Torres Strait Islander dances, North Queensland, Australia

Photos from the Real AUSTRALIA

Torres Strait Islander dances, North Queensland

The Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands have a unique culture, completely different from those of the neigbouring Aborigines. They were a fierce warrior people and lived from the sea. This is obvious in their dances, featuring fishing implements and headdresses with shark motives, among others. Their "dhari", feather headdresses, are also real works of art.

The different islands have their own distinct dances, like those of Mer (also known a Murray Island) and Saibai Island, just off the coast with Papua New Guinea. The influence of PNG is great, as can be seen in the long drums, sometimes covered with shark skin. The young learn their dances also at school, in both Thursday Island and Bamaga, a mixed community on the mainland of Cape York.

One important event on the agenda is the yearly "Croc Festival" where children from different Island communities (and also some from Aboriginal communities from northern Queensland) come together for a few days of celebrations, with traditional and contemporary dancing. And the "Djarragun dancers", have recently developed a good reputation in and around Cairns: these are boys from the Senior classes of Djarragun College, a school of indigenous students in Gordonvale, south of Cairns, where most of the students are from the Torres Strait Islands.

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