Aboriginal "Mandiwala" Initiation Ceremonies in Northern Australia, Australia

Photos from the Real AUSTRALIA

Aboriginal "Mandiwala" Initiation Ceremonies in Northern Australia.

Continuation of Part 1 of this story....

To accompany the "daru" initiates to the "Jamangki" (ceremonial) ground for the evening ceremonies a crowd of men and boys have painted themselves with "makurta", white clay, just slapped on, and they run in single file towards the initiates, dance around them and emit a high-pitched yell; the initiates then walk a few metres, stop again and the performance is repeated until finally the ceremonial ground is reached where men are singing while clapping boomerangs together and women dance their shuffling dance. The boys are then hoisted on the men's shoulders and carried to their fathers sitting in front of the windbreak on the "Jamangki" ground.

That evening the men take the boys separately and remove the hair belts that were wound around their waists at the beginning of their ceremony. They are then carried to their mothers who take them back to the camp to spend the last night doing a woman's ceremony with their sons before they are made into young men. Meanwhile, the men sing all night the "kujika" or song cycle associated with the clan affiliations of the initiates. Young men dance the "Mandiwala" dance, a short quick stepping dance to the sound of the boomerangs clapped together, imitating the nervous movements of the frilled-neck lizard when excited. Then men dance in groups of tribal brothers, ending their short dance with a powerful yell.

The following day the men who have been marked to dance decorate each other with white clay and natural cotton wool (although nowadays, disposable nappies are ripped apart for the purpose!). This takes place in a secluded spot away from the women. At dusk the decorated dancers file in single line, preceded by a man with a burning torch and enter the ceremonial ground. While men sing and clap boomerangs together, men with elaborate headdresses dance towards the initiates who sit with their tribal fathers. After this people go off to eat: the dancers are fed by the families for whose sons they dance. Later that evening only the men return to the "Jamangki" ground and after each dancer has performed solo in front of the initiates, the "Mandiwala" dance is performed in groups of tribal brothers, non-stop until early morning.

At sunrise the initiates are walked quietly to a secluded spot and there they are circumcised, one by one. A camp is set up there and they stay, looked after by older men, until their wounds are healed. A couple of days later they are walked back to the general camp where a smoky fire of eucalyptus leaves is made and the boys have to stand in the smoke. They stay together, close to the general camp until a few days later they are painted all over with red ochre one last time and then are free to join the general community again.

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