The country of Australis is located in the Southern Hemisphere, in between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Its population has a size of about 25,8 million. Its area includes more than 7.6 million square kilometers. Australia is known for the Great Barier Reef, which is the biggest coral reef in the world. Canberra is the capital of Australia.

Nowadays, people dance when they are surrounded by people they like, most of the time to express their good mood and general happiness. Whether it is at birthday parties, with friends, or with family, dancing has these times definitely a high significance for society. In former times, dancing had a different purpose. It was used as a tool in special ceremonies and rituals.
The Aboriginal Australians were one of the first people to dance, but why did they dance in the first place?
Aborigines honor the “Dreamtime” which is also called “dreaming”. It is believed that “Dreaming” is a phase during which very powerful gods created the world. Even though the time of this creation had already passed by many years, the Aborigines strengthened their connection to their gods through sacred dances.
Another occasion where Aboriginal people danced was when they no longer were children but became adults. During this initiation, dancing was included. In order to pass on their cultural traits and values to their ancestors, the Aborigines told their stories through their expressive dance style and not through written messages or similar communication forms.

Furthermore, traditional costumes that have been worn during these typical dances consist of natural materials like feathers from birds and animal skins. To intensify their experience and express themselves even more, they painted their bodies and faces with paint. This painting could show the connection between the dancer and the spirituality of their gods, as well as their family affiliations.

Other than that, the dancers were accompanied by singers and musical instruments like the didgeridoo or sticks.

Marloo
The Marloo tells, like a lot of other Aboriginal dances, a story. This dance tells the story of a little and a big kangaroo that are involved in a territorial fight. The young kangaroo gets portrayed by a boy, and the old kangaroo by an older man.

Warran-Jarra
The literal translation of Warran-Jarra means “shake-a-leg”. As one can imagine, this dance incorporates this exact movement. The movement is performed through twisting and turning, as well as the stomping of both legs.

Ngukum
Ngukum can be translated as “mosquito dance”. It tells the spectators the story of some huntsmen who are looking for food. As the huntsmen are searching, they notice they are surrounded by a swarm of mosquitoes. To get rid of them, they break a few branches of a tree and wave them at the insects.

Gurrunga
Gurrunga is known as a warning dance. It was performed when one tribe crossed the border of another tribe’s territory. It was supposed to warn the intruding tribe to keep their distance in order to keep the peace and prevent war.

Bundara
Bundara is performed to present the hunting abilities and imitational techniques of the Aborigines. They imitate a special bird during the dance, the cassowary. The cassowary is the largest bird in Australia that is not able to fly. It is native to Australia’s rainforest.

Pamagirri
Pamagirri can be translated as “silent snake”. The dancers of Pamagirri mimic a snake that slinks into the crowd of spectators.

Sources:
https://www.n2dance.com.au/traditional-australian-dances/
https://www.rainforest.com.au/traditional-aboriginal-dances/
https://www.australia.com/en/facts-and-planning/about-australia/key-facts-about-australia.html