• Aboriginal Art and Culture
  

  Part of the Aboriginal Fine Arts Gallery, this site is the first of two pages on the arts & culture of the Aboriginal people. Aborigines are said to have occupied Australia for forty thousand years, coming originally from South East Asia. They are also said to have been responsible for various innovations, such as "…the earliest known human cremations, some of the earliest rock art, and certainly the first boomerangs, ground axes, and grindstones in the world." The structure of Aboriginal society was also built upon the notion of 'kinship', which brought with it "…rights, obligations, and appropriate ways of behaving." It is also stressed here (p.2) that the differences between Aboriginal groups was important; there existed no concept of a "…pan-Australian identity."

• Aborignal Art, Land, & the Dreaming
  

  The art & culture of the Australian Aboriginies, with links to the concept of 'Dreaming' & the 'Dreamtime', and the 'Rainbow Serpent'. This page is divided into six short sections: (i) 'Art, Land, and the Dreaming', (ii) 'Traditional Symbols', (iii) 'Contemporary Aboriginal Culture and Society', (iv) 'Aboriginal Languages', (v) 'Aboriginal Music', and (vi) the 'Prehistory of Australia'. The fourth of these sections has a link to a discussion of what should be the correct terminology to describe the indigenous peoples of Australia. In the section entitled 'The Dreamtime', we read: "The Aborigines learned about the origins of the tribe through their Dreamtime creation myths, that told of the significant actions of the creators. The myths were the basis of Aboriginal society and were responsible for providing certainty about existence."

• Garigal & Cannalgal Aboriginal peoples
  

  Pittwater Library Service, Australia. This site provides a brief discussion of the history & culture of the Garigal & Cannalgal Aboriginal peoples of Pittwater. [Pittwater is situated on the East Australian Coast approx. 15 nautical miles North of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour)].

• Indigenous Australia
  

  All articles compiled by Aboriginal people covering such subjects as language, culture, land, The Dreaming, festivals, & social organisation. Following an introduction, the culture section offers discussions of initiation ceremonies, ceremonial dress, feasts & gathering, the Corroboree, musical instruments, the mourning ceremony, & trade routes. Dreaming origins, and a number of rock legends may be found under 'The Dreaming'. A discussion of arts & crafts may be accessed from the 'Welcome' page.

• Indigenous Australia Website
  

  Australian Museum Online: The Indigenous Australia Website, covering Aboriginal culture, spirituality, history, storytelling - including many actual stories. Timelines run from pre-contact (65,000 years ago) to the present. The issue of social justice is also raised. Sections for 'Kids' & teachers are also available.

• The Eora
  

  Historical Sydney. A survey of the Aboriginal peoples (the "Eora") in the Sidney area of eastern Australia, including extensive lists of clans & their locations. A useful compliment to Garigal & Cannalgal article above.

Maori Religion

• Maori Arts & Crafts
  

  Although essentially an advert for the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute (MACI), this webpage features a Maori storehouse, a sacred meeting place, & some natural features of the region, namely, the Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. One may also read of the legend of Hinemoa & Tutanekai.

• Maori Genealogy (Whakapapa)
  

  This site provides an account, with examples, of the nature of Maori genealogy (whakapapa), which is here said to include not just human genealogies but serves also as a metaphor for "the act of Creation and for the evolution of the Universe and all living creatures within it".

• Maori Organisations of New Zealand
  

  The world wide web of Maori Organisations of New Zealand. Subjects include among others, history, culture, myth & legend (including the creation of the first human & the search for knowledge), and an educational sectional, which consists in a quiz. The site also includes links to both other Maori websites & those of other indigenous cultures.

• Maori theology
  

  This website provides a discussion by the late Michael Shirres, a Dominican brother, of the relationship of Christianity & Maori religious beliefs. Included, among others, are discussions of the Maori concepts of the three baskets of knowledge, Rangi and Papa (Heaven & Earth), mana (power) & the human person, and karakia, the ritual chants of the Maori. Michael Shirres completed a B.A., M.A. and finally a PhD. in Anthropology (Maori Studies) 1974-86.

• The Ancient Waitaha
  

  This essay, reproduced here by the Journal of the Polynesian Society, is by G. Leslie Adkin, 1950. The author evidently considers the Waitaha of New Zealand to have pre-dated the "Maori of the Fleet of 1350 A.D." In addition he adds: "It can be confidently accepted that the material culture of the ancient Waitaha was superior to any other brought to or developed within the New Zealand area. This is shown by the archaeological evidence."

• Traditional Maori proverbs
  

  Some general themes by Paul Moon of Auckland Institute of Technology, 1997. Among the themes considered, are the creation and purpose of the proverbs, the impact upon them of their translation into English, their use as educational tools within traditional Maori communities, and metaphorical proverbs. In concluding Moon states: "More than being mere objects of amusement, or even devices for learning, proverbs in fact both reflect and contribute to patterns in people's lives, and therefore can form a powerful basis for community cohesion."