Slide+3+-+Cultural+aspects

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__**Contribution from Joanna**__ Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of Australia but their culture is often overshadowed by Aboriginal Australia. Their culture and history is often lumped in with Aboriginal culture and history.
 * People**

The culture of the Torres Strait is Melanesian and has strong links to Papua New Guinea rather than Aboriginal Australia.

The traditional lifestyle of each island was dependent on the resources available to them. The people of the western islands were hunter gathers because of their reliance on the land. The people of the central and eastern islands (including Mer) relied on the sea and trade with other islands. This traditional lifestyle has influenced contemporary life and culture.

There are two traditional languages spoken in the Torres Strait: A third language has also developed over time. This is Torres Strait creole (Yumiplatok) which is a mixture of the two traditional languages and English. This is now the regions most common language.
 * Language**
 * 1) Kalaw Lagaw Ya - This is similar to Aboriginal languages and is spoken on western, central and northern islands. Individual dialects are also found on each of the islands.
 * 2) Meriam Mir - This is the language of the eastern islands (including Mer) and is derived from Papuan languages. Individual dialects are also found on each of the islands.

Two thirds of all Torres Strait Islanders now live on the mainland of Australia. The majority of these people live in Townsville, Cairns and Darwin. Many of the Mabo family live in Townsville but also in Robina, Brisbane and Rockhampton. The migration of Torres Strait Islanders and their dispossession has emphasised the changing identity and cultural for Torres Strait Islanders. The Torres Strait Islanders living on the mainland have had to adjust to a changing identity and have had to maintain their culture. Torres Strait Islanders today have a strong cultural identity and no longer have to live on the margins of Australian society. They are free to speak their languages and express their culture. The Islanders are forging a new identity separate from Aboriginal Australia and Australian society. The identity and future of the Torres Strait people is represented by their flag. The flag was designed by the late Bernard Namok. The flag is a symbol for the unity and identity of all Torres Strait Islanders.
 * The Future**

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Some key beliefs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait people are that the earth is eternal, and so are the many ancestral figures or beings who inhabit it. These ancestral beings are often associated with particular animals, for example Kangaroo-men, Emu-men or Bowerbird-women. As they journeyed across the face of the Earth these powerful beings created human, plant and animal life; and they left traces of their journeys in the natural features of the land.

The spiritual powers of the Dreaming are accessed by ritual ceremonies which invoke these mythic and living beings. These ceremonies involve special sacred sites, song cycles accompanied by dance, and body painting, and even sports. In addition, at important stages of men and women’s lives, ceremonies are held to seek the assistance of spiritual beings. This makes them direct participants in the continuing process of the Dreaming.

Music has formed an integral part of the social, cultural and ceremonial observances of Torres Strait Island peoples, down through the millennia of their individual and collective histories to the present day. The traditional forms include many aspects of performance and musical instrumentation unique to particular regions and there are equally elements of musical tradition which are common or widespread through much of the Australian continent, and even beyond. The culture of the Torres Strait Islanders is related to that of adjacent parts of New Guinea and so their music is also related. In addition, the death wail is a mourning lament generally performed in ritual fashion soon after the death of a member of a family or tribe. Examples of death wails have been found in numerous societies, but the practice is most commonly associated with the peoples in central and northern Australia and among the Torres Strait Islanders

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