1. Totemism
1.1. EMBODY
1.1.1. represent the individual as they existed in the dreaming and carry ceremonial responsibilities, often an animal or landform
1.1.1.1. link btw human and creation comes through any object
1.1.1.1.1. E.g. Plant, bird, landmark
1.1.1.1.2. relationship between Ancestral Beings through participation in a ceremonial event
2. Obligations to the land and people
2.1. Encompasses both kinship and ceremonial life and infers a reciprocal relationship with the land whereby the land sustains the people, yet the people also help sustain the land
2.2. The Land provides them with identity, culture, purpose, understanding, food, shelter, belonging....It is their source of life! NO WONDER THEY REFER TO IT AS 'MOTHER'
2.3. Land = physical medium through which the dreaming is lived and communicated, shaped by ancestral spirits, dwelling place for ancestral spirits
3. KINSHIP
3.1. Governs daily life / interactions
3.1.1. strict rules and obligations assigned to each relationship
3.1.1.1. determines who an individual can talk to, marry, defines roles and responsibilities in clan
3.1.2. defined position in a language group
3.1.3. every person is bound to every other person
3.2. doesn't accommodate outsiders
3.3. Assigns the responsibility to pass on Dreaming knowledge
3.4. complex network of relationships/system of belonging and responsibilities within a clan
3.4.1. based on relationships to one’s totem (plant/animal representing connection w/ ancestor)
4. Importance
4.1. very survival is a direct result of this close relationship with their natural environment
4.2. inextricably bound to it
4.3. means the whole of creation is of spiritual significance
4.4. Preserves Law and Order (makes the world go round - like sacrifices)
4.5. Makes possible the coexistence of all elements of the world
4.6. All economics are based on the land (BESTOWED on them)
5. Definition
5.1. Inextricably linked to the Land
5.2. Land is an extension of Life
5.3. It IS the parameter of Value
5.4. No sense of creation or the first creator - Metatemporal = TIMELESS ACT, lifelong process
5.4.1. Living Relationship
5.4.2. “Our story is in the land ... it is written in those sacred places ... My children will look after those places, That's the law.” – Bill Neidjie, Kakadu elder.
5.5. 500 different clan groups or 'nations'
6. Nature (essence)
6.1. Origins
6.1.1. Cycle of Life and Death
6.1.2. ORDERING OF ALL THINGS - workings of nature
6.1.3. when spirits interacted with people
6.1.4. Birth of humanity
6.1.5. "I come from the Land and I will return to the Land.”
6.1.6. Spirit Beings shaped the land (action and interaction of the spirits)
6.1.6.1. Basic Outline of the Dreaming: Something exists (the land, a site, some rocks, a waterhole); a story is then invoked that explains how an ancestor transformed the land. In the time of the Dreaming, the environment was shaped and humanized by mythic beings
6.1.6.2. Form and shapes of the land prove the truths of the myths told about it
6.1.6.3. Concept is common, but the stories and characters are diverse across Australia because the stories are SPECIFIC to a place/shape of the land
6.1.7. The spiritual aspect of Aboriginal religion that encapsulates both the physical and spiritual dimensions, giving meaning to all aspects of life. Shapes and structures life - regulates kinship, ceremonial life, relationship btw male and female, network of obligations involving people, land and spirits
6.2. Stories
6.2.1. COMMUNICATE
6.2.1.1. describe Aboriginal law and lifestyle, express how ancestral beings moved through the land to create landforms, conflict and interaction with others in these stories are the basis of tradition and law, socialisation tool for teaching children right from wrong
6.2.1.1.1. Mythology
6.2.1.1.2. narrative details
6.2.1.1.3. No book = oral/in environment
6.2.1.1.4. E.g. Akurra Serpents carved out gorges
6.2.1.1.5. They are the compass, clock and calendar of Aboriginal life.
6.3. Symbolism and Art
6.3.1. EXPRESSES
6.3.1.1. communicates the Dreaming as it illustrates the actions of the ancestral spirit beings in the land. Has multiple levels of meaning, not accessible to all
6.3.1.1.1. sacred objects/sites/paintings
6.3.1.1.2. reveals the bestowal of LAND on language groups
6.3.1.1.3. mediums
6.3.1.1.4. gives expression to religious traditions, customs, + practises
6.3.1.1.5. Provides knowledge of seasonal food, types, water sources and life cycle details.
6.3.1.1.6. Can be abstract and representational
6.4. Rituals and Ceremonies
6.4.1. ENACT
6.4.1.1. relive activities of ancestor spirits, ancestral beings made present through people/objects/actions of the ritual e.g. smoking ceremony used to cleanse and heal (keeps the dreaming metatemporal) All ceremonies acknowledge a Creation event and bring past present and future together
6.4.1.1.1. physical medium through which the Dreaming is lived and communicated
6.4.1.1.2. Birth, coming of age (initiation), and death
6.4.1.1.3. performance of this influences + ensures the reproductions of the natural and human sphere + cycle of seasons
6.5. Sacred Sites
6.5.1. Secret-sacred (for initiated ONLY)
6.5.2. All Indigenous Australians have a responsibility to preserve and sustain
6.5.3. Examples of types: - Land - Rock formations - Parts of rivers and seas - Burial grounds - Ceremonial meeting places - Birthing caves - Places of danger
6.5.4. All land is important, but there is specific sites that are sacred - contains the ancestor spirit’s spirituality