Title

Beyond the costume.

Author

Author not identified

Source

[Not applicable]

Type

About the work

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Full text

Beyond the costume.

When we are asked to don a costume we perform a ritual which many of us do not fully understand. It is a ritual which momentarily fills us with those emotions that tie peoples of a culture together, the same emotions which envelop us with generations of cultural history presented in one song or dance from the homeland. Yet when that moment is finished we go about our daily lives, working within a social context that has little semblance to those momentary cultural activities performed perhaps once, twice or three times a year. It is our daily lives — the way in which we collectively can and do make meaning of them through our creative work, our co-operative decision making and our impact on the devel­opment of Australian society — that living culture is all about. If we do not fight to fully participate in all areas of creative activity, in all areas of decision making, then we allow ourselves to be used only as exotic commodi­ties performing for the amusement of an indifferent audience. We are not valued as individuals nor as unique cultural groups. It is our right to continue to practise our traditions, as it is our right to full participation in Australian society.

© Eugenia Hill