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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. There are many different Aboriginal Australia tribes who have their own Dreamtime folklore, customs, languages, and totems; but, there are also many commonalities they share such as: animal totems, strong kinship, and family structures. Storytelling plays an important and an integral role in everyday Aboriginal Australia life. It is used to educate children about Aboriginal Australia cultural heritage; to pass on knowledge about Creation, ancestral beings, and places, and, how the land, plants, animals, and humans came into being; to explain Aboriginal Australia spirituality and laws; and to pass on information about the boundaries of tribal lands. Although the overall themes are the same, Dreaming stories vary throughout Aboriginal Australia. For instance, the story of how birds got their colors in Western Australia is different from the story of how birds got their colors in New South Wales. Traditionally these stories have been passed down by the Elders through song and dance usually around campfires. String Games involve String figure designs often resembled objects that were, and in some parts of Australia still are, used in everyday life such as dilly bags and baskets, or they represented animals and people, or abstract ideas such as the forces of nature. As people played the string game, designs would change quickly from one thing to another. This game was also used to help tell stories. All Aboriginal tribes tell stories about the Rainbow Serpent. Although some elements of the Rainbow Serpent Story are known only to initiated members of the tribe, the illustration of the Rainbow Serpent has become public knowledge.
Rainbow Serpent Stories
are Creation Stories so each of them is descriptive of the creation of the
landscape where the storyteller lives. Rainbow Serpent artists often add clan
symbols to the body of the Rainbow Serpent, symbolic of the connection between
the clan and the land. The Rainbow Serpent is linked with fertility, abundant
plants and animals, protection, regenerating rains, watercourses, and peace.
A female Rainbow Serpent, as the original mother creator, and, a male Rainbow Serpent, as the transformer of the land, are the two Rainbow Serpents most commonly depicted in Aboriginal ceremonies, art, and oral traditions. When the Rainbow Serpent is not respected or laws are transgressed, the Rainbow Serpent can act as a destructive force, bringing floods and storms. Storytelling and Song often accompanied by dance movements have been a central element of Aboriginal Australian life since the beginning of time. They sang songs and performed ceremonies to ensure the propagation of each species and the fruitfulness of the land. They perform their ritual obligations to the land by singing for the country the songs of the "Dreamtime", often accompanied by dance, and sometimes sand drawings. Danceman and Songman were respected men who were esteemed by the group because of their specialized song and dance skills. The songman performed songs passed down from his ancestors and also composed songs about everyday life. There are songs for every event including: hunting, funerals, seasons, animals, and landscapes. The Songman 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. Although dance techniques vary between tribal groups, most of the dancing was done with lots of foot stomping which is now called shake a leg. There were also arm, foot, and body movements that imitated the actions of birds and animals.
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... Go back
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