rivers ... Australian aborigines believe that in the spiritual aspect, as a continuation of life experience (transmigration of souls), and also referring to a special, innate feeling of unity with the earth, “Dream time ' continues today. Therefore, the expulsion of natives from the land of their ancestors for them is tantamount to expulsion from the "Time of Dreams", deprivation of the sacred connection with the ancestors, roots and faith in life. equates to spiritual death. It is no secret that magical rites are common among many peoples.
Tours to the giant monolithic rock are the most popular among travelers. Aborigines of Australia call it Uluru, white population- Ayers Rock. The Aboriginal name means a place that gives shade or a meeting place. At sunset, Uluru turns bright orange. Its outlines are reminiscent spaceship aliens. The height of Uluru reaches 350 meters, the length is up to 3 meters, and the width is a little more than 1.5 meters. It must be said that representatives of the Australian aborigines are sympathetic to the fact that annoying tourists, for some reason, are not only interested in their sacred rock, but they also strive to climb it. Recently, at the foot of Uluru, they even opened the Cultural Center and laid a track that goes around the rock.
Another popular tour among visiting tourists is the small town of Alice Springs in the McDonnell Mountains. Tourists who come here in September witness a very unusual regatta - Henley-on-Todd. Competitions are held between rowers in boats that do not have a bottom. Watching the participants of the regatta, hurrying to the finish line on boats without a bottom along a dry channel, you begin to look at many things in this amazing country in a new way and cease to be surprised at many things.
Modern Aborigines, short video for 5 minutes:
An interesting film about the life of the natives: "Tracks of the Hunter by the Hunter's Path". It turns out there are still natives keeping their traditions. I recommend to look. In short, white man and award-winning filmmaker Larry Gray embarks on a perilous journey through the Northern Territory of Australia. He travels barefoot and armed only with a spear. And most importantly, he learns to survive in the wild from his friend, aboriginal and hunter Peter Daetzhinga.
Another film about the culture and traditions of the indigenous people of Australia: ABORIGENIC DREAMTIME. From the Riddles of Antiquity cycle. (Ancient Mysteries. Aboriginal Dreamtime)
Survive at any cost. Kimberley - Australia. There are no natives in this film, but it is full of traces of them. From this film you can understand in what harsh conditions the natives had to survive.
And to finish off, a few more old black and white photographs.
They like to reproach Russia with the fact that it has seized vast territories, they call it the “prison of peoples”. However, if Russia is a “prison of peoples”, then the Western world can rightfully be called a “cemetery of peoples”. After all, the Western colonialists slaughtered, destroyed hundreds of large and small peoples, tribes all over the world, from Europe itself to America, Australia and New Zealand.
In 1770, the British expedition of James Cook on the ship Endeavor explored and mapped the east coast of Australia. In January 1788, Captain Arthur Philip founded the settlement of Sydney Cove, which later became the city of Sydney. This event was the beginning of the colony of New South Wales, and the day of Philip's landing (January 26) is celebrated as a national holiday - Australia Day. Although Australia itself was originally called New Holland.
First Fleet - the name given to the fleet of 11 sailing ships that sailed off the coast of Britain in order to establish the first European colony in New South Wales, brought mostly convicts. This fleet marked the beginning of both the transportation of prisoners from England to Australia, and the development and settlement of Australia. As the English historian Piers Brandon noted: “Initially, some efforts were made to select for the transport of convicts who had skills in various areas of English production. But this idea was abandoned because of the number of convicts. Behind bars on the Thames were so many wretched and destitute members of the human race that they threatened to turn the rotting prison blocks into plague barracks - both figuratively and literally. Most of the convicts sent with the First Flotilla were young laborers who had committed petty crimes (usually theft). Some from the category of "village" and an even smaller number of "townspeople" ... ".
It is worth noting that the British convicts were not hardened killers, such people were immediately executed in England, without further ado. So, for theft, the perpetrators were hanged from the age of 12. In England for a long time even vagabonds who were recaptured were executed. And after that, the Western press likes to recall the real and invented crimes of Ivan the Terrible, the Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire and Stalin's Gulag.
