Indigenous world view
Key ideas
- The origins of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from multiple perspectives;
- The Dreaming;
- The diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Different Indigenous cultural groups
When Europeans arrived in Australia in 1788, there were around 300,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people belonging to approximately 500 tribal groups. The link below to the South Australian Museum shows you one researcher's interpretation of the different group boundaries.
Each tribal group had their own individual territory and characteristic language, history and cultural belief systems. Much that is written about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is very generalized so it is important to note the diversity of Australia's Indigenous population both before and after colonization. Today, there are two Indigenous groups recognised in this country – the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal people. For a number of years, Torres Strait Islander people were categorized as being Aboriginal and there was little, if any, recognition of their distinct cultural identity. Today, there is some recognition and often most places fly both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags as a sign of respect for these differences.
Where do Indigenous people come from?
Origins in the Dreaming
There is always the question of 'Where did Aboriginal people come from?'. Many Indigenous people, especially the custodians of Aboriginal religious and legal systems, believe that Indigenous people have always been in Australia and were created here as part of the Dreaming.
The Aranda people of Central Australia believe that sometime in the distant past, sleeping superhuman beings, who were at the one time human and animal, spontaneously broke through the surface of the lifeless cold earth. As they did so, the sun began to shine, the winds blew and the rains came. These great ancestors then freed the humans and breathed life into them and into the land around them. They performed marvels, great creative deeds and composed stories and ceremonies to lay down guidelines of behaviour. Then weary from their efforts, they returned to the rocks, trees and waterholes or to the sky.
(Broome 2001 p 13)
Another view
There is also the belief by other people – that all people originated in the Rift Valley of Africa and migrated out of there both to the north into Europe and east into Asia. Australia's Indigenous people are often regarded as being descendants of those ancestors who migrated into the Asian region many thousands of years ago. Archaeological evidence of Indigenous habitation goes back beyond 60 000 years. The abundant rock art in the Northern Territory has provided fascinating clues about the origin of Aboriginal people. The pictorial evidence provided by the art tells us about the state of the environment, the flora and fauna which existed and cultural attributes of the people at the time. The materials used in creating the rock art can also be analysed for age using increasingly sophisticated scientific techniques. Although there is still a great deal of controversy amongst archaeologists and anthropologists some rock art in the Northern Territory is believed to date back some 50 000 years.
The Dreaming
The Dreaming is an English term that doesn't really provide an accurate representation of aspects of Indigenous culture, history and belief systems it tried to explain. Despite its limitations, it has become a term that represents a number of key aspects of Indigenous spirituality and culture. The Dreaming is often used by non-Indigenous anthropologists to refer to a 'period' or 'era' that exists before time. It is complex though, because Indigenous and non-Indigenous concepts of time and reality are quite different and so the limitations that exist within the term Dreaming also presents a western perspective on Indigenous world-view. A western concept of time is often described as being linear, with definite times when things started and finished, particular periods and specific dates. This is not the case for Aboriginal people whose understanding of time is perhaps more accurately described as being cyclical. This means that different things can exist concurrently and (as best as we can describe it in English) the Dreamtime is past events and ongoing interactions between people, ancestors and creator beings, relived and mediated through ceremony.
The past and present Dreaming
While the Dreaming is viewed as a past era in which creative activities took place and from which all life on earth has originated, there is also a sense in which all people have a direct link with this era through their conception, and people in each generation relive the activities of the Dreaming through their participation in daily and ritual life. The Dreaming period is when spiritual beings emerged from the land or seas (wherever Indigenous groups reside) and traveled over the face of the earth to form the landscape such as rocks, waterholes, people etc. These beings appeared to be acting as humans as they performed all the human functions such as marriage, consuming food, performing rituals etc. Part of all Indigenous people's responsibilities in looking after their country and land is to perform ceremonies and rituals that are essential for the continued (re)creation of these sites through the reliving of the actions of these ancestral beings.
Land rights and the Dreaming
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights movement has increased awareness of the Dreaming through the significance of sacred sites and other sites of significance. For example, Indigenous people assert their claim to ownership of the land on the basis of the same spiritual forces, which brought them into being and shaping the land and still inhabiting the sites. For example, once these ancestral bodies formed the landscape, they then entered into the landscape as their resting place. This is why ancestral beings not only exist in the past, but also in the present and the future (e.g. disturbance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sites have repercussions for the people).
Reflection
Do you think sacred sites and sites of cultural significance are important when it comes to claiming land rights? Think about this question and write your answer in the Discussion Board for your group.
Oral traditions for remembering
Indigenous people have no written literature, but treasure a vast store of oral narratives that have been passed down from generation to generation. These stories are seen as derived from The Dreaming as they record the travels and activities of the Ancestral beings. The stories are passed onto the next generation to give people an understanding of their origins and purpose in life. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures have always been transmitted orally and it has only been in the past 200 years that written language has been prominent in this country.
There are several major differences in the way that oral and written cultures pass on knowledge. One of the major differences is the fact that oral cultures often tend to see the world more holistically. Various aspects of life such as family life, spiritual knowledge and education are not compartmentalised from each other and the links between different aspects of life are highlighted and celebrated. People from oral cultures have to rely on their memories and therefore, ways of 'remembering' are highly developed. The use of rhythm, rhyme, phrases, songs, dances and ceremonies are ways that reinforce important knowledge.
Aboriginal religion and law
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 'religion' and law is exceedingly complex. Aboriginal people's world views have never been completely understood by the non-Indigenous population. Because the cultures, religious practices and laws of Indigenous groups didn't easily map onto European practices of the day, they were considered not to exist (or to exist in very 'primitive' forms) and as a result Aboriginal people are often seen as 'inferior' to Australia's European cultures and have often been mistreated because of their beliefs.
Much of Aboriginal law did not openly conflict with British law, but those aspects which required secrecy or inflicted punishment directly by the group raised considerable difficulties as whites spread across Australia. Most problems were however, caused by colonists breaking Aboriginal Law, especially land seizure and the treatment of Aboriginal women by Europeans.
(Bourke, Bourke & Edwards 1998, p.52)
Follow on from this quote by reading Chapter 5 in Aboriginal Australia, by Bourke, Bourke and Edwards (1998).
Reading
E- Reserve Readings:
Edwards W(1998) 'Living the dreaming' in C Bourke, E Bourke & W Edwards (eds) Aboriginal Australia : an introductory reader in Aboriginal studies 2nd ed, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, pp 77 - 99.
Exercise
As a way of jogging your memory, identify each of the following statements as being either true or false by clicking in the round button.