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our SHARING is the dreaming ...


Millennium Twain

dreamsong ..

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http://www.spiritsongs.org/
Sacred_Pathways_Articles_Aboriginal_Australia_Sacred_Pathway.htm

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Aboriginal Australia Sacred Pathway Background

Archaeological findings indicate that Aboriginals have lived in Australia for
100,000 - 400,000 years or longer. Aboriginal means, "the people who were here
from the beginning". For the Aboriginals, spirituality and the sacred is deeply
rooted in the landscape and in their relationship to the environment which
sustains them. Traditional Aboriginal lands are mainland Australia and most of
the islands.

Prior to 1788, the Aboriginal population has been estimated at more than
750,000. The country then was pristine and bountiful. Besides food, "bush
tucker", the land provided them with natural remedies for healing, "bush
medicine". Aboriginals took care of the environment, making sure that all
hunting and gathering activities were balanced; and, resources were conserved.
Every part of an animal hunted or plant gathered was utilized in some way
either as food, baskets, tools, etc. They also moved their camps around with
the seasonal cycles, allowing the areas of their territory to rest and renew.

There is no agreed upon term to identify Aboriginal groups. Generally they
lived in small groups called clans, bands, hearth groups, family groups, or
sub-tribes. A number of these smaller groups living in the same area of the
land, sharing a Dreaming Track, comprised a tribe. There are many different
Aboriginal tribes who have their own Dreamtime folklore, customs, languages,
and totems; but, there are also many commonalities they share such as: strong
kinship and family structures, totems, Elders, skin names, Dreaming,
territoriality, ceremonies, songs, storytelling, and strict boundaries between
men's and women's business. The land is their life, their mother, their way,
their nourishment, and their spiritual connectedness. Dreaming Tracks delineate
the area of land created by the Ancestral Spirits where a tribe was created,
their belonging place.

Storytelling and Song often accompanied by dance movements have been a central
element of Aboriginal life since the beginning of time. There are songs for
every event including: hunting, funerals, seasons, animals, and landscapes.
Stories of the Dreaming were told around campfires, where things of concern
were also discussed and important information relayed. Dreaming law and lore
told the tribe about their spiritual history, how to treat each other, and how
to conduct their daily life. Suitable punishments for individual transgressions
of these tribal and totemic laws were determined by knowledgeable Elders.

Starlore was passed down from generation to generation through the teachings
and storytelling of the Elders. The positions of the planets and stars were
used by the Aboriginals for gathering food; for finding their way from one
place to another; and for the timing of rituals and ceremonies. There were
neutral passageways between tribal lands. Aboriginal law required respectful
recognition of tribal boundaries. Anyone travelling outside their territory
needed to obtain the permission of the tribes in neighboring territories to
pass through their areas. Aboriginals traded and bartered with other groups on
a regular basis, holding corroborees where marriages were arranged; information
about tribal practices and beliefs was shared; and, new songs were sung.

Aboriginals belong to a place, an area of land where their totemic ancestors
were born, lived, and died. This "belonging place" was the territory of land
created for their kin group, their clan, and their tribe during the Dreamtime.
The sacred symbols of these totemic bloodlines were implanted in the Dreaming
stories used by the Elders to teach the wisdom of the ancestors to each new
generation. Aboriginals sing their country; and, perform ceremonies for their
country, using ochre depictions of the Dreaming images.


Bullroarer

This is a sacred men's instrument made from a flat piece of wood with a long
plant string attached to one end. When it is whirled round and round the body,
it makes a low, deep, resonant sound that is the voice of Biami, the creator
all father, communicating with men. Women are forbidden to listen to this
highly sacred instrument used in men's initiatic rites.


Custodianship

The Stories of the Dreaming about the law and the celestial and terrestrial
landscapes are passed down from generation to generation. Since they belong to
a clan or a tribe, the Elders appoint a skillful and knowledgeable storyteller
as their custodian. These stories teach ways to achieve harmony in
relationships with others and within the community; and, emphasize the values
of nurturing, sharing, balance, and cooperation. Today, in order to preserve
the stories, the custodians are spreading the stories as widely as possible so
the children can retain their belongingness and connectedness to the sacred
world.


