The Role Of The Dreaming
Indigenous Australian Cultures
The Dreaming:
The Dreaming is an English term that represents the Indigenous belief system. It is a complex term that means different things to each clan. The Dreaming in its simplest form, is to explore the links between the “Spiritual, natural and moral elements”, (Wardrop, 2015), of the land, the Indigenous people and their Spiritual ancestors. It is considered to be a “metatemporal idea, meaning it includes the past, present and future” (Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta, n.d.) into present everyday life. The Dreaming is made up of many stories that tell of how the land formed mountains, rivers, valleys, flora and fauna.
The role and the function of the Dreaming, is to offer a model to live an Indigenous …show more content…
(Monroe, 2011, para 1). It is made up of three different levels including Moiety, Totems and Skin Names.
Moiety meaning ‘half’ (Digital, 2015, para 3), separates people into two groups, each side complementing the other, creating balance. If within the same Moiety, they are considered siblings. (Digital, 2015)
The next level is Totems. Every individual has “at least four Totems, which represent their nation, clan, family group and their personal totem” (Digital, 2015, para 7). Totems can be an animal, plant or object, which reflects and links the individual to the world and their personal strengths and weaknesses (Digital, 2015).
The final level is the individual skin name, reflecting the individual’s blood line. They are chronological and follow either the matrilineal or patrilineal line. (Digital, 2015)
The role of Kinship is to entitle individuals with responsibilities to maintain the land, other people and resources. It reflects an individual’s place of contraception, blood family and clan group. Kinship allows close bonds to form with others, who share similar responsibilities in maintaining the land. While reflecting the Spiritual ancestors from the dreaming. Making it fundamental to Indigenous society. (Digital,
The Dreaming:
The Dreaming is an English term that represents the Indigenous belief system. It is a complex term that means different things to each clan. The Dreaming in its simplest form, is to explore the links between the “Spiritual, natural and moral elements”, (Wardrop, 2015), of the land, the Indigenous people and their Spiritual ancestors. It is considered to be a “metatemporal idea, meaning it includes the past, present and future” (Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta, n.d.) into present everyday life. The Dreaming is made up of many stories that tell of how the land formed mountains, rivers, valleys, flora and fauna.
The role and the function of the Dreaming, is to offer a model to live an Indigenous …show more content…
(Monroe, 2011, para 1). It is made up of three different levels including Moiety, Totems and Skin Names.
Moiety meaning ‘half’ (Digital, 2015, para 3), separates people into two groups, each side complementing the other, creating balance. If within the same Moiety, they are considered siblings. (Digital, 2015)
The next level is Totems. Every individual has “at least four Totems, which represent their nation, clan, family group and their personal totem” (Digital, 2015, para 7). Totems can be an animal, plant or object, which reflects and links the individual to the world and their personal strengths and weaknesses (Digital, 2015).
The final level is the individual skin name, reflecting the individual’s blood line. They are chronological and follow either the matrilineal or patrilineal line. (Digital, 2015)
The role of Kinship is to entitle individuals with responsibilities to maintain the land, other people and resources. It reflects an individual’s place of contraception, blood family and clan group. Kinship allows close bonds to form with others, who share similar responsibilities in maintaining the land. While reflecting the Spiritual ancestors from the dreaming. Making it fundamental to Indigenous society. (Digital,