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Aboriginal Art History and Aboriginal Art Symbols & Their Meaning
Australian Cave Art is among the oldest & most interesting in the world. The people who later became known as Tasmanian Aborigines were the original Australians. Of course they were the first artists. Tasmanian rock carvings are world famous. Tasmanians also developed circle art; (now used extensively around Alice Springs) and their necklaces are world-famous and expensive. Aborigines of all tribes painted (& engraved) on caves, rock, bark, sand, didgeridoos, boomerangs & their huts (Yes, many tribes lived in huts!! another popular myth exposed ) opossum fur coats & their bodies. It is said that Australian Aborigines devoted more time to Art than any other race in history. The art on huts & clothings was extremely elaborate and impressed even the European invaders. Unfortunately only a handful of opossum coats survive as examples. Most art was meaningful. Art was used in place of a written language to instruct in tribal law, religon and history. Art is still used for these purposes today. What was once written on sand, cave walls & bodies (& still is in some places) in now put onto canvas & paper by modern Aboriginal artists. Bark & trees are still used by modern artists in the same way their ancestors did. Each area of Australia has its traditional style of Art and Painting. Dot art is the traditional form of painting around a relatively small area of the Northern Territory & the eastern part of Western Australia. X-ray Art mainly comes from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. To learn earn more about the History of Aboriginal Art, go to Tasmanian Art. Also read what inspired some of our artist to painting what they did.
The Story of Cave Paintings continues into modern times - please click through to finish the story. Now learn the meaning of our Art Symbols.
Symbols Used In Australian Art & Their Meaning
Tasmanian Art Symbols and Some Words in the Tasmanian Language
Obviously the full meaning of all the symbols is not known today. The sun, moon (lutana in Tasmanian), male, female & animals tracks are believed to be depicted. Here are a few other Tasmanian words:- luyni = rock or stone, nayri = good, waranta = we or us, mina = I or we, nina = you, temma = hut, poatina = cavern, redpa = mosquito, yula = mutton bird, ringina = burrow, putiya = no or not, kipli = eat, payathanima = wallaby, purinina = Tasmanian Devil, mapali = lots of
To learn more about Aboriginal Culture, History & Art check out:-
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Depending on their importance to a story, symbols used can be much larger than what is illustrated above. Look for the shape. Colours will vary from painting to painting. Test yourself:- Check out Billabong Gathering - see the billabongs (water hole symbols) running water & tracks illustrated? Now look at Rosetta Dreaming. Can you see the birds nesting, flying to the waterholes, eating grass seed etc? The white dots at top left symbolise dreaming. Rivers are often Rainbow Serpents the spirit ancestor that created them. Check out The Square Place, notice mountains, the swamp, trees & caves that mark special locations depicted. Similarly many paintings are infact maps.