Dreamtime

During the Dreamtime, the Ancestral Spirits travelled across the formless land,
and gave it form by creating the rivers, the mountains, the sand hills, the
billabongs, the trees, the humans, the animals, the birds, the insects, the
marine life, and all other creatures. They also made the sky, the sun, the
moon, the planets, and the stars. They laid down the laws the Aboriginals must
obey and the Dreaming Tracks which connect all creatures of the sacred world
and define the belonging territory of the tribe within the landscape.
Afterwards, the Ancestral Spirits changed into aspects of the landscape,
empowering it with their numinous presence.


Dreaming

The life of an individual Aboriginal, a person of the Dreamtime, is lived
according to the guidelines laid down for the ancestors by the creators. By
adhering to the traditions and beliefs practiced by the tribe for generations,
an individual fulfills the laws and spiritual expectations of the Ancestral
Spirits. At the end of Dreamtime, after the Ancestral Spirits gave form to the
land and established community relationships, they changed from human and other
forms into animals, stars, hills, and other things, enlivening the landscape
with their powers.


Dreaming Tracks (Songlines)

The story of the Aboriginals is in the land; the law is imprinted upon their
sacred spaces. The Dreaming Tracks distinguish all features of the land created
by their Spirit Ancestors as they travelled across it. These songlines are the
footprints of their Spirit Ancestors as they sang Beingness into the landscape,
setting the law. Today the journeys of the Spirit Ancestors are brought to life
through these songlines. By performing the appropriate ceremonies and singing
certain songs at precise points along the Dreaming Track, the Aboriginals gain
direct access to the Dreaming. Many groups travell along Dreaming Tracks with
their children, educating them by telling them stories of the Dreamtime.
Through the verses of these songs, Aboriginal Australians know every part of
the landscape and where to find sources of water and food. They also use the
songlines when they move about within the territory of the tribe or when
visiting other tribes.


Elders

Elders are respected by the clans and the tribe because they pass on the
traditional stories and skills. The Elders use every available opportunity to
teach the children about their way of life and their relationship to the sacred
world. Stories are told as they walk to the waterholes, as they grind seeds,
and as they sit around the campfire. Age does not make one an Elder. Elders are
men and women, regardless of age, who are asked for guidance because of their
Dreamtime wisdom and knowledge of tribal law and lore. Some information is
sacred and can only be revealed to initiated men and women. Ritual life is
divided into men's business and women's business. Women are instructed about
their ritual performance by Elder women in the women's camp; and, men are
instructed about their ritual performance by Elder men in the men's camp.


Kinship

In Aboriginal kinship stories, the rules for relationships between people are
delineated. They provide the Dreaming Tracks and the law of the land. A typical
Aboriginal family unit is large and extended. Children are the concern of the
entire community and their education and rearing is the responsibility of
everyone, even though, some knowledge is secret and only revealed when the
child is ready. People are addressed by their skin name or kinship name which
is shared by others of the same generation. Kinship is more important then
individuality, and, the strength of the kinship system is a core element of all
Aboriginal traditions.


Message Sticks

Tribe members carried message sticks with them whenever they crossed the
boundaries of another tribe. Engraved with sacred Dreaming symbols, these
pieces of bark or wood identified the walker and served as an official request
for permission to enter and pass through the belonging place of another tribe.
Under Aboriginal law to enter the belonging place of another tribe without
their consent was trespassing, which courted hostility and could result in
death.

