Contemporary Aboriginal Spiritualities Flashcards
Dreaming
the spiritual aspect of Aboriginal religion that encapsulates both the spiritual and physical dimensions giving meaning to all aspects of life
Background
- Links to Spirit Ancestors, totems, law and oral teachings
- Fundamental tenet that underpins the whole of the Aboriginal Belief System – life, creation, land and Identity
- Meta-temporal Concept: transcends time. Incorporates past, present and the future reality as a complete and present reality.
- Inextricably connected to the land
- Embedded in all aspects of life
- Refers to the way that ancestor spirits came from,
- Shaped and formed and returned to the land.
- Informs and is informed by kinship, ceremonial life
- obligation to land and peoples
Aboriginal Spirituality
(living religion) whole of creation is linked together and every action or event of social significance has a spiritual significance – the religion is holistic; there is a correlation between the created world, social world and spiritual world.
How Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the dreaming
Aboriginal Spirituality is determined and characterised by the dreaming through importance of kinship, ceremonial life and obligations to the land and people.
- kinship
- ceremonial life
- obligations to the land and people
Kinship
Is a term used by non-indigenous Australians to explain the complex relationships of blood and spirit that exist between Aboriginal peoples; a highly sophisticated network of relationships governing interactions between members of the clan. It also directly relates to kanyini.
- Kinship provides a framework for living which is defined by the Dreaming. Outlining obligations, rights, appropriate forms of behaviour, marriage and family (children raised by a variety of individuals).
- Extends to land and governs dancing, ceremonies, hunting
- Determines tribe and family relationships, creating a connection with the land ancestor spirits and the dreaming
- Every person belongs to a specific kinship relationship based on a system of ‘classes’ or ‘skins’ & this determines responsibilities within the group according to Aboriginal Law.
- Is determined by both family relationships and a person’s totem and is thus a connection with the ancestor spirits, land and dreaming – metaphysical connection.
“Kinship is the completeness of the oneness” (kanyini) – Bob Randall
Kinship systems
- defines where a person fits into a community, varying across communities (for an Aboriginal person to function fully within their society they must have knowledge of their relationship to the clan & their position within it)
- (relationships interlink & overlap & every person is bound to every other person)
- Roles for raising & educating children + provides systems of moral & financial support within communities
Extended family/kinship
- As many young Indigenous Australians seek to recover the traditions which have been discouraged by the dominant attitudes and policies of Australian culture, one of the things they are seeking to recover and relearn is their kinship system.
- Family roles are not necessarily determined by biological relationships and vary between regions e.g. A biological ‘cousin’ may be referred to as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’.
- Understanding family roles is essential when identifying an appropriate next of kin – this may not be a spouse or immediate family member, but alternatively, an extended family member or community elder.
Kanyini
Kanyini is nurtured through caring and practicing responsibility for all things and describes the connectedness to our tjukurrpa our ngura our walytja and our kurunpa
- extends to land, dancing, ceremonies, hunting parties and raising children (crucial elements to dreaming), also governs totems, unifying clans under ancestral beings, creating a metaphysical connection of Dreaming Kinship.
Kanyini is the principle of connectedness through caring and responsibility that underpins Aboriginal life,”
- Bob Randall.
4 concepts of Kanyini
1. tjukurrpa = knowledge of creation or ‘Dreaming’
2. ngura = place – wherever we are at any moment of time, with a responsibility to care for that place
3. walytja = kinship – not just blood family, but the ceremonial and totemic family line
4. kurunpa = spirit or soul – only we are responsible for our soul, which is affected by thoughts and actions
these concepts are predominantly influenced by tjukurrpa;
‘the bigger consciousness of something that was and is the way to live, the way to live in harmony with all things.” – Bob Randall
Ceremonial life
The ritual and artistic expression of the Dreaming concerning;
- rites of passage = informs different individual status e.g. initiations and funerals
- passing on social information = transferred from older to younger generations
- personal connections = supports personal friendships or group activities
- spiritual connections = connect individuals with the spiritual world or dreaming
- A ceremony is an activity infused with ritual significance, performed on a special occasion and a ritual is any customary observance or practice.
