The sources describe a consistent and strict division of roles between men and women during most corroborees. The central dramatic action of the corroboree is performed by the men. Anthony Trollope described it as “a tribal dance in which the men congregate… and go through various antics,” while the women and children sit around in a circle. Roderick J. Flanagan elaborates that the corroboree features “eighty or a hundred men ranged in a line… performing a measured dance,” and it is the “scene of their songs and orations.” May Vivienne observed the men “leaping up in the air… and contorting their bodies in most grotesque fashion.”

The women’s primary role is to provide the music and rhythm for the male dancers. Flanagan explicitly states that “the women [are] the instrumental performers, as well as sustaining the chief burden of the vocal music.” This is described in multiple accounts:

May Vivienne noted that while the men danced, other men “squatted on the ground chanting strange sounds and beating sticks, while the lubras (wives), gins (girls), and pickaninnies (children) sat or lay around, making a fearful noise and clapping their hands vigorously.”

The account from “The Narrinyeri” specifies that in most ringbalin, “only the men dance; the women sit on the ground and sing.” They beat the planggi (skin drums) and form the core of the choir.

Kamilaroi and Kurnai explain that among the Kurnai, the standard rule was that “all young women ran off with their husbands.” A Tatungolung man provided a detailed illustration of how the corroboree facilitated this: a man from another tribe would see a girl he liked, and they would communicate subtly. “Then, at the corroboree in the evening, the young man would say, ‘I like you; we will run away, only not yet.’ Then they wait for the next corroboree and run off.” 

This practice, while common, was not without its social consequences. The same account notes that after the elopement, “the father and brothers are very angry, and look out for him to fight him.”

Yes, there is a mention of aborigines exchanging their wives during certain corroborees, but they do so in a strictly regulated manner. Fison and Howitt reveal that on certain occasions, particularly during large corroboree gatherings, the normal strict marital rules were temporarily set aside in a sanctioned practice of wife-lending.

Importantly, this exchange was not a free-for-all. It was strictly regulated “within class limits,” meaning it only occurred between men and women who were already in the permissible marriage categories. The text clarifies that at all other times, “men expected wives to be faithful to their husbands, unless by their consent and command.”

Note that other authors mentioned wife-lending in other situations, not necessarily during a corroboree.

Here are differences between an ordinary corroboree and a sacred corroboree:

• The ordinary corroboree is performed for social amusement, storytelling, and to welcome other tribes or even curious white settlers while the sacred corroboree were used for initiation, law, connection to ancestors and totems, and religious and magical rites
• Everyone including women, children, and outsiders are allowed access to an ordinary corroboree while access to the sacred corroboree was strictly forbidden to the uninitiated, which included all women, children, and outsiders.
• During an ordinary corroboree, decorations were elaborate but made from common materials while the decorations for sacred ceremonies were vastly more elaborate and used specific sacred materials such as birds’ down (undattha), and the Waninga and Kauaua (a sacred pole smeared with blood).
• The music of the ordinary corroboree was characterized by rhythmic beating and chanting. In the Narrinyeri account women beat tightly rolled skin rugs (planggi) placed between their knees, and men beat time by knocking two waddies (tartengk) together. However, in the sacred corroboree, while chanting was still present, unique sacred instruments were used. Sadleir’s account mentions an instrument made of “a piece of hollowed wood fastened to a long piece of flax string; by whirling this rapidly round their heads a loud shrill noise was produced… the blacks seemed to attach a great degree of mystic importance to the sound of this instrument, for they told me that if a woman heard it she would die.”

According to historical accounts, corroboree songs originate from two primary sources: life experiences and direct revelation from the spirit world.

Taplin wrote: “Their songs consist principally of words descriptive of incidents of travel or hunting or war… A party will go to the country of another tribe; then one of them, who has the talent, will make up a song, descriptive of what they saw, and the adventures which happened to them.” 

Lorimer Fison and Howitt mentioned “the Birraarks (men of high intelligence) who received corroboree songs and dances from the “ghosts” of ancestors in “cloudland.” They also quote the Rev. Julius Kuhn regarding the Turra tribe: “There were ‘Gurildris,’ men who professed to learn corroboree songs and dances from departed spirits. They also professed to learn songs for the dead, which were sung to make happy the departed who were gone to another country to live for ever.”

Vivienne observed the extemporaneous nature of the songs, noting: “They are very fond of music and dancing, their songs being chiefly extempore. The dances, or corroborees, are adapted to the various circumstances of their lives—marriage, birth, death, war or hunting.”

