Aboriginal+Spirituality

By Mishlene Khouri Aboriginal Spirituality

Explain how Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the dreaming The way Aboriginal and Indigenous Australian learnt about their pasts, their culture, beliefs faith and Dreaming, was called Aboriginal Spirituality. There are much different spirituality which means that there are many different ways in which the aboriginal people saw the world and this is reflected through the many different clans and groups with different languages, ceremonies, rituals and kinship systems.

Kinship is the biological relationship system which dictates what ones responsibilities and rights are in relation to other individuals, the land and spirituality and was introduced through the Dreaming. Totems are also symbols of how relationships should be carried out.

One is given from birth a totem which becomes their identity and they belong to certain totems depending on where they were conceived or born and relationships develop permanently between same totem members. Ceremonial life can vary from each individual as today there have emerged many different contemporary spiritualities. The dreaming is handed down from generation to generation through ceremonies, storytelling, rituals, corroborrees, dances, art and so on, which tell stories from the dreaming. This is how aboriginal spirituality is transmitted, and therefore it depends on the dreaming.

Each generation will learn about the land and their ancestors and then they will, in time teach them to the next generation to come, keeping spirituality alive through their teachings of the dreaming. Songs and dances call the dreaming spirits to life; to come and join in with the ceremonies and celebrations, rituals and acts, and this in turn adds depth, strength and intensity, to the ceremonies.

Aboriginal people believe that they belong to the land and so they have their own responsibilities to care and protect the land, and also each other; these are obligations and rely on land occupation and use, such as gathering water, hunting food collecting and materials.

Individuals also have their own countries and places of ritual which they have a very strong sense of belonging towards, these are specific places and each are taught about their country from youth. They become attached socially, emotionally and intellectually to them. The dreaming there fore teaches that a spiritual life cannot exist if the land is not present, the whole entire environment; including every rock tree, cloud and even the sun.

====Describe the effects of dispossession and the land rights movement on Aboriginal Spirituality. ==== ==== To the Aboriginal people, the land is one of the most important aspects of their spirituality, at the centre of it really. Their spirituality would disintegrate without the land, so when dispossession was forced on the Aboriginal people, they were being deprived of one of their most sacred worships. Aboriginal people were not allowed any rights to the once-theirs land. It was all taken away from them with European settlement and would be for a very long time. What is to be understood however is that the Aboriginal people did not believe the land was theirs to own. Instead they believe that the land owns them. They belong to the land; they must care for it and respect it, as it does to them. ==== ==== By harming the landscape with new European pests such as rabbits, the spirituality was harmed and by depriving the aboriginal people from their rights to the land it was like depriving them from their faith; their culture, history and spirit. The aboriginal people, in effect felt they had lost their spiritual identity, their totems, which also rely on the land, their birthplaces and nor could they fulfil their religious and spiritual duties. ====

==== Kinship was also damaged as dispossession also includes removing from one another, as an integral part of their culture, kinship was also very sacred, but it too disintegrated as the individuals and the stolen generations were separated from their spiritual communities and extended families, as a result the many languages were also lost, authority of the elders was lost, aboriginal art and culture was stunted, and valuable knowledge of the land and its many uses were forgotten. The government policy to remove Aboriginal children from their families also had a very negative impact on Aboriginal spirituality as it no longer could b taught or transmitted to the generations to follow. Reunions between families and kin were hard and the generations taken were taught to assimilate into what Australian society, and eventually to breed or die out. ==== ==== Eventually there began the Land Rights Movement and these issues were addressed and the Aborigine’s Native Title was beginning to be recognized. The Native title is very important for the Land Rights movement and especially Aboriginal Spirituality, as it is the acknowledge right and claim of which the Indigenous community have of their land and property which was rightfully inherited by there ancestors. ====

==== The Mabo vs. Queensland case then led to the Australian High Court judgment, on the 3rd of June, 1992 which was that the Native and Land title of the Indigenous People; the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, was recognized as common law, and this was also a great turning point in achieving justice in Aboriginal rights and freedom in Australia. ====

==== However not all issues were addressed so in the December, 1996 the Wik case emerged and the issue of Pastoral leases and mining companies were brought to light. If the Indigenous community could prove that they were continually using the leased land, their land rights could coexist with the pastoralist rights, and the result was that they could coexist on the land leased from the government (crown land). Aboriginal spirituality has gradually begun gaining strength again, but many has been lost due to dispossession and although Land Right movements have attempted to mend the harm inflicted on this delicate faith, it will still take a while until it has fully come alive again. ====