heide smith's photographs of Tiwi going bush

about Photographs of Tiwi going bush: Every year during the dry-season, which runs from April to August, and particularly during the school-holidays in June and July, the Tiwi “go bush.” Whole families travel together and actually live in the bush, and survive largely off the bush. To be more accurate, families return to their “country,” that is, the country to which the father belongs. Throughout the year the men make short trips for a day or two, usually hunting for wallaby or pig; similarly the women make day trips gathering native fruits, tubas and nuts. But these dry-season trips are different, and are eagerly anticipated. If you are into bush tucker, like the Tiwi, try my book "Portrait of a People-the Tiwi of northern Australia" which is still available in my bookshop.

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