The scale of a corroboree ranged from small, intimate gatherings to massive inter-tribal meetings. Samuel Smiles referred to “a few miserable” blacks meeting, and William Landsborough described a dance performed by two individuals for a small audience.

R.N. Richard Sadleir reported assemblies of 500 people. Lady Barker witnessed a performance by 120 prisoners in a jail. The largest gathering described is in John Morgan’s account, where “over a thousand souls” from “about 10 different tribes” assembled for a “grand corroboree.”

The length of a corroboree could vary dramatically, from a single evening to a marathon of ceremonies lasting weeks. Accounts from observers like Trollope, and Lady Barker describe performances that lasted within a single night.

However, John Morgan wrote of a great corroboree that lasted “about three hours.” He also mentioned a corroboree that was performed “evening after evening for about six or eight evenings successively” and “a grand corroboree, which lasted about three day.” 

For major sacred events, the duration was extensive. Spencer and Gillen documented that an “important” corroboree could occupy “ten days or a fortnight.” The Engwura ceremony they described lasted for several months. R.N. Richard Sadleir also mentioned a ceremony on the Macleay River that occupied “a fortnight or more.”

The corroboree was overwhelmingly a nocturnal event. Anthony Trollope, William Landsborough, May Vivienne, Lady Barker, and Roderick J. Flanagan all specifically mention that it was held at night. The dramatic effect was heightened by firelight; Flanagan noted that “the effect of such scenes by moonlight, or by the glare of bush fires, is said to be striking in the extreme.” R.N. Richard Sadleir also described the “fires lighting up the night.” 

However, The Narrinyeri account mentions a mythical corroboree held by ancestors “in the daytime.”

Corroborees played a significant role in social and diplomatic contexts among Aboriginal tribes. According to Roderick J. Flanagan, these gatherings were often held as sequels to battles or as occasions for friendly meetings and consultations between tribes. John Morgan, in his account of William Buckley, described a “great corroboree” held as a rejoicing upon Buckley’s arrival, and another that brought together over a thousand people from approximately ten different tribes, highlighting their role in large-scale social cohesion.

The sacred and ceremonial aspect of corroborees was perhaps their most profound dimension. Spencer and Gillen documented their integral role in male initiation ceremonies, such as the Engwura, where corroborees were essential sacred processes. R.N. Richard Sadleir recorded a corroboree held specifically for rain-making approximately 200 miles from Sydney, demonstrating their connection to spiritual and practical needs.

Furthermore, as noted in “Kamilaroi and Kurnai,” the “Birraarks” derived their corroboree songs and dances from ancestral ghosts, and among tribes like the Gournditch-mara and Turra, special men learned these songs directly from departed spirits, emphasizing the deep spiritual lineage of these performances.

Many corroborees were elaborate theatrical performances that mimicked real-life events. Gideon S. Lang gave a detailed account of a “grand corroboree” that depicted a herd of cattle feeding, being hunted by Aboriginal people, and a subsequent battle with white stockmen, illustrating how these events incorporated contemporary themes. Similarly, R.N. Richard Sadleir described a large-scale performance involving 500 participants who represented a herd of cattle, a troop of horses, stockmen, and engaged in a sham-fight, showcasing the mimetic and dramatic capabilities of these gatherings.

Corroborees also served as a powerful marker of cultural identity. As highlighted in “Kamilaroi and Kurnai,” despite variations among different groups, all Kurnai people were united through shared corroboree-songs and dances. This common cultural practice reinforced social bonds and maintained a collective identity across the tribe, underscoring the unifying power of these traditions.

Yes, different language groups have their names for corroboree. Taplin noted that what whites call a corrobery is called by the Narrinyeri, ringbalin.

Baldwin Spencer and F.J. Gillen noted that in the central Australian tribes they studied, the word “corrobboree” was often adopted by natives after hearing white men use it, with their own word for sacred ceremonies being “Quabara.”

The term “corroboree” as used by white observers has other variations like “corrobory,” (Henry Melville) “corrobery,” (George Taplin) “corrobboree,” (Taplin, Spencer and Gillen, Herbert Basedow, Fison and A.W. Howitt etc.) “corrobberree” (John Morgan), which were adopted by some natives after hearing it.

Anthony Trollope defined a corroboree as “a tribal dance in which the men congregate out in the bush, in the front of a fire, and go through various antics with smeared faces and bodies, with spears and sticks, howling, and moving their bodies about in time;—while the gins, and children, and old people sit round in a circle.” 

Roderick J. Flanagan described it as the “great festival among the New Hollanders,” encompassing “all the festivity and fun of which the aboriginal is cognizant, or in which he indulges. It is at once his Bacchanal, Cyprian and Olympian games. Here, songs and orations were recited, musical performances accomplished, dances performed, and amours and courtship indulged.”

