The peoples of Australia. Indigenous people of Australia. Photos of aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians

The Australian Aborigines are one of the oldest and most distinct racial groups. It was the isolation of the natives of the Green Continent, also called the Australian Bushmen, that caused them to retain their unique, different appearance.

According to geneticists, confirmed by DNA analysis, the indigenous population of Australia remained isolated for at least 50 thousand years. Research has provided evidence of its continuity for at least 2,500 generations.

General information

The Australian Aborigines, whose photos are presented in the article, belong to a separate, Australian branch of the equatorial (Australian-Negroid) race. According to scientists, this is one of the oldest cultures in the world. The settlement of the mainland, according to scientific data, occurred within 75 - 50 thousand years ago. The Australian Aborigines are the descendants of the first modern humans who migrated here from Africa. They have many features in common: well-developed body muscles, dark hair (usually wavy), a wide nose, and a prominent lower face. But among the natives, there are three separate types. Their representatives, with all the external similarities, are noticeably different from each other.

barrinean type

According to scientists, it was the Barrineans who first set foot on the shores of the mainland. They differ from the other two types in their small growth - the result of the so-called reduction. The area of ​​​​settlement is mainly North Queensland.

Murray type

Representatives of this type of Australoid race are visually distinguished by darker skin and developed hairline. They mainly live in open spaces (steppes) of Southern and Western and the coast of Eastern Australia. According to one of the theories of the settlement of the mainland, called trihybrid, they moved to Australia in the second wave - from the African continent.

Carpentarian type

It is predominantly distributed in the north and in the central part of the continent. Its representatives have even darker skin than the Murrays, and one of the highest average heights in the world. The hairline on the face and body is poorly developed. It is believed that this type of aborigines developed due to the third wave of settlement in Australia.

At the time of the appearance on the continent of the first colonizers from Europe, there were at least 500 Australian Aborigine tribes. The total population, according to various sources, was from 300 thousand to one million people.

Lifestyle

Of course, most of the natives of the mainland joined the achievements of civilization. However, many, nevertheless, did not change the ancient habits. So, in the central part of the mainland, where at least 17% of the total indigenous population of the country currently lives, there are no large cities and towns. The largest settlement here has 2.5 thousand people. There are no schools (children are taught by radio) and medical institutions. It is worth noting that in total, medical assistance to the indigenous population of Australia has been provided for less than a hundred years - only since 1928.

The basis of the diet of the natives, leading a primitive way of life, like thousands of years ago, is the fruits of hunting and gathering - roots, rare plants, wild animals, lizards, and in coastal areas - fish and other seafood. They process the found cereals and roast cakes from them on coals. Still, many centuries later, most of the day in remote communities is spent foraging. If necessary, insect larvae are also used.

The boomerang, the most famous weapon of the Australian Aborigines, is still used by them for hunting. According to ancient beliefs, only a true warrior, brave at heart, could master the possession of a boomerang. This is really not easy, given that the speed of a launched weapon can reach 80 kilometers per hour.

Consequences of colonization

The development of Australian lands by Europeans, as in most cases, was accompanied by forced assimilation or even the destruction of the indigenous population. Aborigines of Australia, driven from their lands to specially created reservations, suffered from hunger and epidemics. Until the early 1970s, it was legal to forcibly remove indigenous children from their families in order to make them servants and farm workers. As a result of this policy, the number of aborigines in the early 90s of the twentieth century was only 250 thousand people (only 1.5% of the total population).

Aborigines achieved equal rights with other inhabitants of the country only in 1967. Their situation gradually began to improve, for which special programs were developed aimed at preserving the cultural heritage and increasing the birth rate. Separate tribes began to move to large cities and settle in them.

However, the consequences of colonization still make themselves felt. So, among the prisoners in Australian prisons, representatives of the indigenous population, with their small total number, make up about 30%. The average life expectancy of the natives is about 70-75, and the white population is about 80-85 years. They are six times more likely to commit suicide.

