Australian Aboriginal Beliefs
For approximately 40 thousand years, the Australia’s aboriginals has been the longest surviving cultural background in the history of the world, with around 2% of Australia’s population. Australia’s aboriginals migrated from Asia at least 30 thousand years ago, comprising 500-600 distinct groups. Their strong spiritual beliefs, tribal culture of storytelling, art, and history tie them together to their land.
The aboriginals are characterised by having gods who created humans and surrounding environment. Each groups of aboriginals believes in a number of different deities, may be in a form of a particular landscape feature, a rock, a plant or an animal. Aboriginal people do not believe in animism. They do not believe that a rock own control …show more content…
of a soul rather than a particular rock was created by a deity in the creation period. They believe that many animals and plants’ spirit and soul are interchangeable with human life, and that these animals and plants were once human beings.
The Dreamtime was and is the centre of the aboriginal religion, spirit, soul and life, it can be defined as the past, the present and the future of aboriginals as it relates to the story of creation and the lives of the aboriginals. The Dreamtime is not only experienced and believed by individuals but also as a community based spirit that were power by the ancestors. The aboriginals believed that the spirits of the ancestor are passed on to their descendants, such as shark, kangaroo, honey ant, snake and hundreds of others, which have become totems within the diverse indigenous groups across the continent.
The aboriginals practise oral traditions to pass on specific cultural practises and values, language and laws, histories and family relationships, from one generation to the next.
These include the use of story telling, song, dance art and craft making. These stories can vary from the sacred to the historical- some of them focus on political, social and cultural practises; some are entertaining and humorous; some tells of personal, families, communities or an entire nation’s history; some are owned by certain families and can only be told by a member of that group; others can be told by anyone who knows them. Stories reflect the perceptions, relationships, beliefs, way of thinking and attitudes of an individual.
Aboriginal’s body painting is tied directly to the aboriginal culture. The designs or patterns reflect a person’s relationship and social status in the community as well as their totem animal. This body art is also representative of various regions and their totemic responsibilities to that group hence showing an individual’s position within a particular group.
In conclusion, the spirit in aboriginal people is very strong, it is the persisting spirituality of aboriginal people that has allowed them to keep their culture and spiritual beliefs which has been pass on from generations to
generations.
The aboriginals are characterised by having gods who created humans and surrounding environment. Each groups of aboriginals believes in a number of different deities, may be in a form of a particular landscape feature, a rock, a plant or an animal. Aboriginal people do not believe in animism. They do not believe that a rock own control …show more content…
of a soul rather than a particular rock was created by a deity in the creation period. They believe that many animals and plants’ spirit and soul are interchangeable with human life, and that these animals and plants were once human beings.
The Dreamtime was and is the centre of the aboriginal religion, spirit, soul and life, it can be defined as the past, the present and the future of aboriginals as it relates to the story of creation and the lives of the aboriginals. The Dreamtime is not only experienced and believed by individuals but also as a community based spirit that were power by the ancestors. The aboriginals believed that the spirits of the ancestor are passed on to their descendants, such as shark, kangaroo, honey ant, snake and hundreds of others, which have become totems within the diverse indigenous groups across the continent.
The aboriginals practise oral traditions to pass on specific cultural practises and values, language and laws, histories and family relationships, from one generation to the next.
These include the use of story telling, song, dance art and craft making. These stories can vary from the sacred to the historical- some of them focus on political, social and cultural practises; some are entertaining and humorous; some tells of personal, families, communities or an entire nation’s history; some are owned by certain families and can only be told by a member of that group; others can be told by anyone who knows them. Stories reflect the perceptions, relationships, beliefs, way of thinking and attitudes of an individual.
Aboriginal’s body painting is tied directly to the aboriginal culture. The designs or patterns reflect a person’s relationship and social status in the community as well as their totem animal. This body art is also representative of various regions and their totemic responsibilities to that group hence showing an individual’s position within a particular group.
In conclusion, the spirit in aboriginal people is very strong, it is the persisting spirituality of aboriginal people that has allowed them to keep their culture and spiritual beliefs which has been pass on from generations to
generations.