Australian Aboriginal fibrecraft refers to the various waysAboriginal Australians create fibres traditionally. Materials used depend on where the people live in Australia.
Bark is used by many people across the continent. This technology is still used today to produce baskets, which are particularly popular in the tourism industry.Kurrajong bark is a popular bark, as is the bark ofriver wattles,Sandpaper figs,banyans,burney vines andpeanut trees.
In the north, the more tightly woven styles are made, whereas in the south, a looser stringed bag, popularly known as adilly bag are made.
Hairstring is an importanttextile traditionally made byAboriginal Australians.
People, particularly women, would cut theirhair regularly usingquartz orflintknives. This hair is never wasted. It can be spun into long threads of yarn on a spindle rolled on the thigh and thenplaited to about the thickness of 8plywool.
Purposes for the string are manifold. These include making the head ring for resting thecoolamon,headbands to keep the hair off the face,spear-making (securing the head to the shaft), and even balls for ball games.
A general-purposebelt is made of the string, from which things could be hung, such as small game likegoannas in order to free the hands on long walks and hunts.
Among some groups, including thePitjantjajara, a small modestyapron was made of the string for young girls to wear when they reached puberty. People inCentral Australia today may talk of a girl having her "string broken",[1] which can mean sexual abuse, or having sex when she is not ready.
Among sometribes, adults wore aloincloth-like pubic covering, which also hung from the waist belt. This was made either of the string itself, or of other material, includingpaperbark. In theKimberley region of Western Australia, the men worepearl shells as a pubic covering, which they callRiji,[2] and which are considered extremely sacred.
The string could be dyed various shades using dyes such asochre.
Some string was only worn forceremony, such asskirts worn by the women.
Many Aboriginal groups traditionally made many shapes out of thestring (cat's cradle). A researcher once watched and photographed a young Aboriginal woman fromYirrkala make over 200 separate string figures. Each one involved complicated movements of her fingers and thumbs. She was able to remember the correct sequence of finger movements for nearly every figure she made, with only an occasional mistake which she quickly corrected. As she made each figure she gave it a name. Some examples includeddangurang — a lobster,bapa — lightning,matjur — an ibis flying into a tree andgapu — the ripples on a pool.[3]
TheBangarra Dance Theatre's 2005 production of CLAN incorporated traditional desert string games into one of their performances, creating intricate patterns as they thread themselves through long, elastic strings.,[4][5]
Grasses are sometimes combined with hair to create a tougher fibre. Materials used differ depending on the area in Australia. In the arid areas,spinifex is common, whereas in theTop End, palms such aspandanus are often used.
Pandanus andsand-palm are used in areas such as the Daly River region and Arnhem Land to weave carry baskets, dilly string bags, wall hangings,fibre sculpture, floor mats and fish nets. The women ofPeppimenarti andGunbalanya are famous for such weaving: each community has their own distinct styles and techniques.
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