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Yulunga: chuboochuboo

A chuboochuboo is a wallaby skin stuffed with grass and about the size of a football. Men, women and children played the game. The game generated a great deal of fun and enjoyment and never any arguments. It was observed being played in parts of South Australia. The Aboriginal people of the Lower Murray and surrounding ...

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Yulunga: koolchee koolchee

This ball-throwing and hitting game was played by the Diyari people from near Lake Eyre in South Australia. The balls were called koolchee. The aim of the activity is to roll a ball to hit a skittle. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians with a greater understanding ...

Video

Roman Times: Eating and entertaining in ancient Rome

Discover a world of ancient Roman entertainment that was, in some respects, remarkably similar to modern times and gruesomely different in others. In this clip, find out about such things as the games children played and the meals they ate. Also explore the types of entertainment they enjoyed at the theatre, Circus Maximus ...

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Yulunga: gorri

Bowling-ball or disc games were played by Aboriginal boys and men in all parts of Australia. A piece of rounded bark (disc) was rolled by one of the players for the other boys to use as a target for their short spears. A version of this activity is still played in the Kimberley area and Northern Territory (and perhaps elsewhere) ...

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Yulunga: weet weet

The throwing of the play-stick, commonly called the weet weet (‘wit-wit’) was a popular activity among Aboriginal people in some parts of Australia, and various contests were held. The weet weet was often referred to as the ‘kangaroo rat’, because when thrown correctly its flight resembled the leaping action of this small ...

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Yulunga: makar

Various types of toy boats and canoes are found in parts of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. On Sunday Island in northern Australia, small models of the raft (kaloa) were made for children to play with. In other areas of Australia small replicas of dugout canoes were fashioned. In parts of the Torres Strait simple ...

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Yulunga: kabi kabi buroinjin

This was a traditional game of some Aboriginal groups such as the Kabi Kabi in south Queensland. The game was played with a ball made of kangaroo skin, which was called a buroinjin. The ball, which was smaller than a football, was sewn with tendons and stuffed with grass. The game was often played until sunset. Spectators ...

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Yulunga: kai

In this game from the Torres Strait Islands, a number of players stood in a circle and sang the kai wed (ball song) as they hit a ball up in the air with the palms of their hands. The game was played using the thick, oval, deep-red fruit of the kai tree, which is quite light when dry. This is a hand-hitting (volley) game ...

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Yulunga: turlurlu

Turlurlu is the name of a traditional ball rolling and hitting game played by boys in the Great Sandy Desert of central Australia. A rough ball called a kamikami was cut from the thick root of the ngulyungu tree. Each player held a mukurru, or fighting stick, as a bat. The boys formed teams and each side took turns to bowl ...

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Yulunga: koara

In various places accounts have been recorded of leaves being folded into shapes to make a propeller or ‘spinner’ type of toy. The children ran with them or held them into the wind, or they were thrown into the air to drop to the ground. This is an activity using a small propeller (plastic or wood) fixed to the end of an ...

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Yulunga: jumpinpin

This activity is based on a description to Troy Meston by Uncle Ronny Ahwang of Brisbane, who told of his days fishing off the jetty on Stradbroke Island and how it was similar to a game they played. This is an adapted game loosely based on the essential components of traditional spear fishing. This activity is similar ...

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Yulunga: Gapala

Playing in small dug-out canoes, bark boats or rafts was (and still is) a popular water activity. A favourite game of the Tiwi children of Bathurst Island (northern Australia) in the wet season was pushing a tin, box or other flat-bottomed object along the water. Children’s rafts were observed in parts of Northern Australia ...

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Yulunga: meetcha kambong

A wrestling game of the Noongar people of the southwest of Western Australia was called meetcha kambong (‘nut game’) or boojur kombang (‘ground game’). In the Swan district it was called boojoor-eleeja. A team beaten at this game might resume the contest in a month or so. A ‘wrestling’ game where attacking players attempt ...

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Yulunga: walbiri

A memory-testing game was played by the Walbiri children of central Australia. Players were required to recall sand-drawing maps of the locality after watching for a short time. This was a game that helped the children remember and identify the surrounding topography. This is a memory-testing game using various objects. ...

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Yulunga: arrkene irreme

The boys of the Aranda and Luridja of central Australia played a hitting game. A small cylindrical stick, sharpened at each end, was laid on the ground. A longer stick was held in one hand. The player hit one end of the stick to make it bounce into the air and as it rose it was hit with considerable force. A hitting and ...

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Yulunga: keentan

A keep-away game of catch-ball was played everywhere by both genders in the northwest central districts of Queensland. Because the action of the players jumping up to catch the ball resembled the movements of a kangaroo, the Kalkadoon people sometimes described this game as the ‘kangarooplay’. The ball itself was made from ...

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Yulunga: weme

The Walbiri people of central Australia played a stone-bowling game. One player rolled a stone, which was used as a target by the second player. In the traditional game players alternated turns, with each one aiming at the other’s stone. This is a bowling game in which balls are rolled underarm along the ground to knock ...

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Yulunga: kamai

Using a length of twine, adult women and young children of both genders often amused themselves for hours at a time with cat’s cradle (string-figure games). These were played almost everywhere throughout Australia and also in the Torres Strait. In some areas older boys and adult men also played these games. Elaborate figures ...

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Yulunga: Wanambi

Wanambi was a large snake. This game was observed being played by the Pitjantjatjara people of central Australia. This is a chase-and-tag game. Players in a line move towards another player, who suddenly chases and attempts to catch (touch) them. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide ...

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Yulunga: nanyima

Catch-ball games were played in many places. The balls used were made of seeds, stones, clay, seaweed, grass, hair-string and stuffed fur. In one game a player tosses a stone (ball) over his or her shoulder to a number of players and attempts to guess who caught the stone. This activity is suitable for younger players. ...