Uluru or Ayers Rock of Australia is one of the most ancient bedrock structures on the planet earth. According to a research, this structure was formed about 500 million years ago. Ayers Rock has special significance near the aboriginal tribes of Australia. They call it as “Uluru” and it is located right in the middle of the Simpson Desert. In the Australian geography, Uluru or Ayers Rock is of paramount importance being a phenomenal sandstone formation. Ayers Rock stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high (rising 863 m/2,831 ft above sea level), with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi).

Uluru: Ayers rock of Australia ( Steve Shattuck Image )

Another exotic feature of the Ayers Rock or Uluru is the appearance of changing color during different months of the year. The area around Uluru or Ayers Rock is declared as a national park which is named after it, Uluru National Park. This park has splendid flora and fauna and it is home to over 150 types of birds and 26 types of mammals.

The Uluru cave ( Image : Roy Lathwell )

A very famous legend is associated with the Ayers Rock or Uluru by the aborigines that Uluru was once an ocean, but after a great battle at its shores, it rose up in revolt at the bloodshed, forming the great red-colored rock. Today, Uluru or Ayers Rock of Australia is a world heritage site and its many formations and water excavations which have emerged as result of overflow of water for thousands of years, keep special attraction. Similarly, the large dens and rocky shelters are also sites for the ancient paintings depicted on their walls and the ceilings.

The largest island the world, Australia was inhabited by the humans almost 45,000 years ago. That is why; the indigenous tribes of Australia truly claim that they are the genuine survivors of Australia. They truly owe Australia along with their magnificent culture and have competed with natural disasters and calamities over thousands of years.

Yolngo people of Australia performing their traditional dance ( Image: Andrew )

They were bruised, they were thrashed and they were banged by the invaders and the colonizers. The only motive behind that was to uphold the racial discrimination. This situation became worse after the arrival of the white people in Australia and they totally misjudged the aboriginal cultural values of the indigenous people of Australia.

The Australian Aboriginals. Image: Rusty Stewart

Out of the total population of the indigenous or aboriginal people of Australia, most of them live in the eastern parts of the continent. 63% of Indigenous people live in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria while Western Australia and the Northern Territory contribute only 28% of the Indigenous population. In Australia they are mostly referred as the aboriginal Australians and the word Indigenous for them is mostly disliked. There were more than 250 languages spoken by Indigenous Australians before the arrival of Europeans. But most of them are being extinct now and presently only 12-15 languages are being used by the aboriginal or indigenous people of Australia. The aboriginal or indigenous people of Australia are divided in many regional groups. Some of the indigenous or aboriginal people groups of Australia include Koori, Murri, Tiwi , Palawah, Anangu, Nunga and Wangai etc.

The Aboriginal Australians performing Woggan-ma-gule ( Image: Tracey Johns )

Adivasi is a term used for the aboriginal people of India. The Adivasis are living in India for thousands of years and they consist of a significant minority group in Indian population. In fact, the sub groups from this minority live in many states of India. Like many of the indigenous people of the world, the Adivasi people have also suffered from many problems and the most prominent of these is their ecological destruction in the name of modernization. Geographically the Adivasi people live in the remote hilly and forest areas where they mostly depend upon the primitive agriculture where they are far from the modern technology. Although most of the Adivasi people have adopted Christianity and Hinduism, however they have many other religions. They are known for their distinctive languages, cultures and customs. The Adivasi people have rarely observed in contacting with other cultures and people. The Indian government has further classified the Adivasi people in the Scheduled Tribe Groups together with the Scheduled Castes groups. There are some fantastic photographs of some indigenous Indian”Adivasi” people who belong to some noteworthy Scheduled Tribes;

1- A woman from Kuki Tribe ( Nagaland )

A Sangtam woman ( Kuki Tribe ) Image: Linda De Volder

2- A woman from Apatani Tribe ( Arunachal Pradesh )

An Apatani Woman from Arunashal Pradesh,India ( Image: Miguel Angel )

3- A Gondi Man from Madhya Pradesh, India 

A Gondi Indian ready to perform Kaksar Dance ( Image: Aath )

4- A Bhil Tribe Woman of India 

A beautiful Bhil Tribe lady of India ( Image : Sanzen )

5- An experienced archer from Khasi Tribe of India

An experienced Khasi archer of India ( Image: Anoop Negi )

6- Boys from Nagaland, India ( Naga Tribe )

Naga youth in a traditional tribal attaire at a cultural gathering. Image: E R

7- A Saharia Woman Dancer of India

A Saharia Woman dancing the traditional Swang Dance ( Image: Ramesh Lalwani )

8- A Bonda woman from Orissa, India

A woman from Bonda tribe, Orissa, India ( Image: Ingetje Tadros )

9- A Maldhari woman of Gujarat, India

A typical Maldhari Woman of Gujarat, India ( Image: Abhishek Prabhu )

10- Mizo people of Mizoram, India

Beautiful Mizo people from Mizoram India, Image by Angela Coles