Walkabout
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Walkabout refers to a rite of passage during which male Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months. In this practice they would trace the paths, or "songlines", that their people's ceremonials ancestors took, and imitate, in a fashion, their heroic deeds. Merriam-Webster, however, defines the noun as a 1908 coinage that refers primarily to "a short period of wandering bush life engaged in by an Australian aborigine as an occasional interruption of regular work", with the only mention of "spiritual journey" coming in a usage example from a latter-day travel writer. To white employers, this urge to depart without notice (and reappear just as suddenly) was seen as something inherent in the aboriginal nature, but the reasons may be more mundane: workers who wanted or needed to attend a ceremony or visit relatives did not accept employers' control over such matters (especially since permission was generally hard to get).
Walkabouts in popular culture
- The novel Walkabout by James Vance Marshall was adapted into the 1971 film Walkabout.
- "Walkabout" is frequently mentioned in the 2008 movie Australia, because the child lead, Nullah, adamantly insisted on participating in his cultural heritage through this tradition.
- Mick Dundee is from "Walkabout Creek" in the movie "Crocodile" Dundee. The term "walkabout" is also used in the movie's dialogue.
- "Walkabout" is an episode of the television series Lost, focusing on John Locke attempting to go on walkabout in Australia, and being denied the right because he is handicapped. Many Lost episodes have made reference to Locke's failed walkabout.
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers wrote a song called "Walkabout" in their album One Hot Minute.
- Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley, AO, MBE (born 31 July 1951 in Griffith, New South Wales, Australia), former World No. 1 Australian female tennis player, was known for periodic 'mental' lapses in big matches (often in the second set of three-set matches) which became known as her walkabouts on the court.
- Dr. Stephen Franklin on the TV show Babylon 5, goes on a walkabout during season 3 after admitting his addiction to stims and stepping down as chief medical officer.
See also
- The Songlines, a non-fiction book by writer Bruce Chatwin.
- Songlines
