corroboree

plural corroborees · alternative corrobboree · alternative corrobori · alternative corrobory

1. A nocturnal dance held by Aboriginal Australians, for social, celebratory or warlike purposes.

   A hundred yards or so away the throaty beat of a didgeridoo drifted down from some ancient corroboree, a splendid accompaniment to the music of the night

   1988, Tom Cole, Hell West and Crooked, Angus & Robertson, published 2005, page 231

2. A song or chant made for such a festivity.

   He reached home, and lived long enough to hear the natives wailing in a Death Corroboree over his late comrade.

   1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter IV, in Capricornia, page 52

3. Any noisy, late-night gathering or disturbance.