Aboriginal children continue to be discriminated against in schools on racial grounds. This was stated by about a quarter of those interviewed in the course of a national study on the life of the indigenous population. At the same time, the level of education among the Aborigines of Australia is below average. So, at least a third of the adult population cannot read and write, perform arithmetic operations. And in remote communities, located in areas densely populated by the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland, about 60% of children do not have access to school.

Australian Aboriginal language

History has preserved evidence that by the time travelers from Europe arrived on the mainland, at least 500 dialects existed here. Moreover, many of them differed from each other as seriously as the languages ​​of peoples living in different parts of the world.

Currently, there are about 200 local dialects. Australia is a real paradise for linguists, because, according to them, the melody of the indigenous languages ​​radically distinguishes them from any African, Asian or European. It is difficult to study the absence of writing in the vast majority of tribes, because many of them created only primitive signs to display the plots of ancient legends and elementary calculations (drawings, notches).

At the same time, almost all natives speak the official language of the country - English. With such a variety of dialects, this is the only option that allows Australian residents to communicate with each other without any problems. Even a special channel for Aboriginal people, launched in 2007 and designed to promote the cultural community of various tribes (Australian National Aboriginal Television), broadcasts in the language of Shakespeare. By the way, contrary to popular belief, the word "kangaroo" in the language of the Australian Aborigines does not mean "I do not understand." But more on that later.

• Probably, everyone knows the anecdote about how James Cook, having set foot on the coast of Australia, asked the locals what the name of the animal they saw was called. In response, he allegedly heard: “Kangaroo!”, Which means: “I don’t understand!”. However, this version has not been confirmed by modern linguistic studies. A similar word - "gangaroo", used in the language of one of the tribes of the Australian aborigines to refer to kangaroo, in translation means "big jumper".
• In one of the national parks on the east coast of the mainland, Australian aborigines willingly accept tourists. They are shown, among other things, the art of owning a boomerang, as well as teaching it to everyone. However, not everyone manages to master this difficult science.
• It turns out that Australia has its own Stonehenge. A stone structure of 100 boulders was discovered about halfway between Melbourne and Geelong, the second largest city in Victoria. As scientists have found out, the location of the stones in ancient times allowed local residents to determine the days of the solstice and equinox.
• 10% of the natives living in the Solomon Islands, which are located northeast of the mainland, have blond hair. The reason is a genetic mutation, which is about 1000 years old.

Finally

The article provided information about the indigenous population of the Australian continent. Today, a paradoxical situation has developed here, because on the territory of the state of Australia, which is industrialized, in which the general standard of living is quite high, there is another world in parallel - people living almost the same as their very distant ancestors. This is a kind of window into the ancient world for everyone who wants to join the unique culture and understand how people lived on Earth tens of thousands of years ago.

The Yolngu tribe of Australian aborigines do not allow "strangers" to enter the territory of their reservation. You can get there only by special invitation. One of those who succeeded was Reuters photographer David Gray. He observed the life of indigenous Australians and accompanied them during the famous crocodile hunt. Daily life of Australian aborigines through the lens of David Gray.

