Traditional
Aboriginal clothing
was not the
same in the whole Australia.
What Aboriginal people wore when they lived in tribes, depended on
where in Australia
they lived.
In southern, colder parts of
the country they wore coats, while up
north in the tropics where it was too hot, they either wore minimal
clothing or were naked and covered their bodies in body
paintings.
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Northern Warm Regions
In warm regions in the tropical northern Australia, there was no need
for clothes. Traditionally Aboriginal
People in those areas didn’t use any
clothes, but covered their bodies in paintings. In the Kimberley
region in north Western
Australia, particularly in Broome
area, men wore rijis – pubic coverings made of pearl shells, and
attached to a belt around the waist by hair strings. Hair strings were
made by women. All cut hair was saved, and spun into long threads,
which could be used as headbands, ropes and belts, or even woven into
textiles. Sometimes grasses were combined with hair to make tougher
textiles. Typically Spinifex grasses were used in the inland, while on
the northern coasts, pandanus
leaves, which are known for their strength, were used. Bark was also
sometimes used for textiles, and more commonly for making baskets.
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Southern Cool Regions
In the cooler south eastern parts of Australia, in today’s New
South Wales and Victoria,
Aboriginal people commonly wore possum
cloaks. They were made of many possum
skins sewn together, and they were rubbed in fat to better protect from
the cold. They were often also decorated by ochre colours. The cloaks
were also used as blankets and mattresses.
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