It is clear that such a contingent had to be managed by the appropriate person. Australia's first governor, Arthur Philip, was considered "a benevolent and generous man". He offered to hand over anyone deemed guilty of murder and sodomy to the New Zealand cannibals: "And let them eat him."
Thus, the natives of Australia were "lucky". Their neighbors were mostly British criminals, whom the Old World decided to get rid of. In addition, they were mostly young men without a corresponding number of women.
I must say that the British authorities sent prisoners not only to Australia. To unload prisons and earn hard currency (each person was worth money), the British sent convicts and the colonies of North America. Now the image of a black slave has taken root in the mass consciousness, but there were also many white slaves - criminals, rebels, those who were unlucky, for example, they fell into the hands of pirates. The planters paid well for delivering labor: between £10 and £25 per person, depending on qualifications and physical health. Thousands of white slaves were sent from England, Scotland and Ireland.
In 1801, French ships under the command of Admiral Nicolas Bodin explored the southern and western parts of Australia. After that, the British decided to proclaim their formal ownership of Tasmania and began to develop new settlements in Australia. Settlements also sprang up on the east and south coasts of the mainland. They then became the cities of Newcastle, Port Macquarie and Melbourne. The English traveler John Oxley explored the northeastern part of Australia in 1822, as a result of which a new settlement appeared in the Brisbane River area. The governor of New South Wales in 1826 created the settlement of Western Port on the southern coast of Australia and sent Major Lockyer to the King George Sound in the southwestern part of the mainland, where he founded a settlement, which was later called Albany, and announced the extension of the power of the British king to the entire mainland. The English settlement of Port Essington was founded at the extreme northern point of the continent.
Almost the entire population of the new settlement of England in Australia consisted of exiles. Their transportation from England every year was more and more active. From the moment the colony was founded and until the middle of the 19th century, 130-160 thousand convicts were transported to Australia. New lands were actively explored.
Where did the indigenous people of Australia and Tasmania go? By 1788, the indigenous population of Australia, according to various estimates, ranged from 300 thousand to 1 million people, united in more than 500 tribes. To begin with, the British infected the natives with smallpox, from which they had no immunity. Smallpox killed at least half of the tribes that came into contact with the newcomers in the Sydney area. In Tasmania, diseases brought by Europeans also had the most devastating effect on the indigenous population. Sexually transmitted diseases led many women to infertility, and lung diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, against which the Tasmanians had no immunity, killed many adult Tasmanians.
"Civilized" aliens immediately began to turn the local natives into slaves, forcing them to work on their farms. Aboriginal women were bought or kidnapped, and the practice of kidnapping children with the aim of turning them into servants - in fact, into slaves, was formed.
In addition, the British brought with them rabbits, sheep, foxes, and other animals that disrupted the biocenosis of Australia. As a result, the natives of Australia were brought to the brink of starvation. The natural world of Australia was very different from other biocenoses, since the mainland was isolated from other continents for a very long time. Most of the species were herbivores. The main occupation of the natives was hunting, and the main object of hunting was herbivores. Sheep and rabbits multiplied and began to destroy the grass cover, many Australian species became extinct or were on the verge of extinction. In response, the natives began to try to hunt sheep. This served as a pretext for the mass "hunt" of the whites for the natives.
And then the same thing happened with the natives of Australia as with the Indians of North America. Only the Indians, in their mass, were more developed and warlike, having put up more serious resistance to the newcomers. Australian aborigines could not offer serious resistance. Australian and Tasmanian natives were rounded up, poisoned with poisons, driven into the desert, where they died of hunger and thirst. The white settlers gave the natives poisoned food. The white settlers hunted the natives like wild animals, not considering them human. The remnants of the local population were driven into reservations in the western and northern regions of the mainland, the least suitable for life. In 1921, there were already only about 60 thousand natives.
