Dreamtime Brolga 2

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Brolga

Presenter Notes
The Brolga is a majestic Australian bird well
known for its wonderful mating dance. It is found
across the tropical north, southwards through
north-east and east central areas, as well as
central New South Wales to western Victoria.
These tall birds are up to 130cm in height with
a wingspan of up to 240cm. The female is shorter
than the male. Brolgas have a featherless red
head and a grey crown.It is thought that
Brolgas are monogamous. The bond between breeding
pairs is strengthened during elaborate courtship
displays, which involve much dancing, leaping,
wing-flapping and loud trumpeting. See
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vrCJVmINmtZgNR1

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a continent, a country, an island

Presenter Notes
Outside the breeding season, Brolgas form large
family groups and flocks of up to a hundred
birds. These groups may be partially nomadic or
may stay in the same area. Some birds also
migrate northwards.

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Aboriginals believe in two forms of time two
parallel streams of activity. One is the daily
objective activity, the other is an infinite
spiritual cycle called the "dreamtime", more real
than reality itself.
Whatever happens in the dreamtime establishes the
values, symbols, and laws of Aboriginal society

Presenter Notes
Aboriginals believe in two forms of time two
parallel streams of activity. One is the daily
objective activity, the other is an infinite
spiritual cycle called the "dreamtime", more real
than reality itself. Whatever happens in the
dreamtime establishes the values, symbols, and
laws of Aboriginal society.

It was believed that some people of unusual
spiritual powers had contact with the dreamtime.
"Dreaming" is also often used to refer to an
individual's or group's set of beliefs or
spirituality. For instance, an Indigenous
Australian might say that they have Kangaroo
Dreaming, or Shark Dreaming, or Honey Ant
Dreaming, or any combination of Dreamings
pertinent to their "country".

However, many Indigenous Australians also refer
to the creation time as "The Dreaming".

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The Dreamtime laid down the patterns of life for
the Aboriginal people. "The Dreaming" was the
time of creation. Dreaming stories vary
throughout Australia, and there are different
versions on the same theme.
Long ago, back in the Dreamtime there was a very
beautiful young girl, named Brolga. Even though
she was very young, Brolga was the best dancer in
the whole land

Presenter Notes
In Aboriginal Dreamtime, there lived a young girl
called Brolga who was famous for her wonderful
and unique dancing style. One day, when Brolga
was dancing alone with the light and shadows of a
big old-coolibah tree, the evil spirit Waiwera
saw her from his home in the Milky Way and wanted
her as his woman. He spun himself into a
willy-willy (whirlwind) and drew her up to him.
Her tribe searched and found her captive. The
tribe fought off Waiwera, and when the evil
spirit realised he couldn't escape with the
dancing girl he turned her into a Brolga so as
no-one could have her. The dance of the Brolga
is a traditional dance of Aborigines.

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Everyone in the tribe was very proud of Brolga,
her dancing was so graceful, and her movements so
special

Presenter Notes
The Dreamtime laid down the patterns of life for
the Aboriginal people. "The Dreaming" was the
time of creation. Dreaming stories vary
throughout Australia, and there are different
versions on the same theme.

For example, the story of how the birds got their
colours is different in New South Wales and in
Western Australia.

Stories cover many themes and topics, as there
are stories about creation of sacred places,
land, people, animals and plants, law and custom.
It is a complex network of knowledge, faith, and
practices that derive from stories of creation,
and which pervades and informs all spiritual and
physical aspects of an indigenous Australian's
life.

 

