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Religious affiliations of Torres Strait islanders in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population [4] The Islanders refer to this event as "The Coming of the Light", also known as Zulai Wan, [ 47 ] [ 57 ] or Bi Akarida, [ 48 ] and all Island communities celebrate the occasion annually on 1 July.
The term Indigenous Australians refers to Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the term is conventionally only used when both groups are included in the topic being addressed, or by self-identification by a person as Indigenous.
The islands of the Torres Strait have been inhabited by humans for at least 2,500 years and possibly much longer. [1] The various Torres Strait Islander communities have a unique culture and long-standing history with the islands and nearby coastlines.
Stories of the Tagai represent Torres Strait Islanders as sea people, with a connection to the stars, as well as a system of order in which everything has its place in the world. [258] [260] Some Torres Strait Islander people share beliefs similar to the Aboriginal peoples' Dreaming and "Everywhen" concepts, passed down in oral history. [261]
(For the purposes of the Australian Census, the last factor is excluded as impractical.) [16] A definition was proposed by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in the Report on a Review of the Administration of the Working Definition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Canberra, 1981): "An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is a person ...
Australian Indigenous sovereignty, also recently termed Blak sovereignty, encompasses the various rights claimed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within Australia. Such rights are said to derive from Indigenous peoples' occupation and ownership of Australia prior to colonisation and through their continuing spiritual connection ...
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.
However, banana cultivation is now thought to have been practiced amongst Torres Strait Islanders. [67] Aboriginal Australians along the coast and rivers were also expert fishermen. Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people relied on the dingo as a companion animal, using it to assist with hunting and for warmth on cold nights.