Kangarena

The Kangarena is a traditional Australian dance, first performed in Australian aboriginal ceremonies and now adapted for, and adopted by, the wider Australian population as the Australian national dance. As Australians are not noted for their dancing skills the Kangarena is not performed as regularly as one would expect of a national dance. e.g. the flamenco in Spain, the tango in Argentine, the Irish jig in Ireland, the limbo in Trinidad & Tobago and of course the polka of Lichtenstein, however in recent times it has gained in popularity and becoming more widely recognised.

The origins of the Kangarena are lost in the mists of time, but it is thought to have been performed by Australian aboriginals for many centuries prior to 18th Century European settlement. As the dance has some resemblance to the Spanish Macarena it has been speculated that there is a cultural link between aboriginal settlement in Australia and the Spanish people. Indeed, it has been said that the late Norwegian explorer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl, having proven the link between South American and Polynesian cultures (Kon-Tiki expedition 1947) and also the North African and West Indian populations (Ra and Ra II, 1969 & 1970); was planning a third trip on a traditional Spanish trading boat to prove the link between the Spanish and Australian aboriginal culture.

The theory postulated was that a group of Spanish men and women departed Spain to cross the Straits of Gibraltar on a trip to deliver a cargo of rice and chickens to Morocco. They were also carrying a gift for the Moroccan leader in the form of a box of saffron. A large storm swept them into the Atlantic and then carried far south. Currents conspired to propel the craft around the Cape of Good Hope and eastwards to the shores of Australia where a settlement was established.

Fortunately, with the rice and chickens, plus the fish they caught on the way they were able to survive on paella for the length of the trip. The saffron was also used to colour and flavour the paella. Over the years the Spaniards integrated with the Australian indigenous community and whilst the art of making paella was lost, the Macarena was adapted to Australian conditions, hence the Kangarena was born.