Rainbow Serpent/Snake

All Aboriginal tribes tell stories about the Rainbow Serpent. Although some
elements of the Rainbow Serpent Story are known only to initiated members of
the tribe, the illustration of the Rainbow Serpent has become public knowledge.
Rainbow Serpent Stories are Creation Stories so each of them is descriptive of
the creation of the landscape where the storyteller lives. Rainbow Serpent
artists often add clan symbols to the body of the Rainbow Serpent, symbolic of
the connection between the clan and the land. The Rainbow Serpent is linked
with fertility, abundant plants and animals, protection, regenerating rains,
watercourses, and peace. A female Rainbow Serpent, as the original mother
creator, and, a male Rainbow Serpent, as the transformer of the land, are the
two Rainbow Serpents most commonly depicted in Aboriginal ceremonies, art, and
oral traditions. When the Rainbow Serpent is not respected or laws are
transgressed, the Rainbow Serpent can act as a destructive force, bringing
floods and storms.


Songs of the Dreamtime

Dreamtime songs are a series of short verses that describe happenings or
locations associated with ancestors. Ceremonial songs include portrayal of
pertinent occurrences with dance movements. The songlines of the Dreaming
Tracks have one characteristic melodic form throughout, even songs depicting
the travells of an ancestor across thousands of miles.


Storytelling

Storytelling plays an important and an integral role in everyday Aboriginal
life. It is used to educate children about Aboriginal cultural heritage; to
pass on knowledge about Creation, ancestral beings, and places, and, how the
land, plants, animals, and humans came into being; to explain Aboriginal
spirituality and laws; and to pass on information about the boundaries of
tribal lands. Although the overall themes are the same, Dreaming stories vary
throughout Aboriginal Australia. For instance, the story of how birds got their
colors in Western Australia is different from the story of how birds got their
colors in New South Wales. Traditionally these stories have been passed down by
the Elders through song and dance usually around campfires. Complex community
and kinship patterns determine the ownership of Dreaming Stories; and, ancient
initiatic rite and law protects the conveyance of the ceremonial knowledge and
wisdom. Paintings of story images and symbols on natural canvases such as rocks
depicting tracks, waterholes, stars, rivers, hills, sacred sites, and
ceremonial activity can only be done by those authorized by tribal law to do
so. Some stories are secret or sacred and can only be told to certain people.
If they are told to the wrong person, it is a serious violation of the law. Men
have secret sacred stories about initiation grounds that can only be revealed
to initiated males. Women have stories unmarried women are not permitted to
hear.


String Games

String figure designs often resembled objects that were, and in some parts of
Australian still are, used in everyday life such as dilly bags and baskets, or
they represented animals and people, or abstract ideas such as the forces of
nature. As people played the string game, designs would change quickly from one
thing to another. This game was also used to help tell stories.


Taking Care

During the Dreamtime the Ancestral Spirits purposefully created every
billabong, rock, star, planet, bird, animal, insect, and living creature
(including humans and all of the flora), as they travelled across the land. The
Aboriginals believe that they are connected to all the species and that the
Ancestral Spirits charged them with the duty to be caretakers of the land and
of all the species. The Aboriginals call this responsibility to safeguard the
land and all species, "taking care". They sang songs and performed ceremonies
to ensure the propagation of each species and the fruitfulness of the land.
They perform their ritual obligations to the land by singing for the country
the songs of the "Dreamtime", often accompanied by dance, and sometimes sand
drawings. They also regularly set fire to the land (burn backs) to remove and
contain weeds, to promote new growth, and to keep native plants from becoming
extinct. During hunting and gathering, they only took the food they needed.
They also moved around in their territory so that the environmental flora and
fauna got a chance to rest and regenerate.


Walkabout (Going or Gone Walkabout)

A walkabout is when Aboriginals undertake a spiritual journey to a belonging
place to renew their relationship with their Dreaming and the Landscape. Clan
members regularly move camp and go on cultural journeys for taking care and for
corroborees, initiations, and other cyclical, ritualized ceremonies of the
Dreamtime. An individual can also go on walkabout. When an individual goes on a
walkabout, it is different for different people. It can be a walk to where they
originated; or it can be a walk to where they are part of the land and the land
is part of them, a place of sacred belongingness.


