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Culture Corner Australia Aborigines - the Native Australians Aborigines probably came to Australia from Indonesia 50,000 years ago. The oldest bone found in Australia was at Lake Mungo in New South Wales. Scientists believe it is 38,000 years old and it carried some ceremonial paint. Aborigines were nomads. Originally, they didn't have a sense of land ownership,although Aboriginal children were taught from an early age that they belonged to the land and must respect tribal boundaries. Tribes returned to particular places to bury their dead. Some places, like Uluru, were sacred because they were associated with the "Dreamtime",the time when the Earth was formed and cycles of life and nature began. Aboriginal legends, songs and dances tell of powerful spirits who created the land and people during the Dreamtime. There was no written Aboriginal language and, in fact,most of the 600 tribes spoke different dialects and rarely met except on ceremonial occasions. The tradition of the Dreamtime, however, united the people. Rock paintings showing this creation period can be found all over the country. Some of the most spectacular and best preserved can be seen at rock galleries in Kakadu National Park and other parts of Northern Australia. The arrival of white people gradually brought an end to the traditional Aboriginal way of life. The "new" Australians began to build and settle on Aborigine tribal lands. Today, most Aborigines live in cities and towns or in settlements near tribal lands. Few continue the old nomadic way of life. In recent years, white Australians have become more sensitive to the Aborigines' situation. The result has been an increase in health and educational services,greater recognition of Aboriginal land rights and a growing appreciation of Aboriginal culture. Many museums now display Aboriginal art and craft as well as musical instruments. 文化广角 澳大利亚土著人—澳大利亚原住民 土著人很可能是五万年前从印度尼西亚迁来澳大利亚的。 在新南威尔士洲的芒戈湖发现了澳大利亚最早的人骨。 科学家认为它已经有38,000年历史了，而且上面有为祭祀涂抹的颜料。 土著人是游牧民族。 起初，他们对土地所有权没有认识，尽管土著儿童从小被这样教育着： 他们属于这片土地，他们必须尊重部落边界。 各个部落返回特定的区域埋葬部落中的死者。 有些地方—像乌鲁鲁—曾是神圣的，因为他们与“梦想时代”相联系，那时地球正在形成，且生命和自然的周期刚刚开始。 土著的传说、歌曲和舞蹈讲述创造土地的强大神灵以及梦想时代的人们的故事。 土著语言没有书面文字，事实上，600多个部落中的大部分部落都说着不同的方言，除了遇到庆典，部落之间很少见面。 然而梦想时代的传统将人们凝聚起来。 在这个国家的任何地方都能找到表现这段创造时期的岩石画。 在卡卡杜国家公园和澳大利亚北部的其他地区的岩石展馆里可以看到一些最引人入胜，保存最完整的岩石画。 白人的到来逐渐终结了传统的土著人的生活方式。 "新"澳大利亚人开始在土著部落的土地上建造房屋并定居。 现在，大多数土著人都住在城市或镇上，或者住在部落土地附近的村庄里。 很少有人保持着古老的游牧民族的生活方式。 近几年，澳大利亚白种人对与土著人的生活状况变得更敏感。 其结果就是提高了土著人的健康和教育水平，承认了土著人的土地所有权，越来越欣赏土著文化。 现在有很多博物馆展览土著的手工艺品和乐器。 |
