Aboriginal Spritualities Flashcards
why is the land so important to aboriginal spirituality?
- the land provides the people with their identity through the ancestral beings and totems. ancestral beings continue to dwell in the land in the form of plants, animals humans or part humans. the land is the resting place for these spirits
- the land is a place rich with ritual activity and ritualistic spaces. these are called balance rites
- the land, or more technically speaking the ancestral beings provided the sacred law of the dreaming
- the land is the meeting point for all tribes. it is where they obtain their totems from, its where they obtain their identity, dictates relationships with adherents
what is kindship?
kinship ties represent a complex relationship system of belonging and responsibilities within a clan
these not only include familial relations but also relations through ones specific totem. these relations offer adherents rules and regulations which govern their day to day life including who they talk to and marry.
kindship also assigns responsibility to transmit the knowledge of the dreaming from elders to the younger generation
what a some examples of sacred rituals?
- death and burial rituals
- rites of passage
- corroboree/ceremonial dance
- smoking ceremony
what is the smoking ceremony used for?
it is used publicly and traditionally as a means of cleansingly and healing the soul.
traditionally it is often used during pregancies
how is art important to the dreaming?
- art is another way of communicating the dreaming
- it is a form of story telling of the actions of the ancestor beings with many levels of meaning that can only be unlocked with time and age
- it is a form of spriritual story telling
what is a totem and how is it important to the dreaming?
- a totem is a form that represents a person as they would have existed in the dreaming, either in the form of an animal, plant or other natural phenomena
- with a totem comes identity and many other responsibilities. ones totem guides a person life, choosing who the individual may marry or talk to etc.
- a totem also plays a big part in many ritualistic activities which retell ways the ancestor beings provided the tradition, law and how they shaped the land
who were the stolen generations?
the stolen generations were generations of indigenous individuals who were forcibily removed from their families during the period from 1870-1979. these individuals were seen as special, having both white and black heritage and being believed to be best adaptable to white culture and society?
where were these stolen generations kept and by what idea was this movement based?
stolen generations once removed were placed in western foster homes, families, christian missions and reserves.
the movement was based upon the idea of protection and assimilation. it was seen as a means to “smooth the pillow of a dying race”. aboriginals were seen as a weak minority and were decided to be protected by placing them in these facilities
assimilation was the idea that saw millions of indigenous individuals removed from their families. assimilation refers to fusing one minority ethnic group into a larger majority ethnic group. at the time it seemed like the right thing to do but it only was detrimental to the culture as a whole
what affect did dispossesion have on the seperation from kinship groups?
- the loss of kinship groups led to a loss of language, affecting the passing on of law and beliefs in a very tradtional way
- the seperation from families had less from a loss of complex kinship systems, leading to a loss of identity
what affect did dispossesion have on the seperation from the land?
- a seperation from the land leads to a seperation from the dreaming, as the land is inextricably linked with the dreaming
- a loss of the land leads to the loss of idenitity and the burden of not being able to fufill ritualist reponsibilities
- a loss of the land deprived them of their home, their indipendence, their culture and spiritual world
- aboriginial idenitity and self-esteem was no difficult to maintain. Customary law and authority had a close relationship with the land were also undermined. Their mother was lost
what does native title mean?
definition: A native title is the name given by the high court of Australia to indigenous property rights recognised by the court as handed down in the mabo decision in june 3rd 1992. It also acts as a referral to communal or individual rights or interests of aboriginal people or terres strait islanders in relation to land or waters. It’s a statement from the federal law which acknowledges aboriginal peoples as the tradition custodians of Australian lands.
when and what were the beginnings of the Aboriginal lands rights movement?
it all began with the Wave Hill workers in Northern Territory at a cattle station going on strike in support of better working conditions. this occured in 1966. this strike was led by a man named Vincent Lingiari.
Eventually after a protracted dispute the Whitlam Federal government passed the first land rights legislation in 1975. This moment is symbolised in the photo showing Mr Whitlam pouring dirt into Vincent’s hand, one of the most famous photos in Australian history.
when did the native title actually get acknowledged in federal law?
1st of january, 1993
who was Eddie Mabo?
Eddie Mabo was a man from the Murray islands in the Torres Strait- part of the Meriam people
what was the mabo decision?
The mabo decision overthrew the legal fiction of terra nullius, that is, that Australian lands belonged to no one when the first European settlers arrived in 1788. this was protested against in Queensland.
