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Discussion: STUDY OF DREAMING & SPECIAL SIGNIFICANT PLACES
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merril42 |
STUDY OF DREAMING & SPECIAL SIGNIFICANT PLACES
Mar 4 2008, 2:16 AM EST
I would like to see a combined University study undertaken by aboriginals and newcomers, in consultation with elders, into the relevance of the Dreaming and the Holy Sites. I was given the gift of experiencing the Dreaming when up north, and found that they were more than just stories. I heard stories that I could use to relate to incidents in my own life, to help me make decisions and understand who I was. I also heard stories that gave broad historic and geological information that gave a pretty good overview of the world, or at the very least, this section of it. I heard stories of The Son of the Father, the White God in the Sky who walks beside the River of Healing, of how a character called The Good Shepherd came to rescue his people in trouble, and of at least two holy sites connected with these stories. All this is valuable to an Australian spirituality which shies away from organised structural religion and I believe much can be gained from such a study. Sure, ANY group could do such a study, but I feel that there are quite a few aboriginal people with university degrees who could use their specialist knowledge to bridge the gap between all the rest of us. Those of us with more simpler approaches to life and spirituality will have already found it, as I have.
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Posted Anonymously |
1. RE: STUDY OF DREAMING & SPECIAL SIGNIFICANT PLACES
Mar 9 2008, 6:21 PM EDT
This has more to do with post colonisation stories. Holy Sites do not sound like traditional Aboriginal Spirituality. Some of the Aboriginal community would not like University people studying there sacred business
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Posted Anonymously |
2. RE: STUDY OF DREAMING & SPECIAL SIGNIFICANT PLACES
Mar 10 2008, 6:17 AM EDT
I dont know about Holy Sites being post colonial, but I do know that there are sacred sites in many tribal areas, as I have been taken to two such sites by relevant elders. If the elders of a particular area, with the university graduates of their tribe, were prepared to work with selected white friends, I think this would be invaluable, as one of the best ways we can give aboriginal people a voice in Australia is by giving value to their contribution to Australia not only ecologically but also in their spirituality and the way they lived culturally. All this is contained in the Dreaming.To learn about the Dreaming would show just how much value and depth there was and is to their culture. The more you know about someone, the more you value him. This then increases his self-esteem and helps him take his RIGHTFUL place alongside us as we help grow this land TOGETHER. I agree that some aboriginal people would not want this, and this should be respected. But I also know from my own aboriginal friends in northern nsw that some elders DO want this, so it could be a matter of choice, undertaken in certain areas with permission and full involvement of the local people in that area. I have written and published some dreaming stories with permission of my friends, and some of them have also done public illustrative and narrative work, in collaboration with white people, with this very idea in mind.
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merril42 |
3. RE: STUDY OF DREAMING & SPECIAL SIGNIFICANT PLACES
Mar 19 2008, 9:54 AM EDT
"This has more to do with post colonisation stories. Holy Sites do notThe stories were generally pre-colonisation stories. I just used a descriptive term that I thought would make sense to most people. Perhaps a better description would be traditional sites, special places, dreaming places. I do understand that some aboriginal people would not like any outsider studying their sacred business. The people who shared the dreaming stories with me included 2 elders from the local people, and we all gained a lot from the sharing. There were of course stories that I was not told, and stories that I did not have permission to pass on. I am part native american, and feel a brotherhood with the aboriginal people and respect their right to choose what they will or will not share. What I actually meant was for issues to be studied after being decided on by the elders and tribespeople concerned, not just academicians whether black or white. I believe that working together brings increased understanding between people and that for the government to provide funds to make this possible would be a helpful way of promoting understanding and respect and making sure this opportunity was made available to a wider range of people than if just left up to private individuals. The wisdom of ancient peoples is a wonderful treasure trove that needs preserving and absorbing before it all disappears. And why the universities? Because white people listen more to people with letters after their names, because it showcases the number of aboriginal people who have achieved at university and enables them to work with their own heritage. I also would like town aboriginals who have perhaps been drawn away from their traditions to gain a deeper understanding of them, because my own experience tells me that you cannot be a complete person until you know and understand all parts of your heritage. I believe they would listen to academics more so than to their own elders, who they may not even have met. Do you find this valuable? |
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Posted Anonymously |
4. RE: STUDY OF DREAMING & SPECIAL SIGNIFICANT PLACES
Apr 18 2008, 3:10 AM EDT
i like the idea of aboriginal culture being more than painting tidalik the frog on playschool. but part of the aboriginal culture is the sacredness - i remember when ten canoes came out, which is revealing of many baoriginal traditions i had only an inkling of, an aboriginal friend of mine stating that there were things in that film that white people shudnt know, and i think we should respect that. which is why any further study of aboriginal culture should be done in partnership with aboriginal elders, who consent to sharing what is a very unique sacred heritage.
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