Culture, according to the Macquarie Dictionary, is the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings which is transmitted from one generation to another.
At contact there was no single, homogeneous Aboriginal society, groups differed in aspects of their cultural and social organisations.
Existence of widespread social networks meant that people had to be multilingual to communicate, like wise music and dance, kinship systems, art forms and ceremonies differed dramatically between regions. Yet these differences were probably less important then the underlying similarities which brought groups together for ceremonies, trade, to intermarry and which allowed the maintenance of myths, song lines and exchange cycles that extended over hundreds of kilometres.
The Dreamtime, or Aboriginal Dreaming, refers to stories about the creation period. It is part of a complex system of beliefs and spirituality governing the whole lifestyle of the Aboriginal people. …
