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Torres Strait Islander people are the only culture in the world to make turtleshell masks, known as krar (turtleshell) in the Western Islands and le-op (human face) in the Eastern Islands. [ 21 ] Prominent among the artforms is wame (alt. wameya ), many different string figures .
The Torres Strait Islander people possess a heritage and cultural history distinct from Aboriginal traditions. The eastern Torres Strait Islanders in particular are related to the Papuan peoples of New Guinea, and speak a Papuan language. [54] Accordingly, they are not generally included under the designation "Aboriginal Australians".
The Torres Strait Islands' population was recorded at 4,514 in the 2016 Australian census, with 91.8% of these identifying as Indigenous Torres Strait Island peoples. Although counted as Indigenous Australians, Torres Strait Islander peoples, being predominantly Melanesian, are ethnically and culturally different from Aboriginal Australians.
4.2% identified as Torres Strait Islander; 4.4% identified as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. However, the net undercount of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 17.4%, [59] and the estimated Indigenous population is around 952,000 to 1,000,000, or just under 4 per cent of the total population. [57]
Detailed map of the Torres Strait and its islands. The Torres Strait (/ ˈ t ɒr ɪ s /), also known as Zenadh Kes (pronounced [ˈzen̪ad̪ kes]), is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is 150 km (93 mi) wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the ...
Land is of great significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, often expressed as "connection to Country". Country can be spoken about as if it is a person, and it implies an interdependent and reciprocal relationship between an individual and the lands and seas of their ancestors.
Melanesian Meriam people are an Indigenous Australian group of Torres Strait Islander people who are united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and live as skilled hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans on a number of inner eastern Torres Strait Islands including Mer or Murray Island, Ugar or Stephen Island and Erub or Darnley Island. [1]
The failed 1999 referendum would have added a preamble to the Constitution that included "honouring Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, the nation's first people, for their deep kinship with their lands and for their ancient and continuing cultures which enrich the life of our country"; [55] while the failed 2023 referendum would have ...