HOW IS ABORIGINAL SPIRITUALITY DETERMINED BY THE DREAMING

The fundamental tenet that underpins Aboriginal spirituality is a concept known as the Dreaming
1. Everything in the land is linked to Dreaming. Humans and the spirits are connected to it
2. The Dreaming is a meta‐temporal concept, which means it is a concept that incorporates the past, present and future reality as a complete and present reality.
3. According to Aboriginal belief, all life as it is today ‐ human, animal and plant is part of one vast unchanging network of relationships which can be traced to the ancestral spirit beings of the Dreaming The Dreaming involves all knowledge and understanding in Aboriginal societies, and hence incorporates all beliefs and practices of Aboriginal communities.
4. The influence of the Dreaming is embedded in all aspects of Aboriginal life. T
KINSHIP
1. kinship defines where a person fits into the comunity, while establishing strong bonds of sharing an obligation
2. The system of relationships, traditionally accepted by a particular culture and the rights/obligations involved
3. Govern everyday life through determining individual responsibilities to the clan
4. Kinship is the It is the tangible expression of Dreaming in everyday life.
5. Based on family relations and totem relationships (which represents a connection to the ancestral beings)
CEREMONIAL LIFE
1. Death and burial rituals, balance rites, coming of age, chanting and singing for seasonal change and well-being
2. The complex and spiritual core of the Dreaming for each group is recognised and revered in ceremonial life, encompassing the expression of art, the passing down of stories, the performance of rituals and totemic representations
3. Art is used to pass on sacred knowledge and provides maps of the land – sacred sites, waterholes, territorial boundaries
4. Totems represent the person as they existed in the Dreaming
5. Stories are a major way of teaching Aboriginal children about right and wrong behaviour in society
OBLIGATIONS TO LAND AND PEOPLE
1. The land acts as a dwelling place for ancestral spirits
2. Ownership of the land means they have a responsibility to care for it & nurture it
3. The land & all forms of life it contains are regarded as a sacred trust that must be preserved/ passed on in a timeless cycle of mutual dependence
4. Land is important due to: o Economic uses – source of food & water & gathering materials to make objects
5. “Land is the generation point of existence." -Patrick Dodson
6. Land is context of dreaming, inhabited by the ancestor spirits whom the people maintain a strong link with.

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HOW IS ABORIGINAL SPIRITUALITY DETERMINED BY THE DREAMING

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