Men from Barunga (formerly known as Bamyili) in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory of Australia perform a dance illustrating spearfishing, followed by a very skilful solo; they then take their leave. This was recorded in 1978 in Lajamanu with an old 8 mm film camera, …

Women from Lajamanu, an Aboriginal community about 550 kilometres south west of Katherine on the edge of the Tanami Desert perform an ancient dance while other women sing, on the occasion of the Northern Territory achieving self-government on 1 July 1978; they dance around a …

Traditional dances from Galiwin'ku or Elcho Island, an Aboriginal community off the north coast of Arnhem Land, performed at the yearly cultural festival in Barunga, Northern Territory, Australia

The traditional Míddjarn ceremonial dance of the Ndjébbana people is carried out by men and boys in the school grounds at Maningrida Aboriginal community in the north of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is a serious ceremony, but also fun for the children …

The Tiwi Aboriginal people of Bathurst Island remember the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 with a corroboree. They apply their face paint and chant the events in Tiwi; the men dance, their arms outstretched, representing the planes; the women sit and depict looking through …

The main traditional ceremony of the Tiwi Aboriginal people is the "Ilaninga" or Pukumani ceremony connected with death. Carved and painted poles, commissioned by the family of the deceased are displayed on the site where the funeral dances take place, near the house of the …

Clan dances at a Tiwi "Pukumani" funeral ceremony in Pularumpi (Pirlingimpi), an Aboriginal community on Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia. Each clan has its particular dance associated with their totem. This was recorded with an early model video camera, so the …

Blekbala Mujik (Kriol for "Blackfellow Music") was a very successful band of Aboriginal musicians, with founding member and leader Peter Miller. Hailing from Barunga, an Aboriginal community just south of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, they combined pop, rock …

Two men of the Yirritja moiety perform the "Salt water dance", leaping past one another, representing waves meeting and crashing; the dancers constantly leap up and down, representing a choppy sea. The women dance along the side, their hands held horizontally. The men then run …

The men of each of the two moiety groups (Yirritja and Dua) run around their respective "Jirawara" ceremonial forked poles; the leader of their moiety then climbs on the "Jirawara" and gives the Mardayin calls, naming the sacred places connected with the ceremony; the men …

Men and women, painted with red and yellow ochres, walk towards the seashore to the sound of clapsticks. Every few metres the men of each moiety, supported by their women, do their typical dances with ceremonial cries. Having arrived at the water's edge the men plunge in and …

Men of the Yirritja moiety enter the ceremonial ground to the sound of clapsticks, lightly hopping on each leg, a dance associated with the Catfish totem; they group around the "Jirawara" ceremonial forked pole which is the focal point of the ceremony and perform the Bandicoot …

Men of the Yirritja moiety, painted with red ochre and white clay, emerge from the secret ground and perform the dance associated with the Catfish totem, with light steps, hopping on each leg; this is followed by the Bandicoot totem dance, where they sit on their haunches, moving …

Every late afternoon during the weeks the "Mardayin" or "Ngarrag" ceremony takes place, the men paint up and perform various totem dances in their respective moiety groups (Dua and Yirritja) Some men have ceremonial "power bags" in their mouths. The ceremonies start with the …