20 PHOTOS

1. The Yolngu are the indigenous people of Australia and the oldest traditional people on the continent. You can meet them mainly on the territory of Arnhem Land - a peninsula located in the north of the country between the Timor and Arafut Seas and the Gulf of Carpentaria. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
2. On the peninsula is the largest Aboriginal reservation, which was established in 1931. Its area is about 97 thousand square kilometers and 16 thousand people live on it. Access to the territory of the reservation for "foreign", non-indigenous residents is limited, you can enter only if you have a special permit. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
3. The name of the indigenous peoples of Australia in Latin means "those who have been here since the beginning." It is believed that the natives arrived on the continent about 40-60 thousand years ago. They traveled for a long time in Africa and Asia and reached the territory of today's Indonesia and New Guinea. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
4. Aborigines led a nomadic lifestyle, hunted kangaroos and other animals, supplementing their diet with what they could gather in the forest. Because of this, the indigenous people of Australia are considered among the most skilled hunters in the world, for example, they know many ways to hunt wild boar. In 1770, there were over 500 Aboriginal tribes in Australia. Currently, the number of indigenous people is just over 200 thousand people who live mainly in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
5. One of the traditions of the indigenous population of Australia is hunting for crocodiles. Currently, the inhabitants of Arnhem Land have the right to kill reptiles only for their own needs. Selling them is prohibited. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
6. Children help their parents hunt these amphibious reptiles, they are better than adults at finding them in marshy areas. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
7. The heaviest part of crocodiles is their thick, scaly hide. Therefore, the natives butcher them right where they caught them, and only bring meat to their village. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
8. Nothing that can be used as food can be lost from the natives. Therefore, indigenous Australians take the insides of dead reptiles (intestines) with them to the village, wrapping them, for example, in large leaves. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
9. Aborigines hunt not only crocodiles. They also consider lizards from the monitor lizard family to be a delicacy. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
10. Indigenous people still hunt buffalo, whose meat is one of the ingredients of their traditional cuisine. In the photo: natives carry the cut off leg of a shot buffalo into the car. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
11. Aboriginal people in Australia had a hard life: for many years they died from disease, hunger and conflict with white settlers. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
12. The government did not help the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland, but rather the opposite. Until the mid-1960s, the authorities tried to assimilate them by force. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
13. Aborigines, in accordance with local laws, were not originally even considered people: they did not have civil rights, because, according to legislators, they did not have a “higher consciousness”. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
14. In order to assimilate the indigenous population of Australia, by decision of the government, children were taken from their parents and placed in special institutions or given up for the upbringing of white families. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
15. It is estimated that between 1910 and 1970, about 100,000 children were selected, who very often were subjected to violence and persecution in the new "houses". (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
16. It was only in 2008 that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd publicly apologized for decades of persecution and inhumane treatment of the indigenous people of Australia during his speech in Parliament. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
17. Not all politicians, however, were of the same opinion as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Tony Abbott, for example, believes that many children were "rescued while others received help, and therefore the history of our country must be faithfully reflected." (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
18. Two hunters from the Yolngu tribe - Norman Daymirringu and James Gengi - brought prey to the village. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
19. Robert Gaykamangu, one of the Yolngu tribe, was photographed in the swampy area while hunting waterfowl. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).
20. Yolngu hunters return from a successful hunt. (Photo: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS).

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.

The First Fleet, the name given to the 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 vagrants who were caught again 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 of local residents: “Blacks can only be shot - you can’t 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.

As soon as the Dutch set foot on the coast of Australia, which was at that time the western southern land, they immediately appeared before them representatives of the oldest civilization on the planet- Australian Aborigines.

To guests from Europe, the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland treated with extreme caution. Especially the natives of Australia began to resent when curious sailors from Europe frequented the lands of the Green Continent. So who are the Aborigines of Australia and what was their way of life?

Typical appearance of an Australian aborigine

One of the versions says that the first inhabitants appeared in Australia about 50 thousand years ago.

But some researchers and scientists claim that people lived in Australia and 70 thousand years back when New Guinea and Tasmania had not yet separated from the mainland.

The first inhabitants of Australia arrived on the Green Continent by sea. Where exactly they immigrated to this day is unknown.

The Australian Aboriginal way of life remained over forty thousand years unchanged. If the Europeans had not begun to develop these remote lands, the indigenous population of Australia would not have known for a long time what writing, radio and television are.

The aborigines of the mysterious and magical outback of Australia still adhere to their long-standing traditions and habits. These people can be called real representatives primitive way of life.

The photo shows Aboriginal rituals Australia:

This arid and barren area is now home to 17% of the Aboriginal people who live in Australia. The largest settlement is 2500 people.

Qualified medical care began to be provided here only, since 1928. Also, there are no educational institutions here, and children are taught by radio.

What do the Bushmen of Australia look like?

A dark-skinned man with a lush shock of curly hair, a convex facial part of the skull, and a wide base of the nose - that's what it looks like typical native Australia.

Characteristic physique Bushmen(as the indigenous population of the mainland is called) is rather frail, but at the same time, the Bushmen of Australia are athletic and have well-developed muscles.

