The Dreaming is the central foundation of Aboriginal being. It represents an entire cosmology. The Dreaming relays stories about the creation of the world by mythical ancestral beings. It provides a source of identity for Aboriginal people and laws for the governance of Aboriginal society. For Aboriginal people the Dreaming is not in the past but is a living force, part of a contemporary reality.

Dreamtime and Dreaming

For Morphy, art is both a means of understanding the Dreaming, "making contact with this spiritual dimension" and an outcome of the Dreaming itself.

Dreaming is a European word for an Aboriginal concept. The term was originally coined by anthropologists Baldwin Spencer and F.J. Gillen as a translation of the Arrernte term, altyerrenge.

Other regions have words that describe similar terms:

• the Yolnguword wangarr is used in Arnhem Land;
• Warlpiri refer to djukurrpa or tjurkurrpa.

Importantly the anthropologist, W.E.H. Stanner, writing in the 1960s and 70s changed the term Dreamtime into the present tense, Dreaming.

Morton: Contemporary Aboriginal religion

Anthropologist John Morton explores a range of meanings for the Dreaming. These meanings reflect the historical experiences of Aboriginal people. Contrast the plurality of Dreamings inherited by Paddy Japaltjarri Stewart (he speaks of kangaroo Dreaming, eagle Dreaming and budgerigar Dreaming with Michael Anderson’s single, more political idea of the Dreaming. In the testimony of Agnes Palmer see how the Dreaming can become syncretised with Christian beliefs.

Rose: The power of place

Anthropologist Deborah Rose is concerned with the “power of place” embodied in the Dreaming. She contrasts the meaning of country for Yarralin people in the Northern Territory with the power of the sacred in the south coast of New South Wales. Many local settlers recognize Gulaga Mountain, New South Wales as a sacred site. Others, like Mal Dibden, have rethought their relationship to Gulaga Mountain and the local Indigenous people.

In conclusion Rose argues that colonisation is “built upon principles of war and conquest”. When Indigenous and non-Indigenous people recognize the sacred in the landscape, there is “the prospect that conquest can be turned into peace”.

The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation says that Aborigines and non-Aborigines will need to be “walking together” to achieve true reconciliation.

What does this mean? Aboriginal culture is celebrated for its deep and profound spirituality. However all too often Aborigines are romantically represented as if they live in the Dreamtime, separated from the modern world. Reconciliation brings Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people together. It entails recognition for past injustices and it works toward equality and justice for Australia’s Indigenous people.

Will everyone agree with this viewpoint?

Talk about the Dreaming

Talk to family, friends, and fellow students about their ideas of the Dreaming.

Discuss with them their ideas on Reconciliation.

Do the people who you know think there is a connection between the Dreaming and Reconciliation?

Share your findings on the Discussion Board.