The horsemen from Ersary, Yomud, Göklen, Saryk, Tekke and Chowdor tribes were the pride of the ancient Turkmenistan. They were known for their bravery and aggression and the clan identity was their most prominent feature. The old rituals and amazing customs gave the full energy to flourish their unique culture. The discovery of many distinguished archeological excavations disclosed the diversity and richness of the Turkmen heritage.

The Turkmen falconers in their traditional dress ( Image by Anguskirk )

The traditional dress of Turkmenistan also passed through the evolution with the passage of time and faced many variations. The styles and designs of the traditional Turkmen costume had the similarity with the other neighboring Central Asian states. The main clothing included the long and tunic dressing and was only having the distinction of the quality of fabric and decorations.

The Turkmen falconers in their traditional dress ( Image by Anguskirk )

A Turkmen male has a distinction in the world for his traditional “Telpek” cap, which is a large black sheepskin headdress. The Turkmen men usually wear high, shaggy sheepskin hats over white shirts and it was supported by a three-quarter-length cotton robe or long sheepskin coat. Traditionally they used to keep weapons hanging along their costumes. Although today the situation is different as the Turkmens have adopted the Western style of clothing and they are often seen in suiting with a tie and very clean shoes. But in some parts we can see the mixture of the modern and traditional style dresses worn by men.

A young Turkmen girl in her traditional attire ( Image: Ali Eminov )

Traditionally the Turkmen women’s costume was a long sack dress over tight pants but they used the silver jewelry with semiprecious stones as a compulsory item of their dress. Turkmen women of all classes used rings, earrings and bracelets and even both the boys and the girls start to decorate themselves with silver ornaments at very early age. The women of Turkmenistan have continued the tradition to wear their classical style clothing with slight variations.

The Turkmen women in their traditional dresses ( Image: nathan.groth )

The traditional dress of Turkmenistan is observed in full momentum in the wedding ceremonies and other festive occasions. The Turkmen bride is usually dressed up in red dress made from silk homespun fabric – ketene, studded with silver or gilded pendants from the embroidered collar till the edges.

A Turkmen bride in her traditional wedding costume ( Image © Ivan Safyan Abrams )

This dress is beautified more with an elegant robe and Tyubeteika is used to embellish the headdress. The headdress was also adorned with a robe-cape and it is embroidered with colorful ornaments.

Some young Turkmen girls in traditional costumes (Image: daniel islami)

The people of the Papua New Guinea observe the biggest conclave of the various indigenous tribes every year in summer. This colorful gathering of the people who participate wearing the traditional costumes, occurs in the western highlands of the island which is famous in the world as Mount Hagen Festival of Papua New Guinea.

Mount Hagan Festival of Papua New Guinea. ( Image: Eric Lafforgue )

In 1930, when the European people entered in this part of the world, they found the local tribe people in an everlasting war situation with each other. Although the present condition is not ideally peaceful, yet with the combined efforts of the world community the position is far better. The Mount Hagen Festival was begun with the peaceful attempts of the Christian missionaries in 1950’s in order to bring out harmony among various indigenous tribes in the region.

Papua New Guinea Mount Hagen Festival ( Image: Dave Schreier )

Since then the Mount Hagen Festival is celebrated every year which attracts the tourists from all over the world. You can see the fantastic competition among the participating tribes dressed up in unique clothes. Men, women and children equally enjoy this festive occasion and dance with the noisy traditional drum beats. They decorate themselves with the head dressings prepared with the feathers and plumage of the endemic birds.

The singers in the Mount Hagen Festival ( Image: By Eric Lafforgue )

The government of Papua New Guinea can make the Mount Hagan Festival of Papua New Guinea a pure money making event by creating the peace in the region. There are many other charming features which may attract a number of visitors every year like the unique flora and fauna of the region and ultimate scenic views.

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 )