A photo Australian bushmen:

10 % The dark-skinned Aborigines who lived in the Solomon Islands northeast of Australia had blond hair. Scientists have long argued whether this is due to European expeditions to the southern land.

The conclusion of the researchers suggests that such a seemingly incompatibility of dark skin and blond hair is genetic mutation thousand years ago.

Modern Aboriginals Australia (photo):

The Aborigines of Australia are divided into three races. Most black indigenous population Australia resides today in the province of North Queensland.

Aboriginal Australian body decoration - scarring(a photo):

The tallest natives Australia, which scientists attribute to the third wave of immigrants, live in the north of the mainland. They have a dark coda, and the vegetation on the head and body is practically absent.

But the valley of the largest river of the Green Continent Murray is inhabited by Murray type natives. The population of medium height with thick hair on the body and head, scientists attribute to the second wave of seafaring settlers.

Photo of the traditional type of weapon of an Australian aborigine - boomerang:

Australian Aboriginal language

Before the advent of Europeans on the mainland, the natives spoke in 500 dialects, each language of which was not similar to the other. Today, each indigenous tribe of Australians has its own unique language.

It's important to know! Most of the Australian Aboriginal languages ​​exist orally, as some tribes have not mastered writing.

Melodically, these dialects are not similar to any of the African, European or Asian languages. Today, linguists talk about what Australian aborigines say more than two hundred languages.

Aboriginal dances Australia - imitation of the habits of animals (photo):

Interesting that almost all the inhabitants of the Aboriginal tribes of Australia speak English.

Aboriginal customs in Australia

Australia's sacred mountain Uluru main object of worship Bushmen. The indigenous people of Australia say that this rock is the door between the worlds.

It's important to know! Scientists claim that the shrine of the indigenous people of Australia is more than six million years old.

This mountain is called by different names. So in Europe, Mount Uluru was given the name Ayres or Aires Rock. A very popular type of recreation are sightseeing tours to this unusual natural phenomenon and local shrine.

Attention! More than once, tourists who tried to climb to the top of the mountain died tragically. You should not "flirt" with death in these mysterious places, because it is not in vain that customs exist.

Various rituals that were performed thousands of years ago are still practiced by the indigenous people of Australia near Mount Uluru. Belief says that climbing to the top will lead to the wrath of spirits and ancestors.

The invention of the boomerang and the traditional Aboriginal pipe didgeridoo

Few people know, but boomerang invention owned by the Australians. Only real warriors can manage it.

This art is taught by natives to tourists on the east coast. in Tjapukai.

Culture, life and traditions of the indigenous population of Australia very varied.

So, in the tribes that inhabit the northern regions of the mainland, are popular individual singing accompanied by percussion instruments. But in the center and in the southern parts of the Green Continent, group singing is popular.

Interesting that a number of Australian Indigenous musical instruments have sacred significance. For example, the magic buzzer of the natives made of stone and wood, with sacral symbols applied. She makes very strange and terrifying sounds.

But the didgeridoo created by nature is spiritual musical bushman instrument. A trunk of bamboo or eucalyptus eaten inside by termites, the length of which is from one to three meters, is still decorated by the indigenous people of Australia with totem symbolic images.

It's important to know! For many centuries, the natives of the Green Continent knew about the movements of stars and planets thanks to a stone structure that exactly repeats the famous Stonehenge. It is located on the way from Melbourne to Geelong. One hundred huge stone blocks located from half a meter to a meter high indicate exactly the summer and winter solstices, as well as the equinoxes.

Aborigines of Australia are the indigenous population of the Green Continent, which keeps the tradition to this day, customs and even the way of life of people who lived on the mainland thousands of years ago.

Thanks to their culture, you can learn how people lived in Australia before the Europeans arrived on the continent. It must be said that the life of a multinational civilized society significantly different from the way of life of the indigenous people. This is all of Australia!

We invite you to look interesting video about how Australian aborigines demonstrate ritual dances, javelin throwing, an ancient musical instrument - the didgeridoo: