What do you think?
Rate this book
Vanishing Cultures: Down Under
Amprenula, a young Tiwi girl from an island off the Australian coast, gathers food with her mother. Amprenula lives closely with the land, just as her people have done for thousands of years, taking only what they need from the forest and the ocean around them.
For the Tiwi and other Aborigines, the land is sacred. It connects them with their ancestors and the beginning of creation. As Amprenula combs through the forests and mangrove swamps, she is proud to travel along the same paths, sharing the same land, as her ancestors from centuries ago.
For the Tiwi and other Aborigines, the land is sacred. It connects them with their ancestors and the beginning of creation. As Amprenula combs through the forests and mangrove swamps, she is proud to travel along the same paths, sharing the same land, as her ancestors from centuries ago.
- GenresNonfictionAustralia
32 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1992
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 23, 2023
Field work in anthropology is something I'd definitely like to know more about. In Down Under, Jan Reynolds details her own experience going on a walkabout with a Tiwi family of the small islands north of mainland Australia.
From the first pages, she mentions walkabouts to pique the reader's curiosity. What is a walkabout, and why is it important? These questions are not answered explicitly, but instead, the story takes the reader on their own journey on a walkabout through photographs and text, primarily captions.
I appreciated learning about a tradition that helps people connect to their ancestors and to the land. Reynolds references multiple times that the tradition of walkabouts to enter the Dreamtime has existed for thousands of years.
I also liked the depictions of family in this one, as well as the way these depictions just exist. Unlike a lot of books that center around tribal cultures, Jan Reynolds doesn't feel the need to explicitly tell us that family structures look different. Instead, the main people in the story are Amprenula, her mother, her grandmother, and her grandmother's adopted son. There is nothing that calls this out as strange or different. It's just a family practicing a tradition. I really appreciate this because it's an authentic depiction of "family" without having to call attention to the differences.
*
From the first pages, she mentions walkabouts to pique the reader's curiosity. What is a walkabout, and why is it important? These questions are not answered explicitly, but instead, the story takes the reader on their own journey on a walkabout through photographs and text, primarily captions.
I appreciated learning about a tradition that helps people connect to their ancestors and to the land. Reynolds references multiple times that the tradition of walkabouts to enter the Dreamtime has existed for thousands of years.
I also liked the depictions of family in this one, as well as the way these depictions just exist. Unlike a lot of books that center around tribal cultures, Jan Reynolds doesn't feel the need to explicitly tell us that family structures look different. Instead, the main people in the story are Amprenula, her mother, her grandmother, and her grandmother's adopted son. There is nothing that calls this out as strange or different. It's just a family practicing a tradition. I really appreciate this because it's an authentic depiction of "family" without having to call attention to the differences.
*
January 19, 2023
Thirty years ago this was a very important book. Now it's hard to overlook the fact that it was written by an American woman. Granted, she went on walkabout with the child and two Tiwi women, and the book is illustrated with photos, but it's still not OwnVoices.
And what has happened to the Tiwi people since then? Families and other educators could do research, now that the internet has grown so much.
And what has happened to the Tiwi people since then? Families and other educators could do research, now that the internet has grown so much.
February 18, 2010
A photographer follows a young aborigine girl on walkabout and we get a glimpse of both her daily life and spiritual practice
August 20, 2017
This was fantastic! Ours was an older version-not sure if it has been changed. Pictures and description of everyday life with an Aborigine girl living in the old traditional way in a remote area.
July 11, 2011
Read the Whole Terrain interview with Jan Reynolds about this book and her travel adventures.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews