Aborigine religion is a blend of many aspects of the native life in the back-country of Australia. A close comparison of a similar idea is the Americas' own native tribes such as the Cherokee or the Apache. The main focus of the Aborigine religion is that there are many gods and goddesses, and they all have a certain idea, element, or ability associated with them. However, there are differences as well, as most of the aborigine tribes do not believe in Animism. Animism is the belief that inanimate objects such as a rock or mountain have a soul, however, the tribes do believe that a certain grouping of rocks were created by the gods for purposes such as worship and other activities. The most important idea of the aboriginal religion that sets it apart from all other tribal practices, is the focus of importance on Dreams. This Dreaming is considered the most sacred practice, as it is a conduit to be used to communicate with the gods and ancestors, to perfrom certain rituals, and other religious observances. The gods that they communicate are varied in depictions and jobs.
There are generally 3 categories that the aboriginal gods fall under. Some gods may fall under one, more than one, or none at all, however these categories are made for the majority of deities found by archaeologists, and anthropologists.
The first category is the Creation Gods. These are the gods that are believed to have created the land, bodies of water, animals, plants and humans. Each of the gods are seen as primordial beings, as they existed before recorded time.
The second category is the Ancestral Spirits. This category is self explanatory as the ancestral beings are considered to be the ancestors of the tribesman. Their jobs vary in teaching how to make a fire, how to perform rituals and ceremonies, and even teach and sometimes enforce, the rules of the village. The depictions made of the ancestor spirits are varied. The aborigines believed that persons soul could come back to this world not as a person, but as an animal or plant. So the drawings and depictions that we have today show variations between village to village.
The third and final category are the Totemic Gods. The totemic ideology is just as important as the Dreaming, which I will get to soon. The Totem system is derived from the original plants and animals that were created during the Creation Period by the Creation Gods. Examples of the totems are the first wolf that was created, the first vulture, even the first yam has been recorded as a totem. The totem system works by a family member drawing a connection from the Dreaming, and feeling what his previous life must have been. For example, if a young man feels a connection to a vulture, then he must have been a vulture in a previous life, and all aspects are derived from the yam family. Two people may share the same totem, even though they may be from two different families.
The Dreaming is a key point in the Aborigine religion. according to Aborigine myths and belief system, The Dreaming is not an allusion to a state of trance or dream, but rather a time period. The Dreaming refers to the primordial times, where the Creation Gods where just beginning to make the world. Through this connection, the tribesman are able to contact their ancestors from long ago, and learn about themselves, and the world around them. The Dreaming is an important point of ritual for everyone in the tribe, and is held with the utmost importance by the religious leaders.
Fauna and Flora are considered holy in all aspects to the aborigine tribes, as all life is sacred. However, it is not just life that is sacred, but all things. The tribesman in Australia do not believe in animism, however, they do revere many land based objects, such as groupings of rocks, and grove of trees and shrubbery. Many of the most important rituals and ceremonies that the tribes people perform are at these sacred locations. Many totems have also been found to represent these landmarks.
References
Austhrutime.com, 2015Aboriginal Religion. http://austhrutime.com/religion.htm, accessed June 4 , 2015.
Philtar.ac.uk, 2015Australian Aboriginal Religion. http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/abor.html, accessed June 4 , 2015.
Welch, David 2015Aboriginal Culture - Aboriginal Religion And Ceremony. Aboriginalculture.Com.Au. http://www.aboriginalculture.com.au/religion.shtml, accessed June 4 , 2015.
My name is Derek Farmer, and I am a 20 year old caucasian male. I am from a middle class, suburban home with two parents who are divorced, and I was raised for most of my life in a small town called Long Beach, Mississippi. This is a place where everyone went to one of the 3 churches, and they are all Baptist denominations, myself sharing in the same religion. Learning about this religion is almost complete contrast to what I have learned all of my life. The amount of dedication that the Aborigines have to their traditions is staggering. THese are the same customs and traditions that their people and ancestors have been doing since the start of their civilization. Their religion runs their whole life, and leads them to do certain tasks throughout their lives, whereas my religion is less all-encompassing on my part. The aboriginal religion is so unlike my own, so there is a bit of difficulty trying to make a connection between my experience and theirs. I am not sure that i can draw upon a connection at this moment in my life, as my religion is not as strong as theirs is, but maybe I will be able to someday.
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