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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. The Stories of the Dreaming about the law and the celestial and terrestrial landscapes are passed down from generation to generation through the process of Custodianship. Since they belong to a clan or a tribe, the Elders appoint a skillful and knowledgeable storyteller as their custodian. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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... Continue on Go back
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