In 1804, English settlers colonial troops began a "black war" against the natives of Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land). The natives were constantly hunted, hunted down like animals. By 1835 the local population was completely liquidated. The last surviving Tasmanians (about 200 people) were resettled on Flinders Island in Bass Strait. One of the last full-blooded Tasmanians, Truganini, died in 1876.
"Niggas" in Australia were not considered people. Settlers with a clear conscience poisoned the natives. В Квинсленде (Северная Австралия) в конце XIX века невинной забавой считалось загнать семью «ниггеров» в воду с крокодилами. During his stay in North Queensland in 1880-1884. Norwegian Karl Lumholz noted such statements local residents: "Blacks can only be shot - it is impossible to communicate with them in any other way." One of the settlers remarked that this was a "cruel... but... necessary principle." He himself shot all the men he met on his pastures, "because they are cattle-killers, women - because they give birth to cattle-killers, and children - because they will be cattle-killers. They don't want to work and are therefore not good for anything but getting shot."
Among the English farmers flourished trade in native women. They were purposefully hunted down. A 1900 government report noted that "these women were passed from farmer to farmer" until "they were eventually thrown out like rubbish, left to rot from venereal diseases."
One of the last documented Aboriginal massacres in the Northwest took place in 1928. A missionary who wanted to investigate Aboriginal complaints witnessed the crime. He followed a police squad heading to the Forest River Aboriginal Reservation and saw the police capture an entire tribe. The prisoners were shackled, building the back of the head in the back of the head, then all but three women were killed. After that, the bodies were burned, and the women were taken with them to the camp. Before leaving the camp, they also killed and burned these women. The evidence collected by the missionary led the authorities to launch an investigation. However, the police officers responsible for the massacre were never brought to justice.
Thanks to such methods, the British destroyed in Australia, according to various estimates, up to 90-95% of all Aborigines.
The Australian Aborigines are the most ancient cultures living on Earth. And one of the least studied. The English conquerors of Australia called the natives "Aborigines", from the Latin "aborigene" - "from the beginning
Photo State Library of New South Wales Women have traditionally been gatherers. During migrations in search of food, women collected edible roots and shoots of plants, nuts, seeds, emu eggs, different kinds insects, larvae and put them in special wooden vessels that were worn on the head. In the evening, at the parking lot, they prepared food from the found products. The manufacture of weapons and tools, as well as household items, was done by men. Australians made weapons, tools and most household items from stone, shells, bones, wood, plant fibers, skins, human hair. Many types of weapons and tools resembled those that our distant ancestors, the hunters of the Stone Age, made from stone and bone. For example, the "pirri" spearheads were made with serrated edges and were similar to the Early Neolithic ones in terms of the manufacturing method. For cooking, they used the fire of a fire. Fire was made by rubbing two pieces of wood against each other. The work to extract the spark took from half an hour to an hour. The writing was not boiled, meat and fish were fried over a direct fire or baked in coals, wrapped in leaves. An earthen oven was sometimes used to cook meat and vegetable products. The Australians lived in huts. Household utensils did not differ in variety and were fully adapted to nomadic life. As clothing, loincloths made of vegetable fibers and skins were used. The scarcity of Aboriginal clothing was made up for by an abundance of jewelry made from various materials and differing in a variety of forms. Jewelry was mainly worn by men. Necklaces were made from beans, shells, reeds, animal teeth. Mother-of-pearl pendants were decorated with complex geometric patterns. They were worn around the neck or on the forehead. Legs and arms were decorated with bracelets made of shells, tree bark, brightly colored bird feathers, and plant fibers. Much attention was paid to body coloring. The coloring had aesthetic (to attract the attention of the opposite sex), hygienic (a thick layer of paint diluted with fat protected the skin), magical (an unusual combination of colors could scare the enemy) and symbolic (a certain pattern made it possible to determine the social status of the owner) values. In Australian Aboriginal society, rites of passage from one age or social category to another, or initiations, are widespread. The rite of age initiations marked the transition. Australian boys to adult male status. At the age of 9, the boys were isolated from the life of the tribe and in special secluded places - sanctuaries - adult men subjected them to various tests of courage and endurance. Scars were made on the chest and back with sharp flint knives, which were then sprinkled with red-hot ash for hygienic purposes. After such a procedure, the scars acquired a voluminous character and remained for the rest of my life. A stick was inserted into the nasal septum, the ears were pierced and earrings made of bird bones were inserted into the holes. The Australian tribe was divided into tribal groups, each of which had its own guardian spirit or "totem". Such a guardian spirit could have the appearance of some animal, plant, inanimate object or natural phenomenon: snakes, frogs, ants, kangaroos, rainbows, etc. According to the mythological ideas of the Australians, receptacles of totems or patron spirits - churingi- specific oval-shaped objects made of wood or flat stones of oblong outlines served. The elders of tribal groups kept churingas in special sacred places, securely hidden from the eyes of the uninitiated.
