Aboriginal Beliefs Essay -- essays research papers

The Aborigines had, and still have, a complex belief in creation, spirits and culture, that gives a definite distinctiveness from any other religion in the world. Thousands of years ago, Australian Aboriginal people were living in accordance with their dreamtime beliefs- today, a majority of the Aboriginal community profess allegiance to Christianity, and only 3% still adhere to traditional beliefs. These beliefs have provided the Aboriginal people with guidance and perspective on all aspects of life. There were many variants to these beliefs and practises throughout the many Aboriginal tribal areas, but all Aboriginal people have developed an intimate relationship between themselves and their environment. They see themselves as spiritually bound to the natural world. The basis of Aboriginal religion revolves around their sacred mythology known as “The Dreamtime';. The Dreamtime specifically refers to the period of time when the creators made the territory of a tribe and all it contained. It was a period when patterns of living were established and laws were laid down for human beings to follow. The Dreamtime is linked with many aspects of Aboriginal practise, including rituals, storytelling and Aboriginal lore, and explains the origin of the universe, the workings of nature and the nature of humanity, and the cycle of life and death. It shapes and structures Aboriginal life by controlling kinship, ceremonial life, and the relationship between males and females with a system of responsibility involving people, land and spirits. The aim or objective of traditional Aboriginal people was to live the exact lifestyle that had been created for them by the creators thus, the Aboriginal people strive to perpetuate and continue the never ending dream ing. The creators were the ancestors of all living things, including the Aborigines themselves. Sometimes human, sometimes animal, they were possessed of miraculous powers. Their deeds on earth are enshrined in Aboriginal mythology and are closely associated with animals and other features of the natural environment. Each tribe had it’s own creation myth. For example, the people of the Arunda tribe believed that the spirits cut them from the earth in the Dreamtime. Originally, myths, or Dreamtime stories, were not expressed simply in verbal or written form but were enacted, chanted, painted, cost... ... new growth. Food taboos and totemism had the effect of protecting animal and other species because some people were not permitted to eat certain foods and a person could not always eat their own totem. This had the effect of providing a safe environment for particular species. Many sub-tribes moved around their land following the food chain cycles. This meant that they never stayed in the one place where they could extinguish the food sources. In some tribes particular beliefs were held about dangers that could threaten the life of animals or birds. One tribe (the Wiimbaio) were afraid of blood falling into lakes or rivers, incase storms or other disasters would result, and would kill the fish. Aboriginal beliefs are expressed in a number of ways, including their Dreamtime practices, such as stories, art and corroborees, and rituals, such as initiation, birth, marriage and death, as well as the Aboriginal lore. Such a complex and unique outlook on the universe and humans, and with the assistance of their ability to continue their practices through hundreds of generations, allowed the Aboriginal belief system to evolve to be one of, if not the, oldest surviving race in the world.