|
|
Aboriginal Australia Totemic Dreamtime
Belonging Place Taking Care
Stories of the Dreaming were told around campfires, where things of concern were also discussed and important information relayed. Dreaming law and lore told the tribe about their spiritual history, how to treat each other, and how to conduct their daily life.
Suitable punishments for individual transgressions of these tribal and totemic laws were determined by knowledgeable Elders. Starlore was passed down from generation to generation through the teachings and storytelling of the Elders.
The positions of the planets and
stars were used by the Aboriginal Australians for gathering food; for finding
their way from one place to another; and for the timing of rituals and
ceremonies. There were neutral passageways between tribal lands.
Pinnacles Star Alignment Standing Stones
The Ancestral Spirits travelled across the formless land and laid down the laws the Aboriginals must obey and the Dreaming Tracks which connect all creatures of the sacred world and define the belonging territory of the tribe within the landscape.
Anyone travelling outside their territory needed to obtain the permission of the tribes in neighboring territories to pass through their areas. Tribe members carried message sticks with them whenever they crossed the boundaries of another tribe.
Engraved with sacred Dreaming symbols, these pieces of bark or wood identified the walker and served as an official request for permission to enter and pass through the belonging place of another tribe.
Under Aboriginal law to enter the belonging place of another tribe without their consent was trespassing, which courted hostility and could result in death. Aboriginals traded and bartered with other groups in Australia on a regular basis, holding corroborees where marriages were arranged; information about tribal practices and beliefs was shared; and, new songs were sung.
Aborigines belong to a place, their Belong Place, an area of land in Australia where their totemic ancestors were born, lived, and died. This "belonging place" was the territory of land created for their kin group, their clan, and their tribe during the Dreamtime.
The sacred symbols of these totemic bloodlines were implanted in the Dreaming stories used by the Elders to teach the wisdom of the ancestors to each new generation... Continue on Go Back
Read Aboriginal Australia Articles
Visit other Beliefs Faiths Religions Traditions
Aboriginal Dreamtime,
Alchemy Alchemist,
Cosmos Astronomy,
Buddhism Buddhist,
Christianity Biblical,
Daoist Confucian,
Druidry Treelore,
Heathenry Ásatrú,
Hinduism Vedas,
Islam Sunnah,
Judaism Talmud,
Native American,
Paganism Wiccan,
Shamanism Shaman,
Shintoism Kami
Aboriginal Australia Totemic Dreamtime Copyright © 2002-2008 Maureen Grace Burns, Blessings Cornucopia. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