The colonists who arrived in 1788 expelled the natives from their lands, which led to the death of part of the cultures and stratification in society. The British brought diseases against which the local population had no immunity. Epidemics, alcohol finally finished them off. The armed resistance of the natives to the colonialists turned into the extermination of the local population.
For a long time, the indigenous population of Australia lived in reservations - remote desert parts of the continent, where outsiders were not allowed. Even in the censuses, the natives were not taken into account. November 11, 1869 in the state of Victoria, for the first time in Australia, the “Aboriginal Protection Act” () was passed - legislative norms governing the life of aborigines. Only in 1967, as a result of a popular referendum, the indigenous people were recognized as citizens of the country and received the right to free movement.
Some of the tribes have retained a way of life that does not differ from that which they have been leading for many millennia: in the daily struggle with nature, the endless search for water and food.
The Australian Aboriginal language is unlike any other and includes six language groups and many dialects. Their speech is complemented by gestures. Most dialects still do not have their own written language.
A feature of the culture of the natives are original drawings on the bark of eucalyptus and sacred rocks. In hundreds of places in various parts of the continent - in caves, on sheer cliffs, on individual stones - the ancestors of the aborigines captured their daily life for thousands of years. This is hunting, and dancing, and ritual ceremonies, and ideas about the world around.
more about Australia and its indigenous people
According to archaeological data, Australia was inhabited by humans approximately in the period of 30-12 thousand years BC. According to anthropological features, the natives belong to the Australian branch of the Negro-Australoid race. By language, Australian Aborigines are divided into two large groups: southern and northern. Up until the 19th century. The aborigines maintained a primitive communal system. Australian Aborigines led a nomadic lifestyle and lived tribal communities that were ruled by a council of adult men. The climate of Australia is harsh. A significant part of the mainland is occupied by a rocky desert, unsuitable for human life. But for thousands of years, the local population has developed skills that allow it to adapt to the harsh natural conditions. Men traditionally hunted kangaroos, wallabies, couscous, opossum, Australian ostrich, emus, birds, turtles and snakes. They were skilled hunters, able to navigate the wild. They were greatly assisted by the semi-wild dog dingo.
classic australoids - natives australia.
Australian aborigines pass on to their children the unique ability to find water in a lifeless rocky desert that stretches for many hundreds of kilometers. A spear was used as a weapon during the hunting of mammals. The spear was sent to the target with the help of a spear thrower, which increased the flight range and impact force. A spear thrown by hand flies 25-30 m, and with the help of a spear thrower 100-150 m. For hunting birds they used boomerang. It was made from hardwoods - iron, eucalyptus, acacia. A feature of this type of weapon was that in flight it described a closed line, and not hitting the target, returned to the feet of the one who threw it. The flight path of this type of hunting weapon was determined by the presence of uneven blades and small helical roughness on its surface. Making a boomerang required skills and special craftsmanship. Shields were used as military equipment to protect against spear attacks.
