Religion and Belief Systems in Australia Post 1945
Contemporary ABORIGINAL SPIRITUALITY AS DETERMINED BY THE DREAMING
Aboriginal
The Dreaming is a term referring to Aboriginal spiritual beliefs about creation and existence. It involves all knowledge and understanding in Aboriginal societies,
Spiritualities
and hence incorporates all beliefs and practices of Aboriginal communities. It is the spiritual aspect of Aboriginal religion that encapsulates both the spiritual and
physical dimensions, giving meaning to all aspects of life.
⇾ Aboriginal belief system that encompasses a holistic approach to their spiritual and social worlds
⇾ Inextricably connected to the land, as the land is the physical medium through which the Dreaming is communicated
⇾ It is a metatemporal concept → incorporating past, present and future as reality
⇾ The Dreaming is communicated through
- Art, Song lines, Dance, Story, Ritual, Kinship systems
⇾ Impacts of three areas of Aboriginal life
- Kinship
- Obligations to the land and people
- Ceremonial life
⇾ The Aboriginal belief system which encompasses a holistic approach to their spiritual and social worlds.
⇾ beliefs, ethics, ceremonials, sacred sites, kinship are related.
⇾ an interconnectedness of the belief system.
⇾ land is central to this belief system.
⇾ Is a “way of life”, a sense of being → from the “way of life” comes the various practices and rituals.
⇾ Includes explanation of the origins of the universe – the end result of the ancestral beings actions
⇾ Is embedded in all aspects of life
- different facets of aboriginal lives
- ceremonial dimension of life
- ritualistic obligations owed to the land and people
- intricate kinship system are all connected to + derived from Dreaming
⇾ Is intimately connected with every dimension of Aboriginal life, the process of telling and learning the stories of the Dreaming is a lifelong one
Land:
⇾ A living organism – earth, trees, rivers, sky......
⇾ source of life - food and shelter
⇾ sense of sacred
⇾ collective ownership means collective responsibility.
1
, ⇾ “communal” ownership: not the western notion of individual property.
⇾ ownership is based on “division of labour” rather than possession.
⇾ rituals are associated with hunting and harvesting cycles.
⇾ “we don’t own the land, the land owns us” National Park Ranger in WA
Discuss how Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the Dreaming
- kinship
- ceremonial life
- obligations to the land and people
Kinship ⇾ IMPORTANT FOR CREATING BELONGING AND RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN A TRIBE
⇾ Elder Bob randall refers to Kinship as “The completeness of the oneness”
○ This is a concept he refers to as kanyini (the strict rules and obligations exist for each relationship, which form part of the
Aboriginal law
○ Kinship extends to land, dancing, ceremonies, hunting parties and raising children = crucial elements of the dreaming
○ Metaphysical connection of dreaming kinship → kanyini, totems and ancestral beings which all contribute to the dreaming
⇾ Kinship refers to a complex system of belonging and responsibilities within a clan
⇾ Determined by tribe and family relationships
⇾ Creates a connection with ancestor spirits, the land and the dreaming.
⇾ A highly sophisticated network of relationships that:
- Govern interactions between clans
- Creates belonging and responsibilities within the tribe
⇾ Totems unify clans under the same ancestral beings which fosters a metaphysical connection of dreaming kinship
⇾ Creates a connection with the land, ancestor spirits and ultimately the dreaming
⇾ inherit ceremonial rights & responsibilities
⇾ Kinship ties govern day to day life of aboriginal people by determining issues from whom an individual is permitted to talk to and marry
⇾ Kinship ties = identify a complex system of belonging, relationships and responsibilities within a clan that are based on the Dreaming
Significance
⇾ Assign the responsibility to transmit knowledge of the Dreaming from elders to younger gen.
⇾ People are initiated into the Dreaming by different degrees – according to age +position in community
⇾ Process of learning the Dreaming is a lifelong pursuit
2
, Ceremonial Roles of ceremonial life:
Life ⇾ Ceremonial life is the link between the people, the land and identity
4 important roles:
- Rites of passage
- Passing ons social information
- Facilitating personal connections
- Facilitating spiritual connections
Important link between aboriginal people, land and identity
Dreaming = past, present and future
- Ceremonies represent the present as they are happening now
- Ceremonies are important for passing on and maintaining beliefs and practices = also kinship
All ceremonies:
1. Acknowledge a creation event
2. Show the metaphysical presence of the dreaming of the dreaming in the real world
Obligations The land is the physical medium through which the dreaming is lived out
to the land
and people Dreaming is inextricably connected to the land
- Inextricable → can never be disconnected
1. The land is the physical medium through which the dreaming is lived and is the resting place for ancestral beings
a. The resting place for ancestral being
2. Rituals on the land are connected to sacred rites where dreaming events occur → these rites are called balance rites, important for
connecting all those elements together
3. The land is the meeting point where tribes derive identity, they get there totems from and citates their relationship with each other
- Regard land as their mother + hence worked to deepen understanding + appreciation of their land
- Inextricably connected to the land as it is the physical medium through which the Dreaming is lived and communicated
- Land provides the foundation of Aboriginal beliefs, traditions, rituals and law stories of the dreaming are embedded in the land
3
Contemporary ABORIGINAL SPIRITUALITY AS DETERMINED BY THE DREAMING
Aboriginal
The Dreaming is a term referring to Aboriginal spiritual beliefs about creation and existence. It involves all knowledge and understanding in Aboriginal societies,
Spiritualities
and hence incorporates all beliefs and practices of Aboriginal communities. It is the spiritual aspect of Aboriginal religion that encapsulates both the spiritual and
physical dimensions, giving meaning to all aspects of life.
