The Aboriginal People are those who settled in Australia or any other parts of the world and who are the earliest settlers known. The Aborigines were discriminated against because they grew up in undeveloped areas and were assured that continuance of their rituals and habits would help them to survive and make wise choices in which today has been modernized and looked down upon.
Aboriginal means indigenous. Indigenous people are those who belong to the area. They live in a particular area and are called aboriginal ones. For instance, if we have to work on a project in a specific area, then we are supposed to talk to the local community. This local community would be comprised of aboriginal ones. These people know a lot about that area. They used to live there for long. Some of them were born in that area. They have a lot of details information regarding that specific area. In fact we may know whatever we want to know about that area from them. We may use the term aboriginal people for some organizations. There are many organizations working worldwide. They prefer aboriginal people for continuation of their projects in far away areas because indigenous ones are a great help in all regards in a particular area. Aboriginal people have specific set of principles for life. They are similar to one another but different from people of other areas. They have their own religion, norms and cultural values. They have their own organization and set ups. They have their social systems too.
The Aborigines are believed to be the first settlers of Australia, supposedly having lived there in their tribes for between 40,000 and 60,000 years. The word, Aborigine comes from the Latin, ab origine, meaning from the beginning and can equally apply to the Maoris of New Zealand.
The Aborigines of Australia celebrate a festival known as Corroboree (the festival of the spirits) which is usually celebrated at night. The ancient Aborigines once painted themselves in 'spirit patterns' and performed sacred dances. Men would play the traditional Aboriginal instrument, the Didgeridoo and everyone sang songs.
'Dreamtime' is the Aboriginal religion and culture. It is said to be the story of how everything happened, how human beings were created and how the Earth was formed. Aborigines speak of Gods and Goddesses, some of which are kind hearted and some of which are cruel. They believe that massive animals formed the Earth.
When European settlers first arrived in Australia, many Aborigines died due to the introduction of diseases for which they had no immunity.
The term "Aboriginal" is from the Latin "ab origine," or "from the beginning." It means any indigenous inhabitant, as opposed to an invader or colonizer. The word is most widely applied to the native peoples of Australia, who are called the "Aboriginies." But the term now refers to any native people, specifically the Indians of the New World. Canadians, more than Americans, refer to their natives as Aboriginal or "first people," whereas in the U.S., they are referred to as "Indians" or "native Americans." The Aboriginies of Australia have suffered the fate of many displaced native people after colonization. They were marginalized and legally discriminated against. After the indigenous-rights movements of the 1960s and '70s, many strides have been made to improve the lot of the Aborigines, but change is slow in coming. Like the Indians of the Americas, Australia's first people have high rates of alcoholism, unemployment, and housing discrimination, and poor health, leading to an overall early death rate and high rate of infant mortality.
