Dance-off

• As a class, view the clip and discuss the relationship between Aunty and the children. She warns the children to stay away from Mumuga. Discuss why Aunty would have warned the children of this 'spirit'. Indigenous Australians have passed on information from one generation to another over many thousands of years, predominantly through the spoken word. These oral traditions exist in many different forms. The main forms include, but are not limited to:

1. group stories or collective histories that are usually about early contact periods with colonists
2. cultural practices that are passed down through generations 
3. life histories of individuals told as biographical stories
4. spiritual narratives that are based on teachings about law including relationships with family, with land and seas, and gathering food. Some groups separate these narratives into creation stories and dreaming stories.

• Ask students to list the skills and knowledges that the children are learning in the clip and the type of oral exchange that takes place between Aunty and the children.
• Some useful background notes may be found at the following websites: 

1. ABC, 'Ancient Stories, New Voices', www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/
   Stories from the Northern Territory
2. Australian Museum, 'Stories of the Dreaming', australianmuseum.net.au/Stories-of-the-Dreaming
   Stories of the Dreaming from each Australian state
3. Grey Matter, 'Aboriginal Elders Voices', www.greymatter.net.au/pdf/book/AVE.pdf
4. National Library of Australia, 'Bringing Them Home Oral History Project', www.nla.gov.au/oh/bth/
   Includes many oral histories of Indigenous peoples experiences from across Australia

• As a class, listen to or read some of the stories on the websites (preferably from your local area or state) and talk about some of the similarities to and differences between the different types of stories. Make a list of the similarities and differences.
• Find out about the Indigenous language groups of your local area and talk to Indigenous families, groups and communities who now live in the region or neighbouring areas about local stories from your (or their) region. Remember to observe Indigenous protocols carefully and be aware of the sensitive nature of some information and experiences. Don't include anything the local community does not consider appropriate to share. 
• For suggestions about appropriate protocols and working with Indigenous communities see:

1. New South Wales Board of Studies, 'Working with Communities', http://ab-ed.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/7-10/science/working-with-communities
2. Queensland Studies Authority, 'Indigenous perspectives support materials', www.qsa.qld.edu.au/3035.html

• Ask students to choose a story, nursery rhyme, myth or legend from their culture, heritage or religion, such as a family history (group or individual) or a story connected to spirituality or particular practices shared. They should examine the story and research its origins, characters, setting and plot. 
• Students can then choose to present their story through a particular medium such as song, dance, art or storytelling. Ask them to draft their story and illustrate their ideas using the storyboard/graphic novel strip provided in Student Activity Worksheet H26.1: Dreaming stories.
• If students select an Indigenous story, remind them that they are not allowed to copy the ideas, designs or symbols. They are to develop their own personal symbols and use their own style of interpretation to present their story. The collection of stories and presentations should be presented, displayed or developed into a class storybook or calendar using illustrations and photographs.

Student Activity Sheet H26.1: Dreaming stories

• As a class, view the clip and discuss the relationship between Aunty and the children. The clip illustrates the education of Indigenous children through oral traditions such as storytelling. Oral communication of Indigenous groups has been translated through many different mediums such as message sticks, rock and sand art, carvings, body painting, dance and song. More contemporary stories and information are passed on through visual arts, songs, performance art, multimedia and literature such as prose, poetry and plays.
• In Episode 26 | 1778: Before Time: Barangaroo there is a competition between Barangaroo and her friend to see who is best at mimicking local animals through dance. Ask students to think about other ways they could transfer information about these animals, such as through the painting, dance or song. Divide the class into small groups and give each group three cards with the name of a different Australian animal on each. The cards can be made by pasting the template provided in Student Activity Sheet H26.2: Let's dance on a sheet of cardboard, and cutting out each card. You may wish to include an image of the animal on the back of each card to ensure all students know what the animal looks like. 
• In small groups, students should come up with creative ideas for how they could communicate the animals on the cards to the rest of the group without using words. Ask each group in turn to share their ideas with the class and have the rest of the students guess which animal they are trying to portray. At the end of this activity, discuss with students how body language, sign language and facial expressions can be used to convey meaning.
• Dance is an important means by which all cultural groups, including Indigenous people, pass on knowledge, including spiritual stories and sacred knowledge. For many Indigenous people this knowledge is only available to and appropriate for particular people and not for public knowledge.
• Show the class the introduction to the film Ceremony: the Djungguwan of Northeast Arnhem Land (2006), which documents the 'law ceremony' of the Yolgnu people. The Yolgnu have shared some of their ceremony and it should be presented and discussed respectfully. Be sure to read the teacher notes:

