Torres Strait Islands Dances from far North Queensland

Photos from the Real AUSTRALIA

The Torres Strait Islands are a unique part of Australia, situated between the tip of Cape York, Far North Queensland, and the south coast of Papua New Guinea. Its people are Melanesian, not Aboriginal, and their culture is close to that of adjacent areas in PNG. Their dances are accompanied by wooden gongs and snake-skin covered hour glass drums that come from Papua New Guinea. 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.

About 30 km south of Cairns, the main town of Far North Queensland, is Djarragun College, a school with mainly indigenous students (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) that has, since its beginning in 2001, has acquired an enviable reputation. Its students, ranging from Preschool age until post Year 12 are very keen on their traditional cultural dances; there are enthusiastic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance groups, of all ages. They perform during festivities in the school, like during the Awards ceremonies or at the official opening of new additions to the school campus. They are also often asked to perform at venues around Cairns and, as on these pages, are also very popular during the celebration in Cairns of Mabo Day, commemorating Eddie Mabo's challenge to the Australian Government that tended to claim Australia was "empty land" before colonisation: he came from Murray Island (or Mer), in the eastern Torres Strait.

There are contemporary social dances, in which the costume for the men nowadays includes a white singlet and "lap-lap", wraparound cloth, accompanied by drums and harmonious singing. There is traditional chanting as well, accompanying some of the dances or just drumming as in the fast "Silent Dance". A totally different type of dance is the more traditional "Kab Kar" of Murray Island; boys dance in pairs, following each other, with intricate movements. They wear feather headdresses, known as "dhari", that also features on the Torres Strait Islands flag. It is always introduced by a song and the dance is accompanied by chanting and drumming.

The participants, apart from the Djarragun Dancers, includes the Malukazil Dance Group from Erub (Darnley Island) and women from Mer (Murray Island), sharing the same culture.

If you like to see a video of this, just click on the small picture.