Aboriginal



** ABORIGINALS OF AUSTRALIA ** __**Sacred Places**__ (Ayers Rock/ Uluru) ** ULURU ** ** Uluru, also known as Ayers Rocks, is one of the oldest examples of sacred geography on the planet (sacred geography is the association of landforms with the divine). Archaelogical evidence, such as paintings, suggest that the aboriginals were at Uluru 60,000 years ago, making the Aboriginals the oldest continuing culture on the planet. It was originally believed that the Aboriginals were there 40,000 years ago because that was how far back carbon-dating could go, but technological advances changed that number to 60,000. In fact, many Aborigines still believe the 40,000 year figure. ** ** The Aboriginals believe that their ancestors, in the form of animals, came to Earth during Alcheringa (Dreamtime) and made land features by singing, dancing, running, and laughing. When the Dreamtime ended, the land features they made turned into stone and the bodies of the ancestors became other landforms, such as lakes, hills, forests, and boulders. Uluru and its sacred sister, Kata Tjuta, are believed to be the remnants of the landforms made by the ancestors. The Anangu tribe are the direst descendants of the ancestors and they are responsible for the upkeep of Uluru. ** Every year, the various Aboriginal tribes walk along the Songlines, the paths that the ancestors walked. The Songlines link every single sacred site in the Aboriginal religion. Once they arrive to the sacred sites, they sings about creation stories and the myths of that particular site. Doing so invokes the Kurunba, spirit powers that bring blessings to the tribe. In 1964, the Australian government installed chains for climbers. According to Aboriginal tradition, only elderly Anangu men are allowed to climb Uluru... since 1964, 40 climbers have died at Uluru. Coincendence? I think not. ** __SACRED PRACTICES/SACRED TIMES__ ** ** Out of the various traditions, the most important are the coming of age traditions. They are celebrated with body art, dancing around a fire, and singing stories about the ancestral beings. In Arnhem Land and Central Australie, ceremonies are practiced to persuade the Ancestral Beings to grant the tribe a bountiful crop and game supply. ** ** Funeral Traditions are very important traditions as well. The Aborigines paint their bodies white and draw their own blood to show their morning for the loss of a tribe member. They sing and dance to help the spirit enter the next world. In Northern Australia, the burial practices have two separate parts: Primary and Secondary. In Primary burial, the corpse is laid out on wooden platform, covered in leaves, and left to rot for several months In Secondary Burial, the bones are collected, painted with red ochre, and dispersed in different ways (placed in a hollow log to rot, kept by relatives, wrapped in paperbark and put in cave to disintegrate with time). **  SACRED LAND

In Aboriginal religion, they believe that they were born with a responsibility to take care of their land. They have a spiritual connection to it and they treat it as their mother. Everything is treated equally; they believe that everything has a soul; plants, animals, and even rocks. According to their belief system when they die their spirit is born again as a human, plant, animal or rock. Their spiritual connection to the land is the center for their religion and the basis of their belief system.

**__Origins, Gods, and Ancestors__**

 * __The beginning: Australian History__**


 * ~After Australia's shift away from Asia, Aborigines became nomadic people, moving through the land.**
 * ~In 1788, Europeans settled in Australia. There were approximately 1 million Aborgines and 200 hundred different spoken languages.**
 * ~Aborigines had been mistaken to have NO religion.**
 * ~Since 1821, many have converted to chrisianity, due to the mass immigration of christian pastors.**


 * __Organisational Struture, Elders, Ancestors, and Beliefs__**
 * ~Specific elders may be keepers of certain stories and rituals.**
 * ~Australian aborigines believe the earth is eternal, as well as a variety of ancestral figures.**
 * ~The spirits fo their ancestors are believed to live after death, through particular animals.**
 * ~Some groups held belief in a supreme being.**
 * ~Some believed in Kahunasor oceanic gods.**


 * __Gods__**
 * ~Eingana = the primordial earth-mother god.**
 * ~A few later gods were Baiame, Bunji, and Nurunderi**
 * ~All the oceanic gods have super powers such as strength, stamina, and resistance to harm. The scope of the gods powers, however, is mostly limmited to a certain object, idea, or field Ex: Thuremlin (aka Daramulum), god of the moon, can see at night and manifest lunar energy. Son of Baiame.**
 * ~Baiame = god of the earth and creation. Member of the council of godheads. Decendant of Eingana. Had 2 wives initially.**
 * ~Yhi = First sun goddess. Possible mother of Baiame.**
 * ~Gnowee = bacme goddess of sun. Daughter of Thuremlin**

Bibliography:

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 * http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture**
 * http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk**
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