Film Australia, 'Ceremony: the Djungguwan of Northeast Arnhem Land', filmaustraliaceremony.com.au/pdf/teachers_notes.pdf
Background knowledge and information to ensure students have the context to discuss this ceremony appropriately

• Ask students to answer the following questions as they watch:

1. How do the Yolgnu people pass on their sacred knowledge?
2. What is the Djungguwan ceremony teaching?
3. What is the story being told in the ceremony?

• Once they have formulated their answers, ask students to discuss them with a partner. Finally, ask students to share their answers with the class.

• Ask students to find out about a ceremony from their own or another religious or cultural group in Australia that may be shared as public knowledge. They should research the ceremony and reflect on how it sounds, looks and feels to be involved. It may be a ceremony that they have been a part of in some way, one they can ask their family or wider community about or one that they can research on the internet. Students can use the Y-chart provided in Student Activity Sheet H26.2: Let's dance to record their findings.

 1   What does it sound like?

• Once students have researched and found out as much as they can about the ceremony, ask them to record the sounds they would hear during the performance of the ceremony. They should list these in the relevant section of the Y-chart.

 2   What does it look like?

• As students will have seen, meaning and messages at ceremonies can be transmitted through many different forms such as song, dance, dress, body painting and art. Body paint, for example, is used to help communicate the story in many Indigenous ceremonies. Students should list examples in the relevant section of the Y-chart. 

 3   What does it feel like?

• Invite students to experience what it feels like to be dressed up and performing as part of such a ceremony. Talk to people who have taken part, watch videos or read about the ceremonies. Students should list how it feels in the relevant section of the Y-chart.
• Encourage students to share what they have found out about their ceremonies and display the Y-charts for discussion.
• Within Australia today, there are many Indigenous dance groups who keep the tradition of dance ceremonies alive. There may be some in your local area that you could find out about and invite to perform or conduct workshops. Many of these groups have websites which your students can explore:

1. Bangarra Dance Theatre, www.bangarra.com.au/
2. Descendance, 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theatre', www.descendance.com.au/
3. Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, www.tjapukai.com.au/

• Divide students into groups of eight and ask them to find out about a local, state or national Indigenous festival. 
• Each group could develop a poster advertising the festival, including what it looks, sounds and feels like, to encourage people to attend, or choreograph a short dance that imitates the movements of an Australian animal.

Student Activity Sheet H26.2: Let's dance

• Prior to watching this clip, have students research the importance of dance as part of Indigenous cultures. Some useful websites include:

1. ABC, Indigenous Arts and Events, 'Performance', www.abc.net.au/indigenous/arts_events/PERFORMANCE.htm
2. Australia.gov.au, 'Australian Indigenous Ceremony - Song, Music and Dance', australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-indigenous-ceremony
3. Oz Outback, 'Dances and Ceremonies from Indigenous Australia', ozoutback.com.au/Australia/videos.html

• Consider dance as part of a holistic Indigenous knowledges framework:
        Education Queensland: The Arts, 'Indigenous Perspectives in The Arts - Dance', www.learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=28643
• Extracts of dance scenes from such films as Ten Canoes (2006) and filmed productions from the Bangarra Dance Theatre could be used as examples: 

