L1- Contemporary Aboriginal Spiritualities

Booklet Activity:

1. Describe why the Dreaming is not a universal religion?

Dreaming is the belief system and the metatemporal concept of the Australian Aboriginals peoples,
representing relations between the spiritual, natural and moral elements of the world. Dreaming
stories reflects aboriginals connectedness to the land, varying for each ‘country’ typically through its
language, beliefs and totems. Dreaming is not considered a universal religion because of its
separation and differences across each tribe. Dreaming has approximately 600 diverse languages
that differ per each tribe. Across each land aboriginal spirituality differs in terms of its languages and
beliefs, for example, the people near the Murray River in Ngarrindjeri country speak of Ponde the
Murray River cod, resembling an ancestral spirit who created water ways. Whereas, in a 'nation' the
Northern Territory Lumarai, the Rainbow Serpent, creates the rivers, waterholes and billabongs.
Furthermore, each ‘country’ has their own distinct totem for example the Giramul people are
represented by a possum whereas the Burimul people are represented by a fly. This reflects the
differences in beliefs and languages across the ‘countries’ and hence dreaming is not a universal
religion.

2. Explain why land is important to Aboriginal spirituality and kinship?

The land plays a significant role in the lives of Aboriginal people by providing ceremonial practices
and rituals to further signify dreaming and relationships. Carroboree (ceremonial practices) are
enacted on the land manifested dancing and singing highlighting their inextricable link to all objects
and thus the land. For example, rites of passage, passing on social information, provide personal
connection to land and dreaming and provide spiritual connection to Dreaming. Aboriginal people
believe that the totems is medium through which dreaming is inextricably connected with the land.
A person's position in the kinship system establishes their relationship to others and to the universe,
prescribing their responsibilities towards other people, the land and natural resources. The links
through human and creation is made through totemism. The person through the totem becomes
inextricably linked with the land and to the spirit governing that territory. Totemism contains
religious elements that links creation and Ancestral Beings, for example the creations of the
billabongs and waterholes is through the Rainbow Serpent. Hence the land is vital to Aboriginal
spirituality and kinship because it supports the foundation of beliefs and Dreaming.

3. Create a table with summary notes of kinship, ceremonial life and obligations to people
and land.

Kinship Ceremonial life Obligations to the land and

 Highly sophisticated
networks of relationships
governing interactions
between members of
people
 They have a rich ceremonial  Dreaming, land and
liferole: Rites of Passage, passing people= inextricably
on social information, provide linked link made
personal connection to land and through totemism. Totem
 language groups
determines social
interaction (trade, sport,
marriage)
 Passed down through
stories to children
 Assigns responsibility in
order to transmit
knowledge from older to
younger generations
 Defines members
position, roles and
responsibilities within
group and shows
connections to extended
family
 Expressed through
totemism- identifies
one’s kinship line and
provides direct link to
sacred matters
 Elder Bob Randall- “The
completeness of the
oneness”
Dreaming and provide spiritual
connection to Dreaming. Spiritually
communicated through art, singing,
acting, story and
dancecorroboree: Dreaming
stories through singing, dancing and
music
 Initiation is aboriginal rite of passage
denoting the transition from
childhood to adulthood laws
governing these, are fixed,
maintained and passed on from gen
to gen
 Boys: circumcision or other painful
experience e.g. tooth removal,
scarification
 Girls: taken to isolated place after
first menstrual cycle and is taught
responsibilities by elder
womenthen taken to river to be
washed and painted on= maturity
 Initiation defines gender roles,
increase status, responsibilities and
obligations to kinship, land,
ceremonies and rituals takes place
on sacred sites, thus showing
inextricable link
 Funeral ceremonies: song/dance
ensure spirit of dead return to
Ancestral Beings land ensure their
responsibilities are passed on. ‘Sorry
Business’ is a period where name of
dead can’t be mentions as sign of
respect
is object, animal,
landmark where a person
is connected to the
spiritual forces
responsible for his/her
creation each totem
has sacred site
 Have responsibility to
keep, respect, sustain
and conserve the land
because Ancestral Beings
created and dwell within
it
 The land and all forms of
life must be preserved
and passed on to future
gens in relationship of
mutual interdependence
 Specific area of land for
which they have
responsibility for is ‘ritual
estate’ or ‘my country’
and contains sacred sites
 Elders have responsibility
to perform relevant
rituals each year and
relates to kinship systems

Exercise Book Activity:

1. Discuss how Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the Dreaming?

Dreaming allow Aboriginal people to understand their place in traditional society and nature and
connects their spiritual world of the past with the present and the future. The Dreaming is expressed
through kinship groups, ceremonial life and obligations to the land and the people, determining the
basis of Aboriginal spirituality. Kinships groups are established by ancestral beings in the Dreaming
and ties identity with a system of belonging and responsibilities. The Dreaming contains an
explanation of the beginning of the universe, which is, how the world came into being as a outcome
of the actions of ancestral spirit beings upon the land. These ancestral beings could be recovered in
the form of Humans, animals, and plants. They discovered the rules by which all living beings should
live by. One’s identity and sense of belonging is embedded within their dreaming kinships. Each
Aboriginal tribe has a distinct totem representing their connection to an ancestral being in the land.
Furthermore, kinship provides guidelines of everyday life including responsibilities and marriage.
Ceremonies acknowledge the dreaming as a principal aspect of human life while practice sustains it
as a vital part of their spirituality. Aboriginal ceremonial practices maintain the dreaming, preserving
stories and enabling them to be passed from generations. These stories transmit knowledge and
connects the past and present through exercises such as mimes, dancing and art. For example,
through the male initiation process of circumcision aboriginals transition between childhood to
adulthood and are given responsibilities on how to hunt and talk to women. Aboriginal people are
responsible of taking care of the land in a mutual relationship where the land caters for them in
return. The land is inextricably linked to the dreaming as emphasised in “impregnated with the
power of the ancestral spirits”. Aboriginals have responsibilities to pass on this responsibility as “we
(aboriginals) don’t own the land the land owns us”. Therefore, the land, identity and the dreaming
are inextricably linked.

2. Explain why land is important to Aboriginal Spirituality?(HSC 2019)

Land is a physical medium in which dreaming is lived and communicated. The Land provides the
foundation for Aboriginal beliefs, traditions, rituals and laws because the stories of the Dreaming are
embedded in the land. It acts as a dwelling and resting place for ancestral beings and is sustained
because of its spiritual connection but also ensures the continuation of Aboriginal life. Aboriginal
people are stewards to the land in which they use the land for ritual association and economic uses
(food). Aboriginals believe that is the land is cared for, the land will provide and nurture human
beings for present and future as evident in “I belong to the Land, and the Land belongs to me” –
Patrick Dodson, 1976. Dreaming is inextricably linked to totemism insinuating a connection to the
spiritual forces responsible for their creation. In addition, Dreaming is inextricably linked to the land
in which ancestral beings have formed features. For example, the people near the Murray River in
Ngarrindjeri country believe an ancestral spirit created water ways. Furthermore, to make this
spirituality living, they engage in ceremonies and rituals believing that if the ceremonies are not
observed, then the power of the land to renew itself will fail and natural disasters will occur.

3. Similar to Q1