Aboriginal Spirituality

Early Europeans failed to see the religious aspect of Aboriginal life :Aborigines have Nothing whatever of the character of religion, or of religious observance, to distinguish them form the beasts of the field. (Rev. John Dunmore Lang Presbyterian leader in NSW 19th Century)

I could never discover among them anything amounting to religion My opinion is that they have no religious notions or ideas whatever. ( A.Le Soef. Victoria 1878.)

Early Europeans with pre-conceived ideas of religion e.g. church buildings, priests, belief in one God, scriptures, failed to see a religious dimension in Aboriginal life. More recently with a broader understanding of religion (ie. a system of beliefs which provides meaning to universal questions about human life, suffering, death etc;) the study of Aboriginal Society reveals a variety, complexity and depth of belief and ritual systems.

Introduction:- The Dreaming is a term commonly used to describe the creation phase of Aboriginal Life (Ngarinyin people call it ungud; Aranda Aldjerinya, Pitjantijatjara Tjukwpa.)

The Dreaming is not some vague, unreal event: it is for Aboriginal people something very real underlying all of life, the world, human society etc. My parents just talked about the country. I believed what they said. Your couldnt doubt, it was just something very real. The country wasnt just hills or creeks or trees It was real, our kuuti, the force that gives us life. Somebody created it and whoever created it did it for us, so we could live and hunt and have a good time. Thats how we come to be here because that mulu (kangaroo-man) created this image for us to live and breathe: the plants, the language and the people. (Yami Lester: Aboriginal person from South Australia).

The Aboriginal Concept of time is cyclical rather than linear. While the Dreaming occurred at the beginning of the world, it is also still present and will continue to be present. Through ritual and art, humans are able to enter in direct relationship with The Dreaming (Some people prefer to talk of a Dream-event or Dream-place emphasising significance of the place).

At first there existed a watery, featureless land. Then Spirit Beings who lay sleeping under this land emerged from this formless earth and took on the form and identity of humans and animals. Eg kangaroo-men, shark-men, serpent-women.

Dreaming stories of each area reflect the plants, animals and land features of that particular area. These Spirit Beings then moved over the surface of the earth performing everyday activities of the human/animals they represented e.g. sang, hunted, ate, shared food, fought cheated, munched grass, hopped over a sand-hill.

As the Spirit Beings travelled their activities and tracks were transformed into rocks, mountains, waterholes, caves, trees etc, eg winding track of the Rainbow Serpent becomes a river; a kangaroo-man sitting up to view the country became a rocky ridge.

the whole land/area/ country was formed through the activities of Spirit Beings. the Australian continent dotted with significant sites associated with Dreaming stories. Some sites extremely sacred to one or other Aboriginal groups. Spirit Beings said to be continually present in these various land features and sites.

Spirit Beings are ancestors of the Aboriginal people and animals which live in the areas e.g. one group descended from Kangaroo-man who is also ancestor of Kangaroos. Aboriginal people make little distinction between rocks, trees, birds, etc., and themselves. Laws and taboos come from spiritual forces associated with the area in which Aboriginal people walk.

While all land is special, there are places, objects and ceremonies which have a special quality of power and of sacredness. Access to these places,/objects/ceremonies are restricted to those with special knowledge and experience.

Knowledge of the Dreaming stories were the prized possession of senior Aboriginal people. Males and females knew different and often complementary parts of stories. Spirit Beings left stories, songs, paintings and rituals through which their exploits were recorded and passed on. The correct telling of the stories, painting of symbols, singing of songs and performance of rituals maintained the world and the society they lived in.

It is the land itself that impregnates a woman. Many Aboriginal people look for physical similarities between their children and the land e.g. A mark in the landscape is correlated with bodily marks, such as a mole or wart or variations in skin colour.

Spirit Being ancestors provided a model for everyday life. They established the pattern for social, cultural and ritual activities. People hunted, fished, gathered and shared food, cooked, drew designs, punished offenders and related to each other in certain ways because the Spirit Beings are believed to have acted in these ways and left examples to be followed. Aboriginal people learn how to behave, hunt and relate to teach other through the Dreaming

Relationships are vital to Aboriginal societies. Members of a particular group can identify their relationships to all other members of the group. Relationships imply obligations. The Dreaming is Aboriginal Law dictating ways in which offenders against rules and taboos should be punished.