1. Bangarra Dance Theatre, 'Vision', www.bangarra.com.au/About/Vision.aspx
2. Ten Canoes, www.tencanoes.com.au/tencanoes/

• Stories from the Yolngu people of Ramingining in the northern part of central Arnhem Land are featured on the following website:
        Twelve Canoes, www.12canoes.com.au/ 
• There is a map showing Ramingining on the 'Where in the World' page of this website. You can navigate to it from 'About Us'. For this group, consider dance within ceremony and how it fits with all aspects of life - land, environment, language, culture and relationships.
• Watch the clip Dance off from Episode 26 | 1778 : Before Time: Barangaroo and focus students' attention on the performance. Ask students the following questions:

1. Which three animal movements did Barangaroo mimic?
2. Which animal movements did Mani try to mimic?
3. What are three other animals they could have tried to use in the dance?

• Ask students to research information from your local Indigenous language group (or dance group if there is one available), or from another particular region, in response to the questions below.

1. How is dance important to the life and culture of the group? How is it connected to the land, the environment and relationships between people? 
2. What are some of the stimulus ideas for dance movements and choreography for this group?
3. What other preparation is involved in terms of dressing up and/or social organisation of the group/s?
4. What are the roles and responsibilities of people and their relationships to dance within the group?
5. Which ceremonies involve dances and who is able to share, know and learn about these?

• Be sure to reinforce that it is not appropriate to recreate Indigenous images, movements or music as they could have particular spiritual significance that is not appropriate to share. It is also important for students to create what they know rather than seeking it elsewhere.

• Ask students to work in groups of three. Ask each group to create a dance mimicking three different Australian animals from your local area or beyond that have some significance for the students. Students should observe the movements of the selected animals and practise the movements for them. Each set of movements should be repeated three times in a sequence. In preparation, ask students to develop an instruction sheet on how to perform their dance. Refer students to Student Activity Sheet E26.1: Culture. Students could create their own backing music for the dance.
• Host a dance-off for the class where each group performs their dance based on the three sequences of the animals they selected. The rest of the class can guess which animals are mimicked. The group can invite the rest of the class to learn and practise the dance with them.
• The students may use costumes and body decoration for added impact.

Student Activity Sheet E26.1: Culture

• As a class, view the clip and focus attention on the conversation between Wiyanga and the children, particularly when she tells them to stay away from the Mumuga. As a class, brainstorm all of the different types of stories and lessons students learn from their grandparents, parents, other family and important people in their lives. These could be oral histories about the family or individuals within it, lessons on morals and values, religious stories about spirituality, or practical lessons about cooking, making or fixing things, or looking after each other. 
• Have students focus on the conversation between the children about the powers of the Mumuga. Refer students to Student Activity Sheet E26.2: Stories of Mumuga and ask them to respond to the following questions:

1. What do the children think the Mumuga can do with its claws?
2. What can it do with its teeth?
3. What about it smells really bad?
4. What can this smell do to its victims?
5. What does it do to bodies while they're still warm?

• Focus attention on the conversation between Mung and Barangaroo, when Mung asks if the Mumuga took his mum. This question develops the understanding that the Mumuga is dangerous and to be feared. Ask students to imagine their own feared animal or monster. Ask students to write a children's story as an imaginative text or as a graphic story. For examples of children's books, refer to the work of Shaun Tan as an example of a graphic novel and Mem Fox as an example of repetitive text for a children's story. And importantly, find examples of Indigenous children's books and discuss their illustrations and stories.

1. Austral Ed, 'Children's Books - Books about Australian Indigenous Peoples',
   www.australed.iinet.net.au/aust_aborigines.html
2. ABC TV, 'Us Mob', www.abc.net.au/usmob/

• Ask students to draw what they think the Mumuga looks like. The illustration should be labelled with all the horrifying features that Barangaroo and the children talk about.
• Refer students to Student Activity Sheet E26.2: Stories of Mumuga.

Student Activity Sheet E26.2: Stories of Mumuga