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- This Emu Head-dress was used in ceremonies in the Barunda region of Katherine in the Northern Territory. Among the peoples of central Australia a social corroborree is known as "purlapa" and usually takes the form of a stamping dance by men and boys, decorated with "wamurlu", a vegetable down (kind of wild cotton), left in its natural light grey or coloured with red ochre. This "wamurlu" is stuck to the body and the designs always reflect the "dreaming" that is sung and is unique to the kinship affiliation of the dancer. Often headdresses are built up with twigs, bound together with hair string (made from human hair) and decorated with "wamurlu" and emu feathers. Women have their own dances, often a loose-knee shuffle, while holding painted boards or sticks. Elaborate designs are painted on their upper bodies.
Traditional dances are also often performed in the communities just for fun and, for instance, to celebrate the opening of a new building or even the graduation from college. But there are also traditional dances at funerals in Top End communities, especially in Arnhem Land and on the Tiwi Islands. All dances have their roots in the "dreamings", the creation myths, sung in the old languages while the actions of the performers illustrate the deeds of the "Dreamtime Heroes", the mythical beings that created the land in the mythical past.