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Aboriginal Australia Totemic Dreamtime
Glossary Terminology
Dreaming
The life of an
individual Aboriginal, a person of the Dreamtime, is lived according to the
guidelines laid down for the ancestors by the creators. By adhering to the
traditions and beliefs practiced by the tribe for generations, an individual
fulfills the laws and spiritual expectations of the Ancestral Spirits.
At the end of
Dreamtime, after the Ancestral Spirits gave form to the land and established
community relationships, they changed from human and other forms into animals,
stars, hills, and other things, enlivening the landscape with their powers.
Dreaming Tracks (Songlines)
The story of the Aboriginals is in the land; the law is imprinted upon their
sacred spaces. The Dreaming Tracks distinguish all features of the land created
by their Spirit Ancestors as they travelled across it. These songlines are the
footprints of their Spirit Ancestors as they sang Beingness into the landscape,
setting the law.
Today the journeys of the Spirit Ancestors are brought to life through these songlines. By performing the appropriate ceremonies and singing certain songs at precise points along the Dreaming Track, the Aboriginals gain direct access to the Dreaming. Many groups travell along Dreaming Tracks with their children, educating them by telling them stories of the Dreamtime.
Through the verses of these songs, Aboriginal Australians know every part of the
landscape and where to find sources of water and food. They also use the
songlines when they move about within the territory of the tribe or when
visiting other tribes.
Dreamtime
During the Dreamtime, the Ancestral Spirits travelled across the formless land,
and gave it form by creating the rivers, the mountains, the sand hills, the
billabongs, the trees, the humans, the animals, the birds, the insects, the
marine life, and all other creatures.
They also made the sky, the sun, the moon,
the planets, and the stars. They 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. Afterwards,
the Ancestral Spirits changed into aspects of the landscape, empowering it with
their numinous presence.
Elders
Elders are respected by the
clans and the tribe because they pass on the traditional stories and skills. The
Elders use every available opportunity to teach the children about their way of
life and their relationship to the sacred world. Stories are told as they walk
to the waterholes, as they grind seeds, and as they sit around the campfire.
Age does not make one an Elder. Elders are men and women, regardless of age, who are asked for guidance because of their Dreamtime wisdom and knowledge of tribal law and lore. Some information is sacred and can only be revealed to initiated men and women.
Ritual life is divided into men's business and women's business. Women are instructed about their ritual performance by Elder women in the women's camp; and, men are instructed about their ritual performance by Elder men in the men's camp... Continue on, Go back
Read Aboriginal Australia Articles
Animal Totems Shamanism,
Belonging Place Taking Care,
Corroborees Ceremonies,
Cultural Heritage,
Dreaming Tracks Songlines,
Glossary Terminology,
Kinship Elders,
Musical Song Dances,
Rainbow Snake Sacred Symbols,
Spiritual Beliefs,
Storytelling Custodianship
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.
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