How did the Aboriginal people communicate?

Answer 1

Aborigines had very complex ways of communicating. There were originally around 250 aboriginal languages in Australia, although many of these have disappeared now.

Aboriginal artwork was as relevant a means of communication as written books are to us. Each of the symbols had significance in conveying a message, whether it be telling about an event or just passing on information, e.g. the location of waterholes.

Corroborees, which incorporated dances and music, were also used as a means of communicating. They might retell a hunting story, or be used to convey stories of the aboriginal Dreamtime (creation).

In addition, body language was very important. In many aboriginal tribes, sympathy and empathy for others was expressed through self-mutilation. By cutting themselves and wailing incessantly, others in the tribe expressed that they cared for people who had undergone loss or trauma of some kind.

In men who had undergone initiation (usually as young teenage boys), the nature of the scars and cicatrices on their chest, arms and back would be a way of communicating to an outsider which tribe they belonged to.

If an Aborigine was cursed by another member of the tribe, the Kurdaitcha man would leave a symbol showing that they had been cursed. Whilst it was never conveyed in words that a tribal member had "the bone pointed", the physical indication that they had been cursed in this way was enough to will them to die.

In another example of body language as a means of communication, when approaching another tribal settlement, an Aborigine would sit down and wait, thereby indicating that he wished to communicate with the elders of that tribe. This waiting could easily continue for up to an hour. He never intruded uninvited.

Like the North American natives, the Australian Aborigines also communicated using smoke signals. However, this method of communication actually involved the sending of a telepathic message. The Aborigine wishing to communicate with a person some distance away would send up a smoke signal. Upon seeing the signal, the recipient would clear his mind and await the telepathic signal (see the related link below).