Australian Aboriginal Culture - Essay
Introduction
Aboriginals or indigenous Australians are the native people of Australia. Aboriginals were nomadic people who came to Australia about 40,000 – 60,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. Religion is a great part of Aboriginal culture. The essay answers these questions: What do Aboriginals belief? What is a Kinship system? What is Dreaming and Dreamtime? What rituals does Aboriginals have?
Religion
The Aborigines 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 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.
Artwork
Traditional Aboriginal art was inspired by religious ceremonies or rituals. Modern Aboriginal art is a vital part of the world's oldest continuous cultural tradition. It is also one of the most brilliant and exciting areas of modern art. It is based on animals or patterns. All the designs, painted or drawn, have a story behind them. Many of the Dreamtime stories are told using artwork because there were so many different aboriginal
Aboriginals or indigenous Australians are the native people of Australia. Aboriginals were nomadic people who came to Australia about 40,000 – 60,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. Religion is a great part of Aboriginal culture. The essay answers these questions: What do Aboriginals belief? What is a Kinship system? What is Dreaming and Dreamtime? What rituals does Aboriginals have?
Religion
The Aborigines 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 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.
Artwork
Traditional Aboriginal art was inspired by religious ceremonies or rituals. Modern Aboriginal art is a vital part of the world's oldest continuous cultural tradition. It is also one of the most brilliant and exciting areas of modern art. It is based on animals or patterns. All the designs, painted or drawn, have a story behind them. Many of the Dreamtime stories are told using artwork because there were so many different aboriginal
References: http://www.indigenousaustralia.info http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginaali http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians