The Aboriginal People Dreaming Culture
Dreaming is a proximate English word used to refer to an Aboriginal concept “Tjukurpa.” However, the name of this concept may vary from one group to another. Some groups refer to it either as Aldjeriny or Nguthuna. According to the Aboriginal Australians, Dreaming refers to the period when the Ancestral Spirits proceeded to make creations on the formless land (Boer, 2012). This paper is an attempt to give a description of the salient elements of The Dreaming (myths and beliefs, moral ethics and symbols) and also to assess the belief about personal worldviews. THIS IS A SAMPLE ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Myths and Beliefs
The myths are expressions of how the world came into existence. The dreaming elaborates the origin of the land’s creation. The Aborigines believe that the Ancestral Spirits adopted the form of human beings, came to the earth and created living things, water masses, and plants (Boer, 2012). Afterward, they transformed into trees, wells, rocks, and stars. The places where the forms of these spirits settled are totems Aborigines. Since the ancestors did not vanish, the dreaming did not die. The sacred sites act as a unifier between the past and the present (Grieves, 2011). Such creates a strong cultural bondage among the generations (totemic connections). These myths commonly occur in the form of stories, but they can also be painted, sung, danced or even acted as rituals. The Aborigines heavily believed in Dreamtime and Dreaming. Dreamtime varies from dreaming in that; Dreaming is the surrounding of the Aborigines while Dreamtime is the form of a person after death (Korff, 2016). After death, they are reborn as a person, a plant, an animal or a rock.
Moral Ethics
Dreaming forms a basis of Aboriginal culture and religious beliefs. The ancestral spirits are known to make revelations to the living about the expected code of conduct. The laws provided from dreaming governed; the feeding habits, dressing codes, marriage patterns, social relations, land ownership and rules for ceremonies and rituals. Indigenous people were taught early the dos, and the don’ts of the community. The children were taught to respect the land and the elders. Unlawful acts among the Aborigines included: murder, immorality, theft and family negligence. Those who went the rules astray were judged by the elderly. They lived by the words said by the ancestors unquestionably because they could never doubt their word.
Symbols
The Aborigines did not have any written texts but used symbols instead. The Indigenous people would clearly identify the meanings of these symbols beyond their surface concept. The journeys by the Ancestral Spirits in dreaming were represented by paintings (Guides, 2012). For example, the painting of a kangaroo represented an ancestral creator spirit. Some of these symbols, however, had different meanings to the diverse groups of the Aboriginal people. A series of concentric circles would symbolize a waterhole, a tree, a campfire, a sexual organ or a footprint. Sometimes, these symbols represented more than one meaning at once.
My view about Aboriginal Dreaming
Australian Anthropologists suggest that the cultural practices being performed by the Aborigines are still significant (Furniss, 2009). Their rich culture of art not only serves a social function but also shapes creativity and affects other people’s behavior. They provide a good example of the relevance of sticking to one’s culture amidst other cultures. THIS IS A SAMPLE ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Currently, the Aborigines face racism in the places they have inhabited. They are prone to extinction due to their poor living conditions and discrimination. They have a high infant mortality rate and suicide rate resulting to a lower life expectancy compared to other groups living in the continent. Several cases of sexual abuse and violence to the Aborigines have been reported with the government lending a deaf ear to such and taking negative measures against them if any (Scott, 2011). For instance, following a case reported in 2007, the government reacted by launching the ‘Northern Territory National Emergency Response.’ Most of the measures in this bill made them even more susceptible to indignity. The Aborigines continue to suffer land shortages, health problems, limited education opportunities, unemployment and negative social attitudes. Despite the evidence of their mistreatment, many Australians will still not admit the ill treatment.
Ideally, the Aborigines deserve fair treatment. The solution to the challenges either lies amidst the oppressors and also the Aborigines themselves. The oppressors should gain some sense of humanity towards them. The authorities can as well set some laws to govern the co-existence of different groups in one environment. Preferably, the Aborigines can ignore their way of life and adopt more popular and acceptable cultural beliefs. By doing this, perhaps the surrounding groups will recognize them and end the racial discrimination.
References
Boer, E. d. (2012). Spirit conception: Dreams in Aboriginal Australia. Dreaming, 192-211.
Furniss, E. (2009). Aboriginal Justice, the Media, and the Symbolic Management of Aboriginal/Euro-Canadian Relations. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 1-36.
Grieves, I. (2011). Aboriginal dreaming paths and trading routes: the colonization of the Australian economic landscape. Choice Reviews Online, 47-49.
Guides, S. (2012, July 14). eNotes. Retrieved March 20, 2017, from Aboriginal Dreaming At Issue – eNotes.com: https://www.enotes.com/topics/aboriginal-dreaming
Korff, J. (2016, June 14). What is the ‘Dreamtime’ or the ‘Dreaming’? Retrieved March 20, 2017, from Creative Spirits: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/what-is-the-dreamtime-or-the-dreaming#axzz4bs4v25B3
Scott, K. (2011). Voices in Australia’s Aboriginal and Canada’s First Nations Literatures. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, 5-11.