Yr 11 Aboriginal Spiritualities

Question 1

Dreaming and Identity outlines (x4)

Answer 1

• Individual totems to protect
• Sacred relationships such as how to treat elders
• When rituals occur such as initiation
• Knowledge of country

Question 2

Dreaming & Land (x5)

Answer 2

• The connection between the Dreaming Land and identity is inextricable. Outlines
• Which are sacred sites & totem animals to protect
• Where and how to perform ceremonies
• What stories mean and represent
• What to hunt and eat

Question 3

Origins of the Universe (x3)

Answer 3

• The locations from which the spirit ancestors emerged are considered sacred sites - e.g. waterholes, cures
• Spirit ancestors take on the shapes of animals or humans, they move over the featureless earth, shaping the details of the physical landscape
• Therefore every landmark in the environment has a story of the Dreaming attached to it

Question 4

Sacred sites - dreaming creation origins

Answer 4

Landscape features where ancestor spirits emerged from to create and the landscape features that they returned to for next are considered sacred - Blue Mountains

Question 5

Sacred sites - sacred because of use (x2)

Answer 5

• Burial crowds, ceremonial meeting plans, places of danger and birthing cares are considered sacred because of their important use
• There are also sacred parts of the land known, as Dreaming Tracks. Australia is crisscrossed with dreaming tracks that establish relationships between one place and another

Question 6

Symbolism & Art (x2)

Answer 6

• Aboriginal art is represented in many features such as body art, painting, curved trees, rock art, bank painting and funnelling poles
• This artist is seen as the custodian of the knowledge and dreaming contained and expressed in that artwork

Question 7

Stories of the Dreaming (x2)

Answer 7

• There are many creation stories that tell of how the spirit ancestors created animal and herd groups and water sources from the featureless land
• These stories acquire a sense of meaning and belonging to Indigenous Australians as it explains where they came from, how they are connected to the land and what element of the natural environment they are connected to in terms of the sacred

Question 8

Additional Stories of the Dreaming (x3)

Answer 8

• This meaning can develop as a person gets older. This is known as layers of meaning where a story can teach deeper and more meaningful lessons as a person understands and experiences more
• These stories are passed down orally by the elders
• For example, the story of the Three Sisters at the Blue Mountains outlines marriage laws

Question 9

Diversity of Dreaming (x2)

Answer 9

• As Australia is comprised of approximately 250 separate Aboriginal nations, the Dreaming as a whole is very diverse
• Due to the Dreaming of each nation being site specific based on landforms in their region, the Dreaming stories of the nation along the east coast would be vastly different to those in the desert interior of Australia

Question 10

Diversity of Dreaming Examples (x4)

Answer 10

• Coastal dreaming stories would focus on aquatic wildlife and water whereas desert Dreaming stories would focus on goannas, snakes and rock outcrops
• Taree - Biripi - Shark
• Central NSW - Wiradjuri - Goanna
• Hence their local lands are reflected on totemic animals and ancestor spirits

Question 11

Dreaming - Importance (x7)

Answer 11

• Understand ethics
• Ways of hunting, gathering & preparing food
• The creation of art
• How to make things
• Understand the lores of ancestors
• Information on how to perform ceremonies
• Understanding the land, how to navigate it, look after it and why it looks the way it does

Question 12

The Dreaming

Answer 12

A metatemporal concept which is the central and deepest reality of the Aboriginal world

Question 13

Metatemporal

Answer 13

A concept, which incorporates the past, present, and future reality as a complete and present reality.