Aboriginal people are trading with the Makassan people who visit Arnhem Land from Sulawesi in Indonesia.
The Makassans have discovered the Top End is bountiful in trepang — or sea cucumber — which is consumed as food and medicine and also sold to China.
In return, people from Arnhem Land receive goods such as tobacco, alcohol, calico/fabrics, vases, rice, and steel implements, such as axes and knives.
Yolngu people don’t only receive goods through the barter/trading system.
The Makassan people also bring their own local skills and knowledge – teaching the local Yolngu people how to make things like floor mats and masts for sailing vessels, things that the Yolngu people never used until now.
Some Yolngu people intermarry and board Makassan boats, travelling to other countries such as Singapore and the Philippines and even return to Sulawesi to live among the local people.