Australian Aboriginal fibrecraft
Australian Aboriginal fibrecraft refers to the various ways Aboriginal Australians create fibres traditionally. Materials used depend on where the people live in Australia.
Bark
In the north, the more tightly woven styles are made, whereas in the south, a looser stringed bag, popularly known as a
Hair
Hairstring is an important textile traditionally made by Aboriginal Australians.
People, particularly women, would cut their
Purposes for the string are manifold. These include making the head ring for resting the coolamon, headbands to keep the hair off the face, spear-making (securing the head to the shaft), and even balls for ball games.
A general-purpose belt is made of the string, from which things could be hung, such as small game like goannas in order to free the hands on long walks and hunts.
Among some
The string could be dyed various shades using dyes such as
Some string was only worn for ceremony, such as skirts worn by the women.
String games
Many Aboriginal groups traditionally made many shapes out of the string (cat's cradle). A researcher once watched and photographed a young Aboriginal woman from Yirrkala make over 200 separate string figures. Each one involved complicated movements of her fingers and thumbs. She was able to remember the correct sequence of finger movements for nearly every figure she made, with only an occasional mistake which she quickly corrected. As she made each figure she gave it a name. Some examples included dangurang — a lobster, bapa — lightning, matjur — an ibis flying into a tree and gapu — the ripples on a pool.[3]
The Bangarra Dance Theatre's 2005 production of CLAN incorporated traditional desert string games into one of their performances, creating intricate patterns as they thread themselves through long, elastic strings.,[4][5]
Grasses
Grasses are sometimes combined with hair to create a tougher fibre. Materials used differ depending on the area in Australia. In the arid areas,
are often used.Pandanus and sand-palm are used in areas such as the Daly River region and Arnhem Land to weave carry baskets, dilly string bags, wall hangings, fibre sculpture, floor mats and fish nets. The women of Peppimenarti and Gunbalanya are famous for such weaving: each community has their own distinct styles and techniques.
See also
References
- ^ ABC Radio National Interview with anthropologist Diane Bell
- ^ Aboriginal Lonka Lonka Pearl Shell Pendant, Pubic Covers From Kimberly (Tribalmania.Com) Archived October 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Aboriginal Technology: Fibrecraft, Barlow, Alex, 1994, Macmillan Education Pty Ltd, p 6.
- ^ Bangarra Dance Theatre: Clan Archived June 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Graceful spin on a life's web - Arts - www.smh.com.au