SOR Religions in Australia after 1945

Dreaming

the stories that explain the creation of the universe. These stories teach the Indigenous Australian lifestyle including social relationship dynamics, how to get food and shelter and how to maintain a relationship with the land.

• expressed in rituals

• varies across kinship groups

• passed on through oral tradition, song, dance, paintings

obligations to the land

Where everyone came from and will return to. dont take what you done need. replacement, regrowth, sustainability

• inextricable connection between the Indigenous Australians and ____

• must be treated with care

• we don’t own the ___ the ____ owns us

kinship

the social organisation of the community. the interconnected relationships between people and how they interact with each other. determined by being born into a group.

• who you marry is decided

• the role you play in a community

• determines individual identity

• social cohesion and harmony

• specific duties to be fulfilled

skin names

given by elders who have knowledge of the family tree, these show one’s kinship and affect who one can marry and adds a layer of identity

moiety

the subdivision of an Aboriginal group to organise privileges and duties. who you can marry

totem

an animal or plant that is the symbol of a spirit ancestor that one is connected to. represent individuals as they lived in the Dreaming that tell ceremonial responsibilities.

• cant hunt them, must protect them

corroboree

an Aboriginal ceremony, often a dance that center on the retellings of Dreaming stories through singing dance and music.

ceremonial life

rituals performed according to the dreaming to enrich spiritual life.

obligations to the people

responsibilities to pass on rituals and traditions and to respect totems

rite of passage

initiation ceremonies into adulthood and becoming a full member of the tribe. these mark a person’s development and new roles in the group

burial ceremonies

meant to return one’s soul to the spirit ancestors.

male rite of passage

usually happens at the age of 6-12: typically involves circumcision and the teaching of skin relationships, kinship and ceremonial obligations. IT IS A SPIRITUAL REBIRTH INTO ADULTHOOD. after this the man can marry and engage in rituals.

• who to approach

• acceptable behaviours

• spirit ancestors ingest the boy then spew him out as an adult

• sacred knowledge is imparted throughout the life

female rite of passage

following menstruation: taught about kinship, taboos and legitimate associations. usually aren’t recognised as an adult until marriage.

• she’s bathed and painted with ochre

burial ceremony

the spirit of the dead is returned to the ‘dreaming places’ from which they come

• transition to the afterlife

the dead

people are treated with great respect. their names are not spoken. possessions are destroyed. sometimes the whole tribe moves camp. traditions vary from tribe to tribe

sorry business

mourningcan last from weeks to months or years depending on the tribe

the dreaming

Encapsulates the stories of creation and life in aboriginal culture

the dreaming

The spiritual dimension of reality that has existed from the beginning and continues to be present in all aspects of life

Its infinite and METATEMPORAL, links the past with the present to determine the future.

kinship

Defines where a person fits into the community, binding people in relationships of sharing and obligations to one another and the land.

ceremonial life

An essential expression of the dreaming connecting individuals with their ancestors, the land and each other

art

communicates the dreaming

rituals

the reliving of activities of the ancestor spirits. normally done to initiate kinship responsibilities or send off the dead.

sacred sites

specific locations considered sacred because of the physical manifestations of the Dreaming provide IDENTITY AND CONNECTION

• require special care and are the focus of the rituals

sustainable practices

obligations to the land. controlled burning and seasonal hunting

effects of separation from the land

• removed from spirit ancestors

• removed from family

• sacred places and totems

• food + shelter

• rituals + ceremony —> burial

• sacred sites

• resources such as food and water

• causes distress as their idenity is often connected to family, kinship, lands and waterways.

• ceremonial life: dreaming brings ceremonial obligations and opportunities. the prohibition of these ceremonies has meant ritual obligations have been stolen.

effects of separation from kinship groups

• language lost (elders pass down)

• lost culture and traditions (elders pass down)

• intergenerational trauma

• loss of identity due to disconnection from roles and responsibilities

• family relationships changed

the stolen generation

the generation of Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families and forced to assimilate into a white family to forget their culture and better adjust to English society.

colonisation

the establishment of military power often by violent or physical force. STATE POWER

genocide

the deliberate extermination of a people or nation

• poison water + other essentials

• discriminate shootings

• revenge parties (wiping out tribes)

• ‘dispersals’

missionisation

institutionalised the policy of segregation. compelled indigenous australians to reject their own religion and accept Christianity. forced them to adapt to Christian values.

effects of colonisation

• killed their forms of sustenance

• introduced diseases

• brought vices such as alcohol

• made Indigenous people dependent on white people by giving them food and shelter

effects of segregation

• people treated as slaves

• young girls were made to serve as domestics and used as sexual partners

• boys were forced to work

• AS a result they were treated as children

• Told who to marry and have children with

• Wages were controlled if they were paid at all

• Money managed in bank accounts run by the government

• Lost identity as their names were changed

protectionism

intended to be protectors but it was just to maintain power over the lives of indigenous australians.

absorbing

incorporating and becoming part of a group by adaptation

dispossession

the action of depriving someone of land, property or other possessions

effects of dispossession

• separation from land

• cant perform ceremonial life

• broken kinship system

• intergenerational trauma

mabo decision 1992

legal event that sought the official recognition of Aboriginal spiritual connection to the land. overthrew terra-nullius as legal fiction

native title act 1993

legal event that aimed to implement strategies and organisation to reconcile Aboriginal community with British settlers.

• brought Native Title Tribunal.

• needed to prove they were connected pre 1788 and that no one owns the land now.

wik decision 1996

legal event that declared Indigenous communities could co-exist with pastoral lease owners. they could now perform their ceremonial practices on the land as long as it didnt impinge on the economical processes of the lease holders. lease holders still had control.

native title ammendment act 1998

legislation of a 10 point plan at an attempt to ‘strike a balance between respect for native title and security for pastoralists.’