Australian aboriginal canoes help re-launch pride (fwd link)

[Phillip E Cash Cash]

Australian aboriginal canoes help re-launch pride

By Pauline Askin
SYDNEY | Mon Jun 4, 2012 5:21am EDT

(Reuters) - As light fades on the shores of Sydney Harbour, a group of men
finish building a traditional aboriginal canoe using bark from eucalyptus
trees. Smoke smothers the strips of bark as heat from a fire below curves
the wood into the shape of a canoe.

Just offshore massive container ships and multi-million dollar pleasure
yachts anchor on the harbour, a world away from the days when Aborigines
paddled bark canoes across the same body of water.

But now, Australia's Aborigines are trying to revive the ancient skill of
canoe building, known as Nawi, and pass the knowledge on to younger men in
a bid to instil cultural pride.

"It's a big part of their story. The canoe culture is something they've
lost," David Payne, canoe builder and curator at the Australian Maritime
Museum, told Reuters.

Access full article below:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/04/uk-australia-canoes-idUSLNE85300B20120604
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