⇾ Aboriginal belief system that encompasses a holistic approach to their spiritual and social worlds
⇾ Inextricably connected to the land, as the land is the physical medium through which the Dreaming is communicated
⇾ It is a metatemporal concept → incorporating past, present and future as reality
⇾ The Dreaming is communicated through
- Art, Song lines, Dance, Story, Ritual, Kinship systems
⇾ Impacts of three areas of Aboriginal life
- Kinship
- Obligations to the land and people
- Ceremonial life
⇾ The Aboriginal belief system which encompasses a holistic approach to their spiritual and social worlds.
⇾ beliefs, ethics, ceremonials, sacred sites, kinship are related.
⇾ an interconnectedness of the belief system.
⇾ land is central to this belief system.
⇾ Is a “way of life”, a sense of being → from the “way of life” comes the various practices and rituals.
⇾ Includes explanation of the origins of the universe – the end result of the ancestral beings actions
⇾ Is embedded in all aspects of life
- different facets of aboriginal lives
- ceremonial dimension of life
- ritualistic obligations owed to the land and people
- intricate kinship system are all connected to + derived from Dreaming
⇾ Is intimately connected with every dimension of Aboriginal life, the process of telling and learning the stories of the Dreaming is a lifelong one
Land:
⇾ A living organism – earth, trees, rivers, sky......
⇾ source of life - food and shelter
⇾ sense of sacred
⇾ collective ownership means collective responsibility.
1
, ⇾ “communal” ownership: not the western notion of individual property.
⇾ ownership is based on “division of labour” rather than possession.
⇾ rituals are associated with hunting and harvesting cycles.
⇾ “we don’t own the land, the land owns us” National Park Ranger in WA
Discuss how Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the Dreaming
- kinship
- ceremonial life
- obligations to the land and people
Kinship ⇾ IMPORTANT FOR CREATING BELONGING AND RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN A TRIBE
⇾ Elder Bob randall refers to Kinship as “The completeness of the oneness”
○ This is a concept he refers to as kanyini (the strict rules and obligations exist for each relationship, which form part of the
Aboriginal law
○ Kinship extends to land, dancing, ceremonies, hunting parties and raising children = crucial elements of the dreaming
○ Metaphysical connection of dreaming kinship → kanyini, totems and ancestral beings which all contribute to the dreaming
⇾ Kinship refers to a complex system of belonging and responsibilities within a clan
⇾ Determined by tribe and family relationships
⇾ Creates a connection with ancestor spirits, the land and the dreaming.
⇾ A highly sophisticated network of relationships that:
- Govern interactions between clans
- Creates belonging and responsibilities within the tribe
⇾ Totems unify clans under the same ancestral beings which fosters a metaphysical connection of dreaming kinship
⇾ Creates a connection with the land, ancestor spirits and ultimately the dreaming
⇾ inherit ceremonial rights & responsibilities
⇾ Kinship ties govern day to day life of aboriginal people by determining issues from whom an individual is permitted to talk to and marry
⇾ Kinship ties = identify a complex system of belonging, relationships and responsibilities within a clan that are based on the Dreaming
Significance
⇾ Assign the responsibility to transmit knowledge of the Dreaming from elders to younger gen.
⇾ People are initiated into the Dreaming by different degrees – according to age +position in community
⇾ Process of learning the Dreaming is a lifelong pursuit
2
, Ceremonial Roles of ceremonial life:
Life ⇾ Ceremonial life is the link between the people, the land and identity
4 important roles:
- Rites of passage
- Passing ons social information
- Facilitating personal connections
- Facilitating spiritual connections
Important link between aboriginal people, land and identity
Dreaming = past, present and future
- Ceremonies represent the present as they are happening now
- Ceremonies are important for passing on and maintaining beliefs and practices = also kinship
All ceremonies:
1. Acknowledge a creation event
2. Show the metaphysical presence of the dreaming of the dreaming in the real world
Obligations The land is the physical medium through which the dreaming is lived out
to the land
and people Dreaming is inextricably connected to the land
- Inextricable → can never be disconnected
1. The land is the physical medium through which the dreaming is lived and is the resting place for ancestral beings
a. The resting place for ancestral being
2. Rituals on the land are connected to sacred rites where dreaming events occur → these rites are called balance rites, important for
connecting all those elements together
3. The land is the meeting point where tribes derive identity, they get there totems from and citates their relationship with each other
- Regard land as their mother + hence worked to deepen understanding + appreciation of their land
- Inextricably connected to the land as it is the physical medium through which the Dreaming is lived and communicated
- Land provides the foundation of Aboriginal beliefs, traditions, rituals and law stories of the dreaming are embedded in the land
3