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When she danced, the old people would sit around
and say, 'She dances so well. It makes us proud
that she's part of our tribe.' 'Look at Brolga,
she must be the best dancer in the whole land!
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Once there, she would practise swooshing her arms
like the Pelican, parading like the Emu, and
whirling like the wind. Brolga soon became so
good hat the rest of the tribe asked her to join
in their dances. But Brolga didn't just do the
old dances. She liked to make up new ones.
Now Brolga hadn't always been such a good dancer.
When she was a very little girl, she used to get
up very early in the morning, and creep past her
sleeping brothers and sisters, out of the gunyah
and to the plains around her camp.
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Dances about the trees and the wind, dances about
the Spirits and the animals. The dances that
Brolga invented were so good, that people from
other tribes would come just to see her dance.
The more she danced, the more famous she became.
The old men of the tribe were very proud of her.
Never had there ever been anyone as talented as
Brolga. And they were sure that her dancing would
make their tribe the most famous in the whole
land. They would sit and watch as the beautiful
young girl whirled and twirled - she seemed to
fly through her dances
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Sometimes the old people would worry. Brolga was
very pretty and very famous. What if she became
too proud? They worried that she would become
vain, and ask for special treatment. but she
never did. Each day found her the same happy
modest Brolga as the day before. Each day, Brolga
would spend some time gathering food with the
women and at night she would dance for the rest
of the tribe
One day, Brolga went off by herself to dance. She
went out onto the dry red plain near her camp. On
this plain, was her favourite tree, a big old
coolibah tree. Brolga began to dance in its shade
moving with the shadow of the old tree's
branches. As the wind swayed the tree, Brolga
swayed, dancing out into the sunlight.
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The early morning sun fell on her face and with
her arms floating out she spun for the sheer joy
of it. As the little puffs of dust rose from
her feet, an evil Spirit, Waiwera, looked down
from his home in the Milky Way, and saw Brolga.
Terrance Plowright - Sidney Dancing Brolgas
fountain
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She was without doubt the most graceful and
beautiful girl he had ever seen. Waiwera decided
that Brolga must be his. He would steal her to be
his woman!
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Waiwera quickly spun himself into a whirlwind, a
willy-willy and flew down onto the plain. Brolga
saw the willy-willy swirling across the plain. It
looked so very pretty, a gentle column of dust
spiralling upwards. Brolga didn't know that it
was the evil Spirit, Waiwera!
As the wind came closer to Brolga, it made a
sudden great roaring sound, and enclosed her.
Brolga was swept off her feet. She was caught!
The wind roared, and Brolga thrashed, but it was
no use, she could not escape!
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Far away she could see the big old coolibah tree,
and near it the camp of her tribe. She began to
cry. When Brolga's tribe discovered she was
missing, they went looking for her. 'Maybe
another tribe has stolen her.' 'No, we would have
heard her cries.' 'If we can find her tracks,
then we will be ab le to follow them. They will
show us where she has gone.
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But the wind had covered her tracks. The tribe
searched everywhere for her. They found the big
old coolibah tree 'She used to come here to
dance, but there are no tracks.
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Then they saw the path where the willy-willy had
been. One of the old men suggested they follow
the path of the willy-willy, perhaps that would
take them to Brolga. So the tribe set out. For
several days, they followed the path of the
willy-willy, until they came to a hill
overlooking a small plain
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There below them, they saw the evil Spirit,
Waiwera, and with him was his captive, Brolga!
The whole tribe rushed down hurling their spears
and their boomerangs. Waiwera, seeing them
coming, began to spin the whirlwind faster
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Brolga was now his, and the evil, jealous spirit,
realizing that he couldn't escape with her,
decided that no one would have her
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The whirlwind swirled around Brolga and just as
the tribe reached her, she vanished! Brolga's
tribe watched as the willy-willy wound its way
slowly up into the sky. On the spot where it had
been, there now stood a big old-coolibah tree.
But there was no sign of Brolga
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They knew that the evil spirit, Waiwera, had
returned to his home in the two black holes in
the Milky Way. The old people shuddered and hoped
that they would never have to pass along the
Milky Way, for to do so, they would have to pass
the two black holes where Waiwera lived
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As they stood near the tree which Waiwera had
left, one of the children shouted, 'Look! Look!
There is a bird! A bird we have never seen
before!
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As they watched a beautiful tall grey bird
appeared from behind the tree. Not even the old
people had seen one like it. The bird slowly
stretched its wings, and instead of flying away,
it began to dance, making the same graceful moves
that Brolga used to make. The bird danced, taking
long, hopping steps, and floating on its graceful
wings.

Presenter Notes
Born in Sydney, 1949, Terrance Plowright has
designed and built many water features, one over
50 metres in length for the Deutsche Bank
Headquarters in Sydney and his "Dancing Brolga
Fountain" at Cockle Bay is famous world wide and
features as one of Sydneys major icons for
Singapore Airlines.



This fountain of dancing Brolga birds was built
in 1998 and was Terrance's first water feature.
"Dancing Brolga" is a

spiral dancing water feature, spirals vertically
in dance mode, with bird figures cast in
stainless steel.



Terrance Plowright has worked in fine arts for 25
years and has undertaken some of the largest
commissions in Australia.

He has large sculptural works in New Zealand and
Bangladesh and his Sydney 2000 Olympic sculptures
reside throughout the USA, Singapore, Paris,
Tokyo, London and in all states of Australia.

(Also tree sisters in Blue Mountains )

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The men called out, 'It's Brolga! It's
Brolga! See, the bird is dancing just like
Brolga!
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And the bird seemed to understand. It pranced
slowly towards them, and with one last graceful
bound, flew up into the air, and away!
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Then they all knew that the wicked Waiwera had
changed Brolga into a bird. A bird which the
Aboriginals, from that day onwards, have always
called the brolga

Presenter Notes
Born in Sydney, 1949, Terrance Plowright has
designed and built many water features, one over
50 metres in length for the Deutsche Bank
Headquarters in Sydney and his "Dancing Brolga
Fountain" at Cockle Bay is famous world wide and
features as one of Sydneys major icons for
Singapore Airlines.



This fountain of dancing Brolga birds was built
in 1998 and was Terrance's first water feature.
"Dancing Brolga" is a spiral dancing water
feature, spirals vertically in dance mode, with
bird figures cast in stainless steel.



Terrance Plowright has worked in fine arts for 25
years and has undertaken some of the largest
commissions in Australia.

He has large sculptural works in New Zealand and
Bangladesh and his Sydney 2000 Olympic sculptures
reside throughout the USA, Singapore, Paris,
Tokyo, London and in all states of Australia.

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(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Long ago, when all had been made but was in total
darkness, Brolga and Emu disputed as to the need
for light in the world. Brolga said no, things
were fine as they were. Emu said the animal
people were forever bumping into each other and
were unable to find their things when they had
put them down. Brolga got very angry and clipped
Emus wings, making her a flightless bird. Emu
avenged herself by tossing a brolgas egg into
the sky. The egg exploded and became the sun. Now
everybody can daily admire the beauty and colours
of the great work of the Sky Father.

 

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Text Pictures Internet All copyrights belong
to their respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu
2011
Sound Ken Davis- Joy Of Love Moment In Time

Presenter Notes
Ken Davis is one of the worlds most celebrated
composers of healing, relaxation, ambient and
environmental music with more than 45 CD'S to his
credit. His CD'S and DVD'S are available on the
web including digital downloads. His beautiful
melodies and nature sounds heal mind body and
spirit as well as provide relief from stress and
tension. People world wide use his music for
study as well as an aid to sleep and for pure
listening pleasure. He is one of Australia's
modern day composers.Ken Creates Music for
stress relief, relaxation, ambient and
environmental music!  Ken performs live in
concert and excerpts can be viewed live on
www.youtube.com as well as samples from his
nature DVD'S that are healing and relaxing.