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Aboriginals have lived in Australia for 40,000 - 100,000 years or longer. 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. 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.
Ceremonies are performed by Aboriginal Australians for their country. There are non-secret ceremonies around campfires where one group of men will chant songs while another group of men whose bodies are decorated with sacred symbols will enact legendary occurrences through dance movements before men, women, children, and Elders.
There are also
ceremonies for youths wrapped in secrecy, where women and adult men are not
allowed. After decorating their bodies with their totemic symbols, the young men
use dance movements to express their totemic Dreamtime. It is an important step
for the youths in integrating their tribal law and lore.
These stories
teach ways to achieve harmony in relationships with others and within the
community; and, emphasize the values of nurturing, sharing, balance, and
cooperation. Today, in order to preserve the stories, the custodians are
spreading the stories as widely as possible so the children can retain their
belongingness and connectedness to the sacred world.
He was often
asked to perform for other groups where he led others in a chorus. The Danceman
specialized in miming the movements of animals and other ceremonial totemic
portrayals. Songs could vary in length from several days to several weeks to
several months.
Headdresses and body decorations enhanced the connection between dancer and totemic Dreaming. There were sacred ritual dances. There were dances for Dreaming events, for rain, and for successful hunts. There were also campfire dances where women, children, and men shared clan totem dances... Continue on
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Aboriginal Australia Totemic Dreamtime 
