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Aboriginal means, "the people who were here from the beginning". For the Aboriginals of Australia, spirituality and the sacred is deeply rooted in the landscape and in their relationship to the environment which sustains them. Archaeological findings indicate that Aboriginals have lived in Australia for 40,000 - 100,000 years or longer. Traditional Aboriginal lands are mainland Australia and most of the islands.
Aboriginals belong to a 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. Aboriginals sing their country; and, perform ceremonies for their country, using ochre depictions of the Dreaming images. Storytelling and Song often accompanied by dance movements have been a central element of Aboriginal Australian life since the beginning of time. There are songs for every event including: hunting, funerals, seasons, animals, and landscapes. 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. For the Aboriginal Australians the Dreamtime is their understanding of the how the Ancestral Spirits created the landscape and every living thing. It is also the beginning of knowledge and the stories of the laws of existence that ensure survival. Dreaming is the continuation of the Dreamtime. Along the Dreaming Tracks there are Sacred Sites, areas of land or sea, where significant events took place during the Dreamtime. These are increase centers where special ceremonies are performed for "Taking Care" of a particular species... Continue on
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Aboriginal Australia Totemic Dreamtime 
