Aboriginal Culture - Essay Example

?Aboriginal Culture Number Question a. Aboriginal Dreaming is not merely a series of mythical stories about ancestral heritage and the forming of earth but encompasses all that is indigenous in relation to knowledge; integral to knowledge and Dreaming is indigenous spirituality. Western science and Aboriginal knowledge are complementary and both provide insight into our world and environment. Just as western science seeks to provide answers to questions pertaining to our past, present and future, so too does Aboriginal knowledge (Dreaming) and one cannot be dismissed in favour of the other, instead the two should interact and work together. The English term Dreaming is more an analogy than a translation of Aboriginal spirituality. b. It is wrong to consider Aboriginal societies as being primitive to western societies in the misbelief that they had no religion, philosophy or political systems prior to colonization; all three are integral to Aboriginal existence. Religion, philosophy and laws (political systems) are components of every aspect of life and underpin all behaviours, interpretations and expressions both within ceremonial life and daily life. The principles and codes of behaviour (laws) relate to all things on earth not only humans, are complex and live and breathe in the people and their environment. Aboriginal religion, philosophy and political systems were known and past down from their ancestors and are lived and maintained in their practice. c. It is inaccurate to classify Aboriginal societies as nomadic; they were semi-nomadic which meant they did not stay in one place until the food supply was exhausted as is the nomadic norm, but instead they moved from one place to another and back as food supplies became available. Rather than use the land, they belonged to the land, only took what they needed, and moved to allow the plants to re-grow and the animals to regenerate; in other words their occupation of land was seasonal, their movement was cyclical and they and the land were inseparable. d. To assume that Aboriginal societies did not create technologies is wrong because they have developed technologies to make their lives better, just as western societies have done. As hunters and gatherers, Aboriginal societies developed weapons, tools and other kinds of equipment from a diverse range of materials obtained from the land; these tools and weapons were developed for specific uses and tasks in different situations and so had a functional use. Their technologies were founded on their complex knowledge system that included an understanding of aerodynamics, physics, chemistry and biology, as well as ecology. e. Aboriginal laws were not written because it was not necessary to do so; instead they were passed down by their ancestors through stories, song and ceremony. Aboriginal law rises above all things and directs them through life; it is who they are and it is integral to every aspect of their lives. The law is all around them – everywhere – and is in everything they do; they eat, sleep and breathe it; they sing it and live it. Unlike our laws they do not require a written form and are not a set of rules that can be broken; instead Aboriginal law lives within their very substance. Question 2 Living – their very existence - for Aboriginal Australian people includes art, ceremony, stories and songs dating back for thousands of generations. According to Sutton (1988), Aboriginal art, music, dance and ceremony are demonstrations of the Dreaming that relate to the extensive symbolism of beliefs and daily life that make up a complicated and multifaceted ‘code of interaction’ (p.14). Just as the Dreaming is essential to the discernment of Aboriginal art, stories, song and ceremony, they in turn are a means of right of entry to the Dreaming (Morphy, 1998) that constantly reflects and modifies a person’s beliefs, values, ideas and sociality. Throughout history man has been intent on preparing children to become responsible and useful adults within society; children have been socialised into the cultures in which they belong by families and education, wherein they learn the values, roles and expectations of their culture (Teaero, 2002). This education and learning is usually based on knowledge that can be standardized and tested and taught within contexts external to reality (Thames, 2010). In Aboriginal societies this education has been achieved through stories, art, songs and ceremony of the Dreaming wherein learning is independent and experiential and based on listening, observation and intervention with little instruction (Battiste, 2002). For over 40,000 years the Aboriginal way of learning has been by ‘watching, listening, waiting and then acting’ () and not by questioning. The Dreaming is more than a testimonial to the past but also connects with the present and the future. Historical records passed down orally and in art present themselves to different interpretations dependent on the time and place as well as their purpose and are therefore quite complex; the objectives of a story, song or piece of art today may be very different from those determined at the time of their origin (Tunbridge, 1988). Such records do not only provide historical education but more importantly are a set of principles by which Aboriginal societies live; they centre on the ways in which they are able and expected to interact with which other and between groups, and distinguish the different groups within a social framework that is determined by the land and environment. Today, as many Aboriginal cultures are dying the traditional means of education is even more important because the art, songs, stories and ceremonies provide a ‘window on social history’ (Tunbridge, 1988:) and a means of social identity. The Dreaming plays an important role within Aboriginal societies and the relationships of its people with each other and the land; groups are divided into moieties and kin groups which dictate the interactions that are permitted, encourage and forbidden in terms of marriage and other aspect of social interaction, as well as the obligations and duties that had to be fulfilled by each member. Parents for example were responsible for the care of their children in terms of food and safety but they were not able to punish their children in any way; punishment was decided upon and provided by other members of the moiety such as uncles and aunts, who were also responsible for education (Ryan, 1989). The role of stories, art, song and ceremony within Aboriginal societies is thus integral to every facet of their lives and represent the Dreaming that in turn dictates the social structures, interactions and education, and is intrinsically linked to the land. Question 3: The colonial view of Aboriginal societies in the nineteenth century was largely based on the evolutionary ideas purported by ‘scientific preoccupations with the Indigenous other’ Howard-Wagner, p.2), wherein European man was considered the superior race and one by which others should be measured. Aboriginal people were seen as