Acorroboree is a generic word for a meeting ofAustralian Aboriginal peoples. It may bea sacred ceremony, a festive celebration, or of a warlike character. A word coined bythe first British settlers in the Sydney area from a word in the localDharug language, it usually includes dance, music, costume and oftenbody decoration.
The word "corroboree" was adopted by British settlers soon aftercolonisation from theDharug ("Sydney language")Aboriginal Australian wordgaraabara, denoting a style of dancing. It thus entered theAustralian English language as aloan word.[1]
It is a borrowed English word that has been reborrowed to explain a practice that is different from ceremony and more widely inclusive than theatre or opera.[2]
In 1837, explorer and Queensland grazierTom Petrie wrote: "Their bodies painted in different ways, and they wore various adornments, which were not used every day."[3][4][5] In 1938, clergyman and anthropologistAdolphus Elkin wrote of a public pan-Aboriginal dancing "tradition of individual gifts, skill, and ownership" as distinct from the customary practices of appropriate elders guiding initiation and other ritual practices (ceremonies).[6]
The word is described in theMacquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia (2nd ed.) as "an Indigenous assembly of a festive, sacred or warlike character".[1]
Throughout Australia the word "corroboree" embraces songs, dances, rallies and meetings of various kinds. In the past a corroboree has been inclusive of sporting events and other forms of skill display.[2]
Another description is "a gathering of Aboriginal Australians interacting with the Dreaming through song and dance", which may be a sacred ceremony or ritual, or different types of meetings or celebrations, which differ "frommob to mob".[7]
The largest spectator event of the 19th century at theAdelaide Oval was the "Grand Corroboree", performed by around 100Aboriginal men and women fromPoint MacLeay mission andYorke Peninsula on Friday 30 May and Saturday 1 June 1885. They had been invited toAdelaide by the colonial government perform at the request of theGovernor of South Australia,Sir William Robinson, to perform as part of theQueen's Birthday celebrations. After organisers expected a crowd of around 5,000, approximately 20,000 spectators (around a sixth of Adelaide's population) turned up. The crowd became rowdy and police had to clear the performance space before the event could begin.[8][9] Profits from the show were assigned to the Aboriginal people.[10] The corroboree was so successful that other performances were arranged at other venues. Also at this time, the first football match held between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teams in Adelaide was organised by Football and Cricketing Association secretaryJohn Creswell, and a second followed at the oval on 2 June 1885.[9]
TheMacquarie Dictionary (3rd ed, 1997) gives secondary meanings "any large or noisy gathering" and "a disturbance; an uproar". It also documents its use as averb (to take part in a corroboree).[11]
TheMacquarie Atlas documents a 2003 sports carnival in theNorthern Territory which was described by the president of theYuendumu community council as "a modern day corroboree".[citation needed]
