Sorry business is the Aboriginal English term used by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to describe the mourning period when a family member dies and all responsibilities that follow in accordance with traditional lore and custom.
during Sorry Business. What is Sorry Business? Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples mourn the loss of a family member by following traditional ceremonies and practices, often known as Sorry Business.
The Aboriginal Funeral Transport “Sorry Business” initiative provides assistance with transport for isolated and disadvantaged Aboriginal communities throughout NSW including metro Sydney, to attend funerals. Please download the below fact sheets for more information. Alternatively, you can call 1300 361 787.
Naming the dead
Most television stations use a disclaimer warning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers that the program may contain images and voices of dead Indigenous people (as recommended by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation). The avoidance period may last one or more years.
To make direct eye contact can be viewed as being rude, disrespectful or even aggressive.To convey polite respect, the appropriate approach would be to avert or lower your eyes in conversation. Observe the other person's body language.
Assimilationist terms such as 'full-blood,' 'half-caste' and 'quarter-caste' are extremely offensive and should never be used when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
3. Is it OK to call Indigenous Australians 'Aborigines'? 'Aborigine' is generally perceived as insensitive, because it has racist connotations from Australia's colonial past, and lumps people with diverse backgrounds into a single group.
In the oral traditions of Aboriginal Australians, meteors and meteorites are prominent. Meteors are often associated with serpents, evil magic, omens of death, and punishment for breaking laws and traditions. In Central Australia, a meteor is an omen that the spirit of someone that had died far away was returning home.
Aboriginal people believe that if the deceased person's name is mentioned, the spirit is called back to this world. Images (film and photographs) or broadcasting the voice of the deceased person may also be against protocol and may cause serious offence.
It's basic courtesy to always ask before filming or taking photos of a person, a group of people or cultural ceremonies. When it comes to caves and rock art sites, don't rush ahead and clamber over the rocks for a photo opportunity. Reproductions and photographs of deceased Indigenous people are absolutely prohibited.
Ceremonies and mourning periods last days, weeks and even months depending upon the beliefs of the language group and the social status of the deceased person. But time is also essential in the healing process.
This can be done by performing an Acknowledgement of Country or arranging for a Welcome to Country at gatherings. We do this to show respect for the ongoing connection to place and the traditional ownership of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of our country.
The person's body was placed in a sitting position on top of the pyre before being covered by more branches and grasses. Sometimes it faced the east. The cremation pyre could be on open ground, inside a hut, in hollow logs or hollow trees. There appear to be different practices among the tribes around the island.
If your Sorry Business involves someone who is not an immediate family or household member then you can't get compassionate leave, but you should still talk to your boss about taking time off work. Your boss might agree to give you paid leave or there might be unpaid types of leave you can get.
History. National Sorry Day is an annual event in Australia on 26 May. It commemorates the "Stolen Generations" — the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly separated from their families in an attempt to assimilate them into white Australian culture during the 20th century.
Every May 26 in Australia, National Sorry Day reminds the colonist-descended people of the nation to remember the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Why?
The islands were settled by different seafaring Melanesian cultures such as the Torres Strait Islanders over 2500 years ago, and cultural interactions continued via this route with the Aboriginal people of northeast Australia.
Many traditional aboriginal cultures consider death to be very natural. For many aboriginal people, a “good death” is one where they meet death with dignity and composure. Dying this way implies a further experience of an afterlife.
• Indigenous Australian peoples. • Aboriginal peoples. • 'Torres Strait Islander people or peoples' may be preferable, depending on the context. Using the more appropriate terms helps to avoid attempting to inaccurately label, categorise and stereotype people.
Noongar people don't whistle at night because we don't want to alert the warra wirrin (bad spirits) and invite trouble into our lives. Noongar kids always go in pairs or more when they are travelling around because it is safer, and and if any harm comes to one of them the other can provide assistance.
There are two types of words that are tabooed in the culture of Australian Aborigines. They are both names. It is the name of the deceased person and one`s own name. The reasons for both of these taboos are similar to certain extent.
Since legislation for Indigenous people was a state matter, each state found its own definition for 'Aboriginal'. Examples: Western Australia: a person with more than a quarter of Aboriginal blood. Victoria: any person of Aboriginal descent.
Koori (or Koorie)
Koori is a term denoting an Aboriginal person of southern New South Wales or Victoria. 'Koori' is not a synonym for 'Aboriginal'. There are many other Aboriginal groups across Australia (such as Murri, Noongar, Yolngu) with which Indigenous Australians may identify themselves.
There is no one Aboriginal word that all Aborigines use for Australia; however, today they call Australia, ""Australia"" because that is what it is called today. There are more than 250 aboriginal tribes in Australia. Most of them didn't have a word for ""Australia""; they just named places around them.
'Are you [is the person] of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin? ' Patients may be asked the question in person or over the phone, or asked to complete a form. It is important that the question is asked exactly as it is worded.