- Most ceremonies practised in Aboriginal communities cannot be discussed fully due to their sensitive and sacred nature; Inherited through kinship and community groups
- Acts as the link between people, land and identity
- All ceremonies have a firm place with the Dreaming. They ensure that vital components of Aboriginal law and the Dreaming stay intact.
- Examples include: birth, male initiation, female initiation, death and balance.
- It is through there ceremonial life that they are able to better this connection to the land and identity
- represent the present part of the Metatemporal concept
- passing on and maintaining beliefs and practices
- acknowledge a creation event and show the metaphysical presence of the dreaming world in the real world
- Ceremonies tell Dreaming Stories that provide continuity between present and the Dreaming.
Obligations to the land and people
- Land and people cannot be separated because of the inextricable connection – the land is seen as the physical medium through which the dreaming is carried out – resting place for ancestors
- rituals are connected to sacred sites – called balance rites
- land is the meeting point – where tribes derive identity and their relationships
- Land is of crucial importance to the Dreaming
- Dwelling place for Ancestral Beings
- The Aboriginal People are responsible for Sacred Sites and Ritual Estate on their land.
- Totems link to land, plants, animals and land forms.
- Aboriginal people are custodians of the land.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have such an inseparable and timeless connection with land and that they often regard the Land as mother.
- Due respect is shown in use care and management of the land. e.g. Sustainable practices Formal protocols of entry and crossing land exist. Welcome to country. Fulfils obligation to the land and the peoples by addressing the original custodians and the ancestors past and present.
Because of the LAND being so crucial, the obligations to the land and people are also crucial, they can:
- Only be truly understood by those “elders” with full knowledge of the Dreaming
- Vary according to place
- Vary according to gender and place in the community
Therefore country is the geographical and spiritual place where kinship connections are established and ceremonial life is enacted by different individuals and groups according to their obligations.
Effect of dispossession
Dispossession = where one is ‘physically or spiritually homeless or deprived of security’
BACKGROUND
Gain “the consent of the natives” was the instruction given to Captain Cook before he took possession of the land on behalf of Great Britain
- Capt Cook made several attempts to land on Australian shores and was repeatedly repelled by Australian aboriginals – Aboriginal warrior Pemulway led armed resistance against the colonizers.
- Claimed the “new land” for the crown and used the social construct of Terra nullius, dispossessing Aboriginal people of their lands without any compensation.
- The notion of Terra nullius meaning the ‘land belongs to no one’; no-one has legal ownership.
- The terra nullius construct was declared fiction and void by the Australian High Court in 1992.
Separation from the land
- Major factor in separating Aboriginal people from their culture and religion and severed link with land
- This was in fact one of the stated aims of early 20th century policies of separation. It was hoped that: Culture, Language, Law, identity of Aboriginal people would be destroyed as the people were moved to reserves & missions
- In some language groups, separation from land has destroyed traditional structures of ownership, management & inheritance (it is important for Aboriginals to have knowledge of their ‘country’ – the law, culture & traditions associated with it)
- Separation therefore = destruction of traditional spirituality.
- Aboriginal people define themselves by their connection to their country or land. Therefore loss of land = loss of identity and personhood
- Taking of the land = Europeans destroyed the most meaningful base of Aboriginal life.
- Because of the enforced values of Europeans, traditional values and attitudes of indigenous people shifted e.g. They took Indigenous young men, weakening value of elders.
- Fences & boundaries were put up. This was a foreign concept for the natives. In order to remove traditional land, Europeans started up reserves & missions.
- Land is inextricably connected to kinship, relationships, ceremonial life, family connections, totemic responsibilities
- 1788 settlement and establishment of Terra Nullius lead to; no recognition of Aboriginal land ownership and marked the start of the removal of tribes from Dreaming stories/totems found in the land.
