#torresstrait

AILAN SONGS PROJECT four winds (CD)

Song listing:

1.Oh TI feat. Rochelle Pitt & Doreen Pensio

2.Black Swana

3.Taba Naba

4.Zapanee Saramba

5.Pacifika Medley

6.Loka Keni

7.PI Sun

8.Four winds

9.Lag PI

10.Baba Wayar feat. Rita Kaitap

11.Black Swana feat. Ailan Songs Singers

12.Lau Kakeni feat. Margaret ‘Neyama’ Gabey

I had the opportunity to live in the Torres Strait for 3 years.  It was the most awesome experience.  Here are some great facts about this incredible place:

Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of the Torres Strait. The Torres Strait is located between Papua New Guinea and the very top of Australia. These seafaring people, of Melanesian background, traditionally hunted and gathered. Dugong, turtle, crayfish, shellfish and wild fruits and vegetables are an important part of their diet and particularly during traditional ceremonies and celebrations. Hunting for turtle and dugong is only permitted for traditional purposes. Weaving is a vital part of island life. A variety of baskets, trays, mats, decorative items and serving dishes are woven by women from coconut or pandanus leaves. Many daily activities take place on woven mats. Traditional food preparation, story telling, hair dressing and dancing all strengthen traditional bonds. Celebrations such as weddings and tombstone unveiling ceremonies are great occasions where the community come together to a big feast. A kapmauri, a big underground oven is constructed by the men who cook the vegetables, meat and fish prepared by the women. All join in the traditional dancing and singing, accompanied by long wooden drums. These are wonderful occasions, with men, women and children all singing and dancing together.

Each island community has its own techniques, methods, story telling and dreamtime stories. This guides them to design headdresses, costumes and the spiritual messages presented in their eye-catching performances. Women wear bright colored island dresses with colorful prints and grass skirts. As well as adorning themselves with tropical flowers, they wear carved hair combs and decorative necklaces made of shells and seeds from the island environment. The women will often be involved in the singing, dancing and tapping of drums during performances. Traditional costumes are an important aspect of cultural celebrations.The dhoeri (Central and western islands language name) or dhari (Eastern islands language name) is the traditional headdress worn by islander men for certain occasions and dances. Headdresses vary from island to island. Traditionally, they were made out of feathers from the Frigate bird and Torres Strait Pigeon. However, now they are created from a wide range of materials including plywood, chicken feathers, cane and cardboard. Men also  wear  woven  grass  skirts  over  a colored  fabric skirt. Traditionally men don’t wear shirts, but for modestly purposes, they now wear a white singlet. Woven bands, sometimes adorned with feathers, are worn on the forehead, arms, wrists and ankles. War paint is often added to the face and body to show the men as warriors in battle. Drums, spears, bow and arrows and fishing instruments are used in their performances to share their messages and stories. Drums used in dancing are carved out of wood and then covered with stretched skin from sharks, eels, snakes or goannas. 10 things you may not know about the Torres Strait Islands 1. The Torres Strait Islands are made up of 18 inhabited islands, around 100 uninhabited islands and two mainland communities located off the northern tip of Australia. The Torres Strait Islands had a population of 4,248 in the 2011 Census. 2. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures - Queensland Museum Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in Queensland Torres Strait Islander culture The Torres Strait is named after a Spanish navigator and captain, Luís Vaz de Torres, who was the first European to sail through Torres Strait in 1606 on his way to Manila in the Philippines. It is the waterway separating far northern Australia (Cape York Peninsula) and New Guinea.