Torres Strait Islander dances, North Queensland, Australia

Photos from the Real AUSTRALIA

Torres Strait Islander dances, North Queensland

The culture of the people of the Torres Strait Islands has little in common with that of the neighbouring Aboriginal people of nearby cape York. A Melanesian people, their culture has more affinity with that of Papua New Guinea, just to the north. People of the sea, their dances almost always involve elements of the sea, about fishing and the environment. Their costumes can be real works of art, employing feathers in a very artistic way, as in the "dhari", feather headdress, that also features on the Torres Strait Islands flag.

There are traditional dances like the Murray Island's"Kab Kar", accompanied by chanting and drums; and the more contemporary social dances, in which the costume for the men nowadays always includes a white singlet and "lap-lap", wraparound cloth, accompanied by drums and harmonious singing. Influence from further afield in the Pacific is obvious in the "Taba Naba" sit-down dance, where dancers are seated and all movement is with the upper body.

These are all images of Torres Strait Island dances performed off the islands: in Bamaga on Cape York, at the Festivals of Pacific Arts in Townsville and Rarotonga (Cook Islands), at a festival in Cairns and by the Djarragun Dancers from an indigenous school near Cairns.

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