- 1820/1850: governments and churches established missions and reserves to impose Christianity, European culture and lifestyle – lead to loss of culture
Separation from kinship groups
- Lost opportunity to express their religion in traditional song, dances and rituals
- Separation made it impossible for Aboriginals to preserve their own language - Important words & concepts relating to Aboriginal spirituality were lost, along with ways of learning within the group and ways of exercising responsibilities.
- The sense of ‘not belonging’ has been a major consequence of separation.
- In many cases, information that could be used to establish family links has been lost or destroyed. This makes it difficult for Aboriginal people to connect with their kinship heritage and participate in Native Title claims.
- In Aboriginal communities, the responsibility for raising & nurturing children and continuing tradition (as with all other social obligations) was shared within the kinship group – this was severed by dispossession.
- Since family and sacred roles were intertwined, the undermining of Aboriginal parenting has contributed to the continuing breakdown of Aboriginal spirituality and years of custom/culture.
- 1838: policy of protection placed Aboriginal people on missions and reserves - forced placement on mass, in a deliberate attempt to destroy spirituality, destroying kinship, gender roles, culture and language
- 1901: Policy of assimilation removed mixed Aboriginal people from kinship groups – detrimental to all-encompassing nature of spirituality
Stolen generation
- From the late 1800s to the 1970s, forced separation pf Aboriginal children was Government policy
- As many as 100,000 children were removed, in a deliberate attempt to remove their Aboriginal identity
- Bringing them home report revealed the loss of; heritage, culture, language, land and community - the report made 54 recommendations to government, church groups and other community groups e.g. 7A = National sorry day to be held.
- ABS revealed aboriginal life expectancy is 20% below national average, caused by separation from land, kinship groups and family.
Overview of things taken from Indigenous people
- Loss of language, land and culture (spirituality)
- Loss of identity (violation of kinship ties)
- Unable to connect to ancestral beings; loss of spirituality + no one to perform rituals (i.e ‘rituals of estate – land)
- Loss of kin, which can lead to lower self-esteem and/or self-worth; as they have no rights, role or responsibility to others.
- The dreaming cannot be taught, it is something that is felt and experienced by, being in one’s own country and being surrounded by ones kin.
- Trauma from being forcibly removed from their lives; may result in mental illnesses and/or substance abuse
- “cultural genocide” & “rape of the soul”
- Statistics show that without their spiritual connection, Aboriginal people are in a state of apathy & despair
Policies in regards to indigenous peoples PAIS
protectionism (segregation)
- Aboriginals were not dying out so the thought was the need to ‘protect’. This deliberately set Aboriginals physically apart from white settlement.
- People were forcibly removed to missions (church) and reserves (gov). Authorities treated them as if they were children (paternalistic).
- Changed names and decoded who could marry who. Controlled employment and wages. Were not permitted to leave; if caught severely punished.
- Deliberate attempt to destroy spirituality and religious links to land.
- Aboriginal Protection Act passed by NSW in 1909 gave greater powers over Aboriginals.
assimilation
- protection paved the way for assimilation. The economic burden of protection was ever increasing.
- After Federation the gov completely reversed its position on Aboriginals again and moved to develop assimilation policies.
- Assimilation didn’t recognise Aboriginals as the continent’s Indigenous people bearing inherent rights. The policy theoretically worked towards the goal of ‘one nation’ whereby all nationalities and races in Australia would see themselves as one people.
- Under this policy children were taken from their homes.
- Although no longer the official policy of Aust gov it is still the ‘official attitude’.
integration
- Assimilation had failed, with many Aboriginal people failing to assimilate into society and adopt Australian ways. Instead they remained on the fringes of society whilst living in a segregated world.
- Integration involved combining Aboriginal and Aust culture into one seamless culture. Whilst Aboriginals still had to adopt Australian ways, Aust in general were supposed to be more tolerant of their habits.
self-determination
- with racism still rife in society integration failed. Gov and society were tired of trying attempting to make Aboriginals like white society; instead they let Aboriginals start to make their own choices, within the constraints of Aust law.
- In this Aboriginals are supposed to be able to determined and control their own business. This led to the formation of several gov agencies for Aboriginal self-determination including the National Aboriginal Council, the ATSI Commission and Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
