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They are held often, for many different reasons, all of which are based on the spiritual beliefs and cultural practices of the community. [24] They include Dreaming stories, secret events at sacred sites, homecomings, births and deaths. [25] They still play a very important part in the lives and culture of Aboriginal people.
In the late 1950s, there was an increasing focus on the global need for anthropological research into 'disappearing cultures'. [1] [2] This trend was also emerging in Australia in the work of researchers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, [3] [4] leading to a proposal by W.C. Wentworth MP for the conception of an Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1959.
For Torres Strait Islander people, singing and dancing is their "literature" – "the most important aspect of Torres Strait lifestyle. The Torres Strait Islanders preserve and present their oral history through songs and dances;...the dances act as illustrative material and, of course, the dancer himself is the storyteller" (Ephraim Bani, 1979).
The relationship is enhanced and sustained by the living environment and cultural knowledge. [4] [5] Because everything is connected, animals, trees, rocks, land and sky all deserve respect. Past is connected to present, and there is a sense it is important to acknowledge and respect the country of other peoples, wherever one travels in Australia.
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.
Drawing on this important relationship with Country, many First Nations Australians — including Aboriginal Australians across the continent and Torres Strait Islanders alike [13] [34] — identify a sense of responsibility or obligation to care for Country as a central tenet of traditional custodianship.
It is the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to determine their own political status and pursue their own economic, social and cultural interests. Self-determination asserts that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should direct and implement Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy formulation and provision of ...
The sites are protected by various state- and territory-based legislation as part of Australian heritage laws, and the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 can be invoked as a "last resort" if the site is not considered adequately covered by legislation in the jurisdiction.