biologically, culturally and socially inferior and as the most primitive society on earth by politicians, scientists, bureaucrats and the media. The goal was to both wait for the natural death of Aboriginal societies and to ‘socially engineer their disappearance’ (Howard-Wagner, p.3). In reality however, the Aboriginal people possessed highly complex systems of knowledge that permeated every aspect of their existence and daily life; it was the colonizers themselves, through their ignorance of such systems who emerged as primal in their dissipation of Aboriginal people. Since the late eighteenth century with the arrival of Europeans, Aboriginal societies in Australia have been the subject of antagonism and disdain and have been considered as all that is morally repulsive in man, a curious remnant of the Stone Age, and unable to lead a productive or accountable life (Oldmeadow, n.d). It was claimed that Aboriginal people had no history, religion, forethought or providence and thus had no future and were doomed (Woods, 1879). Such assumptions were based on lack of knowledge of Aboriginal beliefs, values and cultures. Aboriginals were hunters and gatherers living in a harsh land; their view of the world was very different to those of the west and were based on profound relationships that centre on what things are as well as who they are and how they relate (Zubrick et al., 2006). All things have feeling, spirit and law, including flora, fauna, people, rocks, land and elements of nature like wind and sea, which is contrary to western belief that classifies everything as animate or inanimate and imposes values based on hierarchical levels. In western systems of education and knowledge the physical and spiritual worlds (the profane and sacred as discussed by Grieves, 2008) are segregated to religious or secular domains but for Aboriginal people the physical and spiritual realms are integrated and constant. Time is circular, and past, present and future are considered to be in one space, place and time; the past is the most important time for Aboriginals because it is there the most significant events have already occurred and each day in the present is in celebration and revival of the Dreaming. For western societies however, time is linear and progresses from past to present and on to a better future, rather than celebrating the past (Zubrick et al., 2006). What westerners refer to as religion is different to that of Aboriginal societies, wherein cosmology is interpreted in relation to the Dreaming – ‘the most central and yet most elusive aspect of Aboriginal culture’ (Stanner, 1979, p24). It tells of the past (creation and history) and how that past has become a contract or bond for the present and future, and religion is inherent to that past. Aboriginals, unlike western religions, do not refer to one God or one supreme being to dictate what is right or wrong, but instead consider every part of the cosmos as being responsible for their own being and thus autonomous (Rose, 1987); the very act of living is a religious act for Aboriginals ( Eliade, 1973 cited in Rose, 1987). The primary difference between western and Aboriginal religion therefore, is that they do not see any obstructions between the cosmos and themselves. Western religions take people out of this world into a world beyond, but for Aboriginal people this world is in unity with that beyond and they as part of both worlds are inextricably involved in the celestial processes (Rose, 1987). Western culture with its biases and prejudices was influenced by the notion of history and religion as they were understood within the confines of their own knowledge system, whereas the knowledge system of Aboriginal societies, in relation to history and religion, was embedded within the Dreaming and their relationship with the land. Their cultures are ruled by sacred descriptions and explanations that are very different to the chronological and linear western notions of history and religion. Today, we remain influenced by biases and prejudices of the present; perhaps we should reflect on how Aboriginal culture has withstood the impact of colonialism and maintained the Dreaming and a spiritual order. References Battiste, M. D. 2002, Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy in first nations education: a literature review with recommendations, National Working Group on Education and the Minister of Indain Affairs (INAC), Ottowa, ON, viewed 4 June, 2011, http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/education/24._2002_oct_marie_battiste_indigenousknowledgeandpedagogy_lit_review_for_min_working_group.pdf Grieves, V. 2008, ‘Aboriginal spirituality: a baseline for Indigenous knowledge development in Australia’, Canadian Journal of Native Studies, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 361-396. Howard-Wagner, D, 2007, ‘Colonialism and the science of race difference’, in TASA and SAANZ Joint Conference Refereed Conference Proceedings – Public Sociologies: Lessons and Trans-Tasman Comparisons, 4-7 December , Auckland, New Zealand, viewed 2 June, 2011 http://sydney.edu.au/arts/sociology_social_policy/docs/TASA-SAANZ-Science%20of%20Race%20Difference.pdf Morphy, H. 1988, ‘Foundations : art, religion and the Dreaming’, in Aboriginal art, Phaidon Press, London. Ch. 3 : pp. 67-100. Oldmeadow, H. no date, Melodies from the beyond: Australian Aboriginal religion in Schuonian perspective, viewed 3 June, 2011 http://www.religioperennis.org/documents/Oldmeadow/MelodiesE.pdf Rose, D., 1992, ‘Earthborn law’, in Dingo makes us human: life and land in an Aboriginal Australian culture, Ch. 3, pp42-57, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne Tunbridge, D. 1988, Flinders ranges dreaming. Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies: Canberra. pp. xxviii-xli. Stanner, W. 1979 White Man Got No Dreaming: Essays 1938-1973, ANU Press, Canberra, ACT. Sutton, Peter (ed.) 1988, Dreamings: The art of Aboriginal Australia, Penguin, Ringwood, Vic. Teaero, T. 2002, The role of indigenous art, culture and knowledge in the art education curricula at the primary school level. Paper presented at the regional Conference on Arts Education in the Pacific. United Nationals Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, viewed 3 June, 2011 http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/9199/10542967713paper_Teweiariki_Teaero.pdf/paper%2BTeweiariki%2BTeaero.pdf Thames, S. 2010, Transference of indigenous knowledge in aesthetic appreciation of western art. Masters Project in Cross Cultural Studies, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, viewed 3 June, 2011 http://ankn.uaf.edu/Curriculum/Masters_Projects/SusanThames/SusanThames.pdf Zubrick S., Silburn S., De Maio J., Shepherd C, Griffin J., Dalby R., Mitrou F., Lawrence D., Hayward C., Pearson G., Milroy H., Milroy J. & Cox A. 2006, The Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey: Improving the Educational Experiences of Aboriginal Children and Young People. Perth: Curtin University of Technology and Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. Read More