The House-opening

Australia, 1980

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The house-opening ceremony performed at Aurukun is derived from traditional mortuary rites, but European and Torres Strait Island elements are now combined with these in a ceremony which at times assumes the atmosphere of a party. Traditionally, when someone died their house was burned, but with the advent of European-style housing this practice became impractical and the house-opening was developed as a means of ritually purifying the house so that the family may re-inhabit it.

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Collection

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Credits

director

Judith MacDougall

production company

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

Duration

00:43:30:00

Production places

Australia

Production dates

1980

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

303310

Language

English

Subject categories

Aboriginal Australia → Aboriginal Australians - Queensland

Aboriginal Australia → Aboriginal Australians - Rites and ceremonies

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Aurukun (Qld.)

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Funeral rites and ceremonies

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - Australia

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Acculturation

Educational & Instructional

Educational & Instructional → Educational films

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Acculturation

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Funeral rites and ceremonies

History → Funeral rites and ceremonies

Places → Aurukun (Qld.)

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

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Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/82170--the-house-opening-a/ |title=The House-opening |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=31 May 2023 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}