communicate design ideas in different ways, bearing in mind aesthetic qualities, and the use and purpose for which the product is intended;
explore the sensory qualities of materials and how to use materials and processes.

The Outback of Australia is a wild and beautiful land, with deep red earth and wide flat plains, leading to far-off mountains. There are few tall trees, just low scrub and bushes. Although it is beautiful and striking, it can be a harsh landscape: you have to learn survival skills to live here.

A group of Aboriginal people drives deep into the Outback to celebrate Inma Maku. It's a chance for the modern kids to learn a bit about the old ways of their people. An Inma is a celebration of the earth and land with song, dance and feasting. Maku means 'witchetty grub'. The kids dig in the roots of an acacia tree to find plump white witchetty grubs. These are the larvae of the cossid moth. Witchetty grubs made a traditional meal for Aboriginal tribes in the days when they roamed the land, hunting and gathering their food. Today, Aboriginal people often live in towns and cities, so events like Inma Maku help them not to lose touch with their past. They tell stories about 'The Dreamtime', paint their faces and bodies with ancient designs and perform traditional dances by the firelight after feasting on the grubs.

Curriculum Relevance

Art: investigating and making art, craft and design.
Science: materials and their properties.

Background

Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for at least 40,000 years and perhaps as long as 65,000. For much of this time, their way of life remained unchanged, with groups of people roaming the land hunting and gathering the food they could find. About 150 years ago, Europeans began to settle in large numbers in Australia. They claimed the land as their own and forced many changes on the Aboriginal people. Today, Aboriginal families are increasingly concerned that their beliefs and traditions will be forgotten.

Inma Maku is a celebration that reminds Aboriginal children about the old ways. Older members of the family tell stories about the Dreamtime, which explain how the world was created by Baiame, the Great Spirit. Other stories explain the origins of different plants and animals and contain lessons about how to live well and in harmony with the land.

Aboriginal people have always made distinctive art, using natural materials such as bark, earth and stones. Animal pictures are often outlined with rows of dots. The bones of the animal are drawn inside the body, as if the picture was an X-ray. The spaces around the bones are decorated with patterns of lines or interlocking triangles. The animal is often placed against a background of lines, circles or triangles. Follow the links from this site to see some examples of Aboriginal art.

Activities

Make a Dreamtime Design

You will need: sticks of white chalk; paper bag; sheets of black paper.

Begin by following the links from this site to research traditional Australian Aboriginal designs. Make some quick sketches in chalk of what you see.
Aboriginal designs often represent the shapes of plants, animals or features of the local landscape in a simplified (or 'abstract') form, using dots, broken lines or spiral shapes.
Choose an animal you like, or a feature of the landscape around you (for example a street lamp) that could be given the same treatment.
Put the chalk in the paper bag and crush it to a powder.
Wet your finger and dip it into the powder. Use your finger to sketch your design, either onto dark paper, or onto a dark patch of wall or ground.

The chalk patterns are easy to rub away and alter. Keep changing details of your pattern unl you are happy with the design.

Make a 'Bark Painting'

You will need: square of cork tile; chalk powder; white paint and dark brown paint; pva glue; twig or sharp stick.

Sketch your design onto the cork tile with your finger, using the chalk powder.
When you are happy with your design, fill in the areas around it with dark brown paint. Use your fingers to do this too – it helps you to make a bold design, without too much detail.
When the brown paint is dry, dip a twig into the white paint and go over your chalk marks.
The paint will sink into the cork tile and the strong colours may fade a little. If your design becomes unclear, try mixing a little pva glue into the white paint and apply it again.

Links

Find out more about the lives of Aboriginal kids in Australia's Northern Territory:
www.ozoutback.com.au/postcards/postcards_forms/abor_children_1/

Find out more about Inma Maku ceremonies:
www.pc.gov.au/inquiry/broadcst/trans/brisbane200599.pdf

Find out more about the beliefs of Aboriginal peoples:
waru.org/organisations/nwkrc/

Find out more about the art of Australia's Aboriginal peoples:
www.virginia.edu/kluge-ruhe/index.php?p=_home_

www.desart.com.au/

www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/symbols.html

Find out more about traditional Aboriginal dances:
www.bangarra.com.au/

Making It: Programmes 27–39 Programme 35: Inma Maku

Aims

Outline