The House-opening
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The house-opening ceremony performed at Aurukun is derived from traditional mortuary rites, but European and Torres Strait Island elements are now combined with these in a ceremony which at times assumes the atmosphere of a party. Traditionally, when someone died their house was burned, but with the advent of European-style housing this practice became impractical and the house-opening was developed as a means of ritually purifying the house so that the family may re-inhabit it.
Credits
Judith MacDougall; David MacDougall; Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies; University of California (System). Extension Media Center
Sources
- 16mm Filmography (legacy record) — title, description, catalog record
- BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE · record ↗ — title, year, creator, length, format, color, sound, description, credits
- Wikidata · Q123288349 ↗ — country
Original permalink · Record added 2026-01-23 04:13:46