Cirrus@Austlit

The craft of composing tabi songs - songs sung by individuals as distinct from group (e.g. corroboree) singing - was taught to young Aboriginal men in their initiation years. This collection of tabi in eleven Aboriginal languages with English translation is, with the exception of a few Maralga (mythical people) tabi, generally from the twentieth century.

The introduction by A. P. Thomas describes the way in which C. G. von Brandenstein went about collecting and recording these songs. Thomas also describes the demographic and social Aboriginal situation in the Pilbara when the tabi were being collected in the 1960s.

Pages 53 to 91 contain notes specific to each tabi including an explanation of the translation, who sung the tabi to von Brandenstein, and details about the tune created or used.

'This is a comprehensive survey of Australian poetic achievement, ranging from early colonial and indigenous verse to contemporary work, from the major poets to those who deserve to be better recognised.' (Provided by the publisher).