Sea Totems
The Meriam dance to celebrate their fishing activities; they also "dance" the movements of waves, marine creatures and sea birds.
In fact, most of the Meriam totems have links to the sea.
The subtleties and complexities of the dance movements, the headdresses, pendants, armlets and masks, are designed to draw on the hidden power of the sea and its physical and spiritual inhabitants.
Belonging To Country
Topic
aborigines, Australia, dreamtime, indigenous Australians, land ownership, land rights, sacred
A Sacred Landscape
Topic
aboriginal property ownership, anthropology, Australia, clans, dispossession, kinship, land ownership, religion, sacred
The Murray Islanders' Evidence
Topic
1986
evidence, Mabo, Edward Koiki, Murray Island, plaintiffs, witnesses
Sea Claims
Topic
Federal Government, Australia, fish traps, fishing, Great Barrier Reef, Meriam culture, sacred, sea rights
In Meriam Waters
Topic
fishing, Great Barrier Reef, Meriam culture, sea rights, seafarers, Torres Strait
