Mornington Island
| Mornington Island | ||
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| Waters | Gulf of Carpentaria | |
| Archipelago | Wellesley Islands | |
| Geographical location | 16 ° 30 ′ S , 139 ° 30 ′ E | |
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| length | 58.54 km | |
| width | 27.39 km | |
| surface | 1 002 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 150 m | |
| Residents | 1007 Aboriginal tradition (2001) 1 inhabitant / km² |
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| main place | Gununa | |
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Mornington Island is located in the south of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Australian state of Queensland in the Wellesley Islands archipelago . It is one of 22 islands, of which only Mornington Island is inhabited by the Aborigines , mainly the Lardil .
geography
The island is located 125 kilometers northwest of Burketown , 200 kilometers west of Karumba and 444 kilometers from Mount Isa . With a highest elevation of 150 meters, the island is very flat. It is covered with bushes and shrubs, on the coast there are sandy beaches, rocks and mangroves . Fish, dugong (manatees) and turtles swim in the sea , which the Lardil used to feed.
history
The first Aboriginal tribes came to the island about 10,000 years ago. They were the Marnbil, Dhual-dhual and Ghingin.
Missionaries came to the island in 1914. After the end of World War I , the Presbyterian Church built an Aboriginal missionary station and began its policy of assimilation and Christianization . Many children came to the island as part of this policy. It was the children of the Stolen Generation who were taken from their parents in Australia and on other islands and brought to this mission station.
During the missionary work, the population was concentrated in the southwest or in Gununa. Until then, the island was divided into four stretches of coast:
- Palumpen Division (southwest, here is the island capital Gununa)
- Tjirrkarampen Division (west, northwest)
- Lilumpen Division (north, northeast)
- Larumpen Division (east)
In 1978 Mornington Island and the Wellesley Group's 21 islands became the LGA Mornington Shire Council with their own constituency and they elected community representatives. Most of the islanders live in the town of Gununa . The island can be reached via a landing strip.
Culture
The Lardil's dream time is based on the rainbow snake and dingo . The inhabitants of this island are attached to the old traditions and live them in their songs and dances. Some of the Lardil live again in their old ceremonial places on the island.
Jagarairee, first chairman of the Mornington Island Council, expresses how deeply ingrained this thinking is: “ At the heart of everything is the land. It is the way we think and feel about the land that makes us Aboriginal. It is the only way to keep our culture. [...] These are the things the Europeans don't understand about the way the bush can help us. These things can help Europeans too when their own way of living makes their lives sad. We can teach Europeans all about these things ”(German:“ Deep in everything is the country: The way we think and feel about the country is what makes us Aborigines. It is the only way to preserve our culture . [...] That is what Europeans do not understand about the way the bush can help us. These things can also help Europeans if their way of life worries them. We can show Europeans all about it. " )
The island is known for making simple didgeridoos . This does not have a long tradition, but only began in the 1930s after a cultural exchange with indigenous people from Yirrkala started .
The symbol of the islanders is the woomera , a spear thrower, and the elders of the Lardil on Mornington Island founded the "Aboriginal Woomera" organization in 1973 for their traditional singers and dancers, which goes on tour.
The islanders wear a special symbol as a headdress on the occasion of their dances. It is made from human hair and emu feathers ; a historical copy is on display in the Canberra National Museum.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Information on www.woomerami.org ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed July 23, 2009
- ↑ Paul Memmott: Rainbows, Story Places, and Malkri Sickness in the North Wellesley Islands. Oceania Vol. 53, No. 2 (Dec., 1982), pp. 163–182, here p. 165
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/mornington_island_headdress/
