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Something Deep Within Us
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Today, the Meriam remain very much a sea people. The power of the sea gives them strength both in life and death, and is present at the very moment a person passes from this life to the next.

For this is the time a "real Murray Islander" performs the unique movements of the totem, or creature, to whom they are matched.

These creatures are almost all from the sea and this explains why the Murray Islanders' tie with the sea is a realm of profound, aesthetic emotion.

"It is something deep within us", says Meriam land and sea owner, Gobedar Noah.

And it's given expression in song and dance.
Taba Naba
Audio and Text
 
dancing, fishing, Mills Sisters, songs
...warn the Meriam of danger ...
Text
 
ceremony, Great Barrier Reef, maber, shells, turtles
Belonging To Country
Topic
 
aborigines, Australia, dreamtime, indigenous Australians, land ownership, land rights, sacred
Sea Claims
Topic
 
Federal Government, Australia, fish traps, fishing, Great Barrier Reef, Meriam culture, sacred, sea rights
Sea Rights
Topic
 
Federal Government, Australia, fishing, Meriam culture, sea rights
Performance, Art & The Sacred
Topic
 
Malo's laws, Malo-Bomai, Mer, Murray Island, religion, sacred