www.tennantcreektourism.com.au
Tennant Creek is a small town of about 3,500 people to which one-third of them are aborigines. It is located 500 kilometres north of Alice Springs and 1000 kilometres south of Darwin.
Tenant Creek is a place rich with Aboriginal culture, pastoralism and gold mining.
Aborigines in Tennant Creek and in general are renowned for their bush survival skills as they are semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers with each clan having its own territory.
Part of the aboriginal culture is the aborigines’ shared and intimate understanding of, and relationship with, the land. That relationship with the land is the basis of their spiritual life which also shaped the Aboriginal culture and their aboriginal life. The land is fundamental to the well-being of the aborigines and it is where the aboriginal life and aboriginal experience revolve.
The Aboriginal community is also characterized by the aborigine’s dreamtime stories which explain how the land was created by the journeys of the spirit ancestors. The aboriginal community has this shared story of creation where the “Ancestor Spirits” came to earth in human and other forms and then the land, the plants and animals were given their forms as we know them today.
The aborigines have their own aboriginal language that holds them together in terms of their history, through songs, legends, poetry and lore. The aboriginal culture is intertwined in the aboriginal language that is rich with truly aboriginal experiences that is unique, artistic and very natural.
The very natural Aboriginal life are reflected in the aborigines’ body adornment, women's basketry, spears, wooden tools and weapons and aboriginal housing.
To have a feel of the aboriginal culture, a visit to Tennant Creek near Alice Springs will give you an aboriginal experience.