SOR1 – Notes On Religion & Beliefs In Australia Post 1945

Resource Description

Aboriginal Spirituality: 

Country:  term used to describe ones land which they belong to and their place of dreaming

Elders: Key persons and keepers of knowledge within Aboriginal communities

• ‘Elders’ – kinship and owners
• ‘Elders’ – leaders of large extended family
• ‘Elders’ – knowledge given

Kinship: the system of relationships traditionally accepted by a culture and the rights and obligations they hold 

Ritual estate: land which they are responsible for

• Represents the idea of ‘my country’
• Contains sites of spiritual significance (sacred sites)

Dreaming: basis of all aspects of life which is expressed through: 

• Network of relationships
• Rights and obligations within a society

The Dreaming stories provide the entire ethical and moral basis b y which Ab. people live on their land and relate to each other.

Kinship systems	Are not separated or additional to their spiritualities; They are the expression of Dreaming in a physical sense
Obligations to the land
People that follow from their kinship
Their expression in ceremonial life

Ceremonial life: includes rites of passage such as initiation, death and burial and periodic ceremonies

Aboriginal ceremonies have 2 major purposes:

• Mark humanities relationship to spiritual world: aboriginal – Dreaming – ancestors
• Mark the stages in individual human life
• Ceremonies importance as they bring and unite the community together 
• Ensure the well being and continuation/balance of a particular species and food supply