RELIGION AND BELIEF SYSTEMS IN AUSTRALIA POST-1945 Flashcards
DREAMING
the spiritual aspects of Aboriginal religion that encapsulates both the spiritual and physical dimensions, giving meaning to all aspects of life.
The dreaming can be defined by
Kinship
Ceremonial life
Obligations to land and people
kinship
a highly sophisticated network of relationships that provide a sense of belonging and responsibility within the tribes
• Creates a connection with ancestor spirits, the land, the dreaming and determines tribe and family relationships
• Provides the framework of living defined by the dreaming
kanyini
the metaphysical connection of Dreaming kinship
Land, dancing, ceremonies, hunting parties, raising children
Totems: ancestral beings
Bob Randall – “the completeness of the oneness”
Belief, spirituality, land and family make up Kanyini, it his purpose, without it he is nothing.
CEREMONIAL LIFE
where the dreaming is expressed. Ceremonial life re-enacts the stories of the dreaming
• Ceremonial life is an important link between aboriginal people, land and identity and is also important for maintaining and passing on information.
• All ceremonies:
1. Acknowledge a creation event
2. Show the metaphysical presence of the dreaming world in the real world
• Examples: male initiation, birth and death ceremony, female initiation, balance rites
Roles of ceremonial life
- Rites of Passage (initiation rites, balance rites)
- Passing on Social Information
- Personal Connections
- Spiritual Connections
OBLIGATIONS TO LAND AND PEOPLE
inextricable connection
• The land is inextricably linked to spirituality because:
Land is the physical medium (resting place for ASB)
Rituals are connected to sacred sites (balance rites)
Land is the meeting point (where tribes derive identity and relationships)
Summarised effects of dispossession:
- Loss of language, land and culture (spirituality)
- Loss of identity (violation of kinship ties)
- Unable to connect to ancestral beings; loss of spirituality
- Loss of kin, which can lead to lower self-esteem or self-worth as they have no rights, roles of responsibilities to others
- The dreaming can’t be taught, it is something that is felt and experienced by, being in one’s own country and being surrounded by one skin
census data related to dispossession
- Life expectancy: Males 67 (Aus. avg 77), Female 72 (Aus. avg 86)
- Incarcerated: 20% of prison population, over represented in jail
- Unemployment: 20%
- Mental health: 5x national average drug induced mental disorders, 2x national average in schizophrenia, 2x national average in suicide
- Homeless: 9%
effects of dispossession
- separation from the land
- separation from kinship groups
- the stolen generation
separation from the land
• Dispossession: the action of depriving someone of land, property, or other possession
Withdrawal, denial, removal, deprivation, deficit
• Loss of land = loss of spiritual identity and personhood
• Can’t fulfil ritual responsibilities, leads to loss of purpose
E.G. smoking ceremonies, balance rites, initiation ceremonies
• Complete destruction of all elements: ceremonial life, kinship, family connections, relationships, totemic responsibilities
• 1788 – settlement and establishment of terra nullius
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
Imposed Christianity, European culture and lifestyle
Aimed to destroy culture, language, identity and lore
separation from kinship groups
• Lost the opportunity to express their religion in traditional song and dances
• Separation made it impossible for Aboriginals to preserve their own language
• Removal from the land destroyed kinship groups and thousands of years of traditional custom and culture
• The sense of “not belonging” has been a major consequence of separation
• 1838 – Policy of Protection placed Aboriginal people on missions and reserves
Deliberate attempt to destroy spirituality
Destruction of kinship, gender roles, culture, language etc
Forced placement on map
• 1901 – Policy of Assimilation removed mixed Aboriginal people from Kinship groups
Those assimilated were not permitted to visit others
Detrimental to all-encompassing nature of Aboriginal spirituality
• Family links and information have been destroyed, making it extremely hard to prove ownership of land (Native Title)
the stolen generations
• As many as 100 000 children were removed in a deliberate attempt to remove their Aboriginal identity
• The Bringing them Home report revealed loss of heritage, culture, language, land and community
E.G. Article 7a – calls for National Sorry Day to be held annually
• Aboriginal life expectancy is 20 years below the Australian average (ABS)
• The trauma from being forcibly removed from their lives may result in mental illness/substance abuse
• Known as “cultural genocide” and “rape of the soul”
• The separation of children from their families was described in the ‘Bringing them Home’ report as ‘tantamount to a continuing cultural and spiritual genocide and as the major factor in producing the emotional and mental health problems that have affected Aboriginal health.
NATIVE TITLE:
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians have rights and interests to their land that derive from their traditional laws and customs
Land rights movement
A religious-political movement to secure the rights of aboriginal people to their land and ensure their religious, spiritual and cultural integrity is prescribed (connection to the dreaming)
• Land rights are of critical importance in relation to Aboriginal spirituality because the dreaming is inextricably connected and linked to the land.
recent NT claims
Gulf of Carpentaria
Western Bundjalung People
MABO CASE
• 1991 High Court: Merian people continued to have traditional right to possess and live on most lands of mer.
Set a precedent for land rights
Rejected terra nullius
Native title exists where continuous connection to the land has been maintained
• Native Title Act 1993: Native title is the traditional rights and interests of Indigenous people (statute)
However, cannot prevail over freehold title (farmers) – WIK
WIK DECISION
• Argued that pastoral leases did not extinguish Native Title rights
• 1996 High Court: native title could co-exist with pastoral leases, however the pastoralist rights prevail
• Native Title Amendment Act 1998: right to negotiate for government owned land
Negotiation replaced by right to be consulted only
10-point plan
analyse the importance of the Dreaming for the Land Rights movement
- The dreaming defines the connection between the aboriginal people and the land
- The aboriginal people had occupied the land continually for 40,000 years
- All aspects of aboriginal life are rooted in the dreaming stories – the ASB
- Thus, the land lies at the heart of aboriginal spirituality
- The identity of every aboriginal person is inextricably linked to the land
- The land is the medium where the dreaming occurs
