Barunga Festival 30th anniversary, Northern Territory: Bare feet stamping in Australia's Top End

By Andrew Bain
Updated April 29 2015 - 1:08pm, first published April 25 2015 - 12:15am
A boy performs with the Red Flag Dancers, a group from the Arnhem Land community of Numbulwarr. Photo: Andrew Bain
A boy performs with the Red Flag Dancers, a group from the Arnhem Land community of Numbulwarr. Photo: Andrew Bain
A boy performs with the Red Flag Dancers, a group from the Arnhem Land community of Numbulwarr. Photo: Andrew Bain
A boy performs with the Red Flag Dancers, a group from the Arnhem Land community of Numbulwarr. Photo: Andrew Bain
Dancing the corroboree at the Barunga Festival. Photo: Andrew Bain
Dancing the corroboree at the Barunga Festival. Photo: Andrew Bain
A boy performs with the Red Flag Dancers, a group from the Arnhem Land community of Numbulwarr. Photo: Andrew Bain
A boy performs with the Red Flag Dancers, a group from the Arnhem Land community of Numbulwarr. Photo: Andrew Bain
A spellbound audience at the annual Barunga Festival. Photo: Glenn Campbell
A spellbound audience at the annual Barunga Festival. Photo: Glenn Campbell
Dancing the corroboree at the Barunga Festival. Photo: Andrew Bain
Dancing the corroboree at the Barunga Festival. Photo: Andrew Bain
Dancing the corroboree at the Barunga Festival. Photo: Andrew Bain
Dancing the corroboree at the Barunga Festival. Photo: Andrew Bain
A boy performs with the Red Flag Dancers, a group from the Arnhem Land community of Numbulwarr. Photo: Andrew Bain
A boy performs with the Red Flag Dancers, a group from the Arnhem Land community of Numbulwarr. Photo: Andrew Bain
A spellbound audience at the annual Barunga Festival. Photo: Glenn Campbell
A spellbound audience at the annual Barunga Festival. Photo: Glenn Campbell
Football teams compete at the Barunga Festival. Photo: Andrew Bain
Football teams compete at the Barunga Festival. Photo: Andrew Bain
A spellbound audience at the annual Barunga Festival. Photo: Glenn Campbell
A spellbound audience at the annual Barunga Festival. Photo: Glenn Campbell
A spellbound audience at the annual Barunga Festival. Photo: Glenn Campbell
A spellbound audience at the annual Barunga Festival. Photo: Glenn Campbell

In the centre of the Aboriginal community of Barunga, bare feet are stamping the earth into clouds of dust. Clapping sticks hammer out a beat for the corroboree, and young boys, women and old men dance together, kicking and stomping at the dirt.

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