Dreaming is the continuation of the Dreamtime.

For the Aboriginals the Dreamtime is their understanding of the how the
Ancestral Spirits created the landscape and every living thing. It is also the
beginning of knowledge and the stories of the laws of existence that ensure
survival. Dreaming is the continuation of the Dreamtime. Along the Dreaming
Tracks there are sacred sites, areas of land or sea, where significant events
took place during the Dreamtime. These are increase centers where special
ceremonies are performed for taking care of a particular species.

The original ancestor spirits taught others many songs for healing; for
controlling the weather, and for telling tribal history. The propagating powers
they left behind in the country to ensure plenty were best accessed during
corroborees through their Dreaming symbols and songlines. Aboriginal music
included traditional ceremonial songs handed down through the generations which
replicated the songs sung by the ancestors during the Dreamtime. When these
songs were sung, living men felt they were in the Dreamtime. They also created
new songs from time to time when there were significant historical happenings.
Clapping sticks, Didgeridoo, rattles, and two boomerangs clapped together were
the most common musical instruments. Music, song, and dance played an important
part in Aboriginal culture. It was learned and passed on to others by
performing it in corroboree.


Corroborees (Ceremonies)

Ritual ceremonies are performed at sacred sites which tell the Dreamtime lore
connected with the place. Traditional music, song, and dance were a vital and
powerful part of sacred ceremonies. Ceremonies are dramatic reenactments
through song and dance of the tribal history. There are different types of
rituals that fulfill various purposes. Ceremonies are performed by Aboriginals
for their country. There are non-secret ceremonies around campfires where one
group of men will chant songs while another group of men whose bodies are
decorated with sacred symbols will enact legendary occurrences through dance
movements before men, women, children, and Elders. There are also ceremonies
for youths wrapped in secrecy, where women and adult men are not allowed. After
decorating their bodies with their totemic symbols, the young men use dance
movements to express their totemic Dreamtime. It is an important step for the
youths in integrating their tribal law and lore.


Dances

Although dance techniques vary between tribal groups, most of the dancing was
done with lots of foot stomping which is now called shake a leg. There were
also arm, foot, and body movements that imitated the actions of birds and
animals. Headdresses and body decorations enhanced the connection between
dancer and totemic Dreaming. There were sacred ritual dances. There were dances
for Dreaming events, for rain, and for successful hunts. There were also
campfire dances where women, children, and men shared clan totem dances.


Danceman & Songman

These were respected men who were esteemed by the group because of their
specialized song and dance skills. The songman performed songs passed down from
his ancestors and also composed songs about everyday life. He was often asked
to perform for other groups where he led others in a chorus. The Danceman
specialized in miming the movements of animals and other ceremonial totemic
portrayals. Songs could vary in length from several days to several weeks to
several months.


Music & Musical Instruments

There was traditional sacred music used for secret ceremonies that could only
be performed by initiated men for a specific reason in a specific place that
was generally linked to totemic Dreaming. Women also had secret ceremonies that
were usually connection to reproduction, with songs for children. There was
also non-sacred music which could be performed by anyone, any place, any time.
For instance there were corroborees where the women and children sang for
hours; while, the men danced. Non-sacred songs were traded freely between
tribes and spread easily, often crossing from one language into another.
Different tribes used different instruments to produce different sounds which
included sticks, boomerangs, clubs, clap sticks, hollow logs struck with a
small stick, didgeridoo, seed rattles, folded leaf whistles, hand clapping, lap
slapping by women, and thigh slapping by men.


Sacred Symbols

By painting the sacred Dreaming symbols of their ancestors on their faces and
bodies with the paste of grounded ochres, ceremonial performers maintained
their connection to country and to the Dreaming. These symbols represented the
sacredness of the Dreaming landscape and the Ancestral Spirits who created all
the creatures.


The Aboriginals Belong To The Land.
They Have Stood Strong
By Singing Their Country;
By Taking Care;
By Preserving Their Sacred Teachings.



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