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The Aboriginal Australians believed that they were connected to all the animal species and that the Ancestral Spirits charged them with the duty to be caretakers of the land and of all the animal species. The Aboriginal Australians called this responsibility to safeguard the land and all animal species, "Taking Care". The life of an individual Aboriginal, a person of the Dreamtime, was lived then according to the guidelines laid down for the ancestors by the creators. During the Dreamtime the Ancestral Spirits purposefully created every billabong, rock, star, planet, animal, insect and all other living creatures (including humans and all of the flora). As they travelled across the land, they gave it form by creating the rivers, the mountains, the sand hills, the trees, the humans, the animals, the birds, the insects and the marine life. They also made the sky, the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars. Then the Ancestral Spirits also laid down the laws the Aboriginals must obey and the Dreaming Tracks which connected all creatures of the sacred Natural World and defined 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.
By adhering to the traditions and beliefs practiced by the tribe for generations, an individual aboriginal fulfilled the laws and spiritual expectations of the Ancestral Spirits. At the end of Dreamtime. For the Aboriginals of Australia, spirituality and the sacred was deeply rooted in the landscape and in their relationship to the environment which sustained them. There were many different Aboriginal Australia tribes who have their own Dreamtime folklore, customs, languages and totems; but, there were also many commonalities they share such as: Animal Totems, strong kinship, and family structures. Storytelling played an important integral role in everyday Aboriginal Australian life. Storytelling was a way for the elders to educate children, to pass on knowledge of ancestral beings, of cultural heritage, of Creation and of places. The Stories of the Dreaming told how the animals, humans, land and plants came into being.
Aboriginal Australian Storytelling also explained
spirituality and laws and passed on information regarding the boundaries of
tribal lands. Although the overall themes were the same, Dreaming stories varied
throughout Aboriginal Australia. For instance, the story of how birds got their
colors in Western Australia was different from the story of how birds got their
colors in New South Wales.
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