"Stone arrangement" is a term used to describe any feature in the landscape which has been created through the deliberate placement or arrangement of stones by Aboriginal people. Typically, these stone arrangements are walls, paths, pits, cairns, alignments, fish traps and seal hides.
Ochre still has a spiritual significance to Indigenous people and an ancient connection that goes back unbroken for tens of thousands of years.
A stone quarry is a site in which Aboriginal people collected suitable types of stone for the manufacturing of tools, ceremonial and sacred items.
In Central Australia, there were three kinds of ochre used in the main. They were yellow ochre, white ochre – or white pipe clay – and red ochre. One of the most widely used ochres was red ochre, which was extensively used on the body. And in some particular mines in Central Australia, the ochre has a mica component, and when it’s placed on the body, particularly on the face, it gives off quite a shiny look. And that’s still used today in ceremonies, and is traded all around Central Australia and beyond.
Kombumerri Country and People are from the Gold Coast region of Queensland, Australia. This video is part of a series created by the Kombumerri Together Project: one family's perspective to share important cultural knowledge.
luyni mungalina is a waterfall in Launceston, Tasmania. Indigenous language teacher Rosetta Thomas shares the story behind the falls and explains the special role they play in traditional dance and ceremonies.
Ochre as a ritual and ceremonial decoration for tools
For thousands of years, in many regions throughout Australia, red ochre has been, and remains, an important commodity and the most highly prized and important pigment for use in ceremony, cosmetics, body and artefact decoration, and rock painting