corroboree

Australian Aboriginal ceremonial dance. Some corroborees record events in everyday life and are non-sacred, public entertainments; others have a religious significance and are of great ritual importance, relating to initiation, death, fertility, disease, war, and so on. The dancers' movements are prescribed by tribal custom and their bodies and faces are usually painted in clay in traditional designs. The dance is accompanied by song, and music is provided by clapping sticks and the didjeridu. All these elements, as well as the dance itself, form the corroboree.