Australian Indigenous Totem Drama

Indigenous Totem Drama

(Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be aware that this document/blog may contain images or names of people who have since passed away)

The second order of indigenous creation is dealt with in the totem dramas, where '' ... the ancestors ... recreate themselves in the spirit form in the bodies of animals and human beings who retain the mystical animal qualities inherent in the ancestor's…” (Reed 1993:67).  Many of the stories that Westerners identify as dreamtime stories, come from the totemic ancestor stories that tell of how the empty featureless landscape was sculptured by Great Spirits. These totem dramas, enact the very probable encounters of the First Australians with giant mammals such as Genyornis (the giant emu), the monster Kadimakara and the giant kangaroos known by many names. Often Totem dance dramas involve using the totem of an animal or as the central focus point to dance dramas and rituals and symbols are often painted on the face and body of participants.

Before I continue, I should point out that totems and totem drama should not be simply copied or imitated without consultation with or permission from local knowledge holders. Usually this is granted for classroom or education use with children but permission for public performance is a different thing. So, consult, ask for permission, and consult and ask for permission at each stage of the process. 

The totem drama is highly ritualistic and these stories and their enactment are often linked to dances, sung stories and body painting that is linked to specific initiation and ceremonial occasions. In this sense, Australian indigenous totem dramas tend to be parochial, “… dramatizations of portions of legends ... tied down to definite local centres with each group…” (Strehlow 1986:4). Although the totem dramas of different indigenous tribes vary in content, the forms, conventions and symbols of these dramas remain remarkably consistent. A number of examples of totem dramas are evident on the 1983 Film Australia video Aboriginal Dance – Three Dances by Gulpilil and Five Dances From Cape York.

The painting of bodies with different earthen paints and colours to enact spirits, can be seen as an early form of costume, the creation of specific chanting rhythms for the aspects of different spirits and the use of a central spatial focus usually embodied in a physical symbol like the tnatantja pole (of the Aranda peoples), act as a stage design feature helping to make the totem dramas highly symbolic.

“Among the Arunta, the men of the witchetty grub totem perform ceremonies for multiplying the grub which other members of the tribe use as food. One of the ceremonies is a pantomime representing the fully developed insect in the act of emerging from the chrysalis. A long narrow structure of branches is set up to imitate the chrysalis case of the grub. In this structure a number of men ... sit and sing of the creature in its various stages. Then they shuffle out of it in a squaring posture, and as they do so they sing of the insect emerging from the chrysalis.'' (Frier in Frazer 1987: l 7)

Indigenous totem drama like songdrama is essentially done as a sung story but unlike songdrama it involves the use of specific movements, a specific setting or built set for the drama and the enactment by actors of various parts of the drama. In totem drama the group tells the story and takes on the qualities of the creature or plant that is the subject matter for the drama. The actions are usually involve mime and exaggerated movement and frequently act out part of the story being sung. Often animals are the central characters in the dramas enacted. Here is an example involving the dancing of individual animal totems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ8_tBwBE_A

Sometimes totem drama attempts to predict or create a situation that people would hope for in the near future. A totem drama or totem dance can sometimes be given as a gift to another tribe. Gestures of a tribe’s totem or respect for another tribe's totem, beliefs or land, can be expressed or given, especially when entering another tribes place or land.

Many examples of rituals of respect and welcome rituals are performed by various Indigenous peoples. Frequently, in modern times, people in contemporary Australian cities and towns are privileged enough to have members of local tribes and clans perform their own welcoming dance or ceremonies at festivals, conferences and special meetings. Totem drama can also be filled with many dramatic conventions such as stage design features, costume and makeup. Amongst many tribes, putting ochre on the forehead, the hands and the chest shows they are open to receiving or sharing, while others throw earth into the air or pick up a pebble to introduce themselves and ask for a good welcome.

Further Readings and Resources on Indigenous Totem Drama

Aboriginal Dance 1 [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ8_tBwBE_A
Aboriginal Dance – Three Dances by Gulpilil and Five Dances From Cape York (video). 1983. Film Australia. Sydney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L08e91HxX-w

Berndt, R.M. & Phillips, E.S. 1973. The Australian Aboriginal Heritage: An Introduction Through the Arts. Ure Smith. Sydney.

Mathews, R.H. 1905. Ethnological Notes on Aboriginal Tribes of N.S.W. and Victoria. White Publishing. Sydney.

Mullins, B. 1989. Aboriginal lore: a pictorial review of ancient aboriginal life, ritual and culture, as recorded in the marks they left on the land. Shepp Books. Hornby, N.S.W.

Neuenfeldt, K. 1997. The Didgeridu: From Arnhem land to the Internet. John Libbey & Co. Sydney.

Strehlow, T.G.H. 1986. Aranda Traditions, Melbourne University Press. Melbourne.

Woolgoodja, S. 1976. Lalai Dreamtime. Aboriginal Arts Board. Canberra.

Indigenous Totem Drama Exercises and Discussion

Indigenous Totem Drama Exercises

1. Think of a plant or animal in your neighbourhood. Think what is important or particular or what you would hope to happen to this animal or plant in the future (e.g. I hope the young ducks in my local pond/creek grow bigger and fatter and learn how to fly or I hope that the magpie with the damaged wing is able to fix his wing and learn to fly again). Using some natural material such as sticks, leaves or branches; create the setting for your drama. Now create the performance. Create the rhythm of your creature first with your feet, then with a simple arm or body gestures and then with a simple chant or the repetition of one word (e.g. ''find the food'' ''fly''). Start to build the momentum of the chant and gesture. When you wish to change or progress the action of your drama, change the rhythm that you are beating out with your feet first, before you change the actions. A game can be made out of changing the rhythms.  

2. Let every member of the group find their own space in the room. Define your space through placing a set of pebbles or some earth on the ground around your space or 'place'. Think what your animal totem for your space or ‘nation’ will be. Create a rhythm and simple sequence of repeatable gestures, actions and/or movements for your nation. You should include some actions which reflect your totem animal. You may want to extend this and tell a story or create a short one minute totem drama that shows your totem and also tells a story about the totem. Now one by one, visit or enter someone else's 'place' or ‘nation’. You should do a ritual before entering another's space. You could pick up a stone or some earth or sand doing an action with it. Once the other person enters your space, show them your ritual or movement and perhaps even teach it or part of it to them. The visitor may also want to share their totem dance or drama.

Indigenous Totem Drama Discussion

Many indigenous peoples believe that animals, animal spirits and totems give meaningful direction to individuals and groups. They believe that all living things deserve respect. To what extent does a society disconnected from animals and nature loose its sense of direction and respect?

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be identified by their totems. Totems can be an important part of cultural identity. To what extent might totem dramas and dances be important to both protect an animal and create a sense of identity for a group of people? Do dance and drama from European cultures have any similar functions?

Further Reading

Find and read Oodgeroo Noonuccal's (also published under the name Kath Walker) poem Ballad of the Totems (see Oodgeroo Noonucal 2008) or her short story Kill to Eat (in the anthology Global Tales Naidoo 1997).