Celebrating Easter in Aboriginal Australia

Easter is celebrated with considerable grandeur and customary zeal in Australia, an island nation. Australia celebrates Easter by incorporating its distinct local aspects, which include aboriginal tribes and the country’s wildlife.

The Easter Christian Calendar, which begins with Shrove Tuesday and finishes with Whitsun (or Pentecost) 50 days after Easter Sunday, is used by Christian churches throughout the country to commemorate the event. It is a day of grief on Good Friday. To commemorate the Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ, churches are decorated with flowers on Easter Sunday.

During the Easter season, which is perhaps the most important event on the Christian calendar, Christians commemorate Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. However, due to the concept of sacrifice, Pastor Ray Minniecon, a Kabi Kabi and Goreng Goreng man, believes Easter has a strong connection to Indigenous spiritual activities.

In terms of our Aboriginal spirituality, the story of sacrifice is already a very important part of their beliefs, culture, rituals, and legacy. Easter is also celebrated with a uniquely Indigenous style in one of Australia’s most remote towns. Easter is celebrated for two days in the remote Aboriginal community of Pirlangimpi, Melville Island’s second largest village.

The island of Yermalner, as it is known in the native Tiwi language, is located in the Timor Sea, just north of Darwin. Locals link Jesus’ resurrection to bushfires that rage throughout the countryside, using a traditional Tiwi storytelling method. Plants and animals that emerge after a fire symbolise new life in these myths. The locals try to blend in with the Catholic heritage as well as the culture.

Aboriginal-Art.com.au joins the whole world in celebrating Easter Sunday. Wishing you all the love and happiness that only Easter can bring. Have a joyous celebration with your family!

Aboriginal-Art is a philanthropic arm of efunder Pty Limited and is a non for profit organisation with an initiative to raise funds to support a variety of causes for the Aboriginal communities in the Western Desert.

Judy Corak
Chairperson
Co-Founder of Efunder and Aboriginal-Art