It is
right up there amongst the three
best events in the Cape York peninsula area, along with
Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival and Cooktown Discovery Festival.
Along with Laura it is an excellent
event to experience Australian indigenous culture, and as
opposed to Laura this event is obviously about the Torres Strait
islander and not
the mainland Aboriginal culture.
If you are visiting
the peninsula in September
(every
second year), it makes it well worthwhile to catch the ferry to Thursday
Island in the
beautiful Torres
Strait.
It is also called "Winds
of Zenadth Cultural Festival", and the dances you see, and
the photos and videos you can make, are quite amazing.
There is
a great parade;
somelocal art for sale,
... workshops and weaving
demonstrations, fun competitions
(yes the colour of the water is real - not photoshopped!);
... information stalls and food
stalls,
... and even fireworks
on the Torres Strait Cultural Festival.
But best of all is the
dancing.
You see some great
clothing and body decorations,
... traditional weapons
and other items used in dance,
... some excellent
dancers,
... men,
... women,
... and even children,
... who are excellent at
it and obviously learn their dancing from a young age.
In 2014
the following islands
were represented at the Torres Strait
Cultural Festival:
Inner Islands
Thursday Island
(Waibene) - Lagaw Orway-Orway Dance Group
Western Islands
Moa (St
Pauls) - Lagaw Compass Dance Group
Badu (Mulgrave) -
Zugubal Dance Group
Mabuiag (Gamulag) -
Kigu Dance Group
Central Islands
Iama (Yam) - Thaiwa
Dance Group
Warraber (Sue) -
Zogo Tudi Dance Group
Poruma (Coconut) - Urab Dance Group
Eastern Islands
Erub (Darnley) -
Saamkarem Era
Kodomer Dance Group
Mer (Murray)
- Zomered Kebile, and Neguam Dance Group
Northern Islands
Boigu Island
- Malu Kiai Mura Buai Dance Group
Videos
Do watch the ones lowest down
too, they don't get worse!
P.S. I am not claiming to have an
excellent video quality - just good
enough that you can see
what's going on and decide whether you'd like to visit the Torres
Strait Cultural Festival
yourself :-)
Get
this 50 pages
guide totally for FREE.
It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
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This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.