The Rev. George Taplin, in “The Narrinyeri,” further specified that while used as a charm to frighten away disease and in some ceremonies, “its real character is only that of a song and a dance.”

Gender Roles during Corroberee

The sources describe a consistent and strict division of roles between men and women during most corroborees. 

The central dramatic action of the corroboree is performed by the men. Anthony Trollope described it as “a tribal dance in which the men congregate… and go through various antics.”  Roderick J. Flanagan elaborates that the corroboree features “eighty or a hundred men ranged in a line… performing a measured dance,” and it is the “scene of their songs and orations.” May Vivienne observed the men “leaping up in the air… and contorting their bodies in most grotesque fashion.”

The women’s primary role is to provide the music and rhythm for the male dancers. Flanagan explicitly states that “the women [are] the instrumental performers, as well as sustaining the chief burden of the vocal music.” This is described in multiple accounts:

William Buckley observed that the women sat on the ground, beating time on skin rugs rolled up tightly, which they stretched between their knees to form a sort of drum. May Vivienne noted that while the men danced, other men “squatted on the ground chanting strange sounds and beating sticks, while the lubras (wives), gins (girls), and pickaninnies (children) sat or lay around, making a fearful noise and clapping their hands vigorously.”

The account from “The Narrinyerri” specifies that in most ringbalin, “only the men dance; the women sit on the ground and sing.” They beat the planggi (skin drums) and form the core of the choir.

Dress and Body Adornment for Aboriginal Corroboree

The decoration of the body for corroborees is a serious art form, with distinct differences between men and women.

The men’s adornment is often elaborate and dramatic, designed to create a striking, sometimes fearsome, spectacle in the firelight. They paint themselves, use feathers and accessories and leafy anklets.

William Landsborough described his guides painting themselves with “white streaks” so that in the firelight they “looked like skeletons.” Lady Barker gave a detailed account of prisoners painting themselves with “a streak of some white clay between each rib, and similar daubs of white and a red pigment… smeared all over their faces, in a pattern or design.” R.N. Richard Sadleir mentions bodies “striped in white” and heads “fancifully adorned.”

Lady Barker noted the men’s heads were decorated to look “more like a crow’s nest than anything else.” Sadleir describes one tribe where the men’s hair was “stuck all over with the snowy down of the white cockatoo.” Dancers often carried spears, shields, clubs (waddies), and boomerangs.

A common feature mentioned by Baldwin Spencer and F.J. Gillen is that the performers had “bundles of leafy twigs tied round the legs just above the ankles.”

However, when the women dance in their own ceremonies, their adornment is different. Spencer and Gillen provide a specific description from the Arunta tribe: “Each woman had a broad, white band of down across her forehead… [and] a long string, made out of the same material, hanging pendent from the head-band.” They also note that the body designs for women’s dances were “quite unlike that seen at any time on the men,” consisting of lines and geometric shapes drawn on the chest and abdomen, and an “elongate ellipse” on each thigh. The material used was sometimes the white fur from rabbits’ tails.

Women’s Corroborees

While the major nocturnal ceremonies are typically male-dominated, the sources confirm that women have their own distinct dances and corroborees.

George Taplin in The Narrinyeri states directly, “There are also war dances… The dances of the women are very immodest and lewd. The men sit and sing, and the women dance.” He compares a drawing of Egyptian dancers to the dances of Narrinyeri women, finding it “exact.”

Baldwin Spencer and F.J. Gillen in The Native Tribes of Central Australia describe a special woman’s dance that forms part of the final phase of the major Engwura ceremony. They write: “A number of young women… are decorated with a double horseshoe-shaped band of white pipe-clay which extends across the front of each thigh and the base of the abdomen.” In this dance, the women stand in a group, swaying and “quivering in a most remarkable fashion… the muscles of the thighs and of the base of the abdomen.” 

In most sacred ceremonies, women are strictly forbidden. However, Spencer and Gillen note an exception in the Arunta tribe where, during certain major gatherings, women perform a dance that re-enacts a mythological event. They write that at the start of one initiation ceremony, “the women, who had been awaiting his arrival, at once began to dance, carrying shields in their hands.” This was unusual, as “except in connection with this ceremony women may never carry shields, because they are exclusively the property of the men.”

As noted by Richard Sadleir, the Government granted supplies of flour and stores. To specifically check infanticide, tea and sugar were given to the mother until the infant was twelve months old. This practice of providing a ration of flour, tea, and sugar to every mother until her child was twelve months old was adopted and, according to Taplin, it put a stop to infanticide.