Message #219 - SHAMAN'S UNION 
   Date: 08-29-96 23:37
   From: KEN M
     To: ALL
Subject: Oz Dreamtime        01/02
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@REALNAME: Ken Mclennan
G'day there EVERYONE,

    I wrote the following lines to PAT, but perhaps others might be
interested in my reading, so I've redirected to ALL.  I'll post further
specific bits 'n' pieces as I read them, but here is some background
info.

KM> PH> >  I  am currently reading a book about some  of  Australia's
KM> PH> >  Sacred Places.
KM> PH> This  sounds very interesting, please share a bit of it  with
KM> PH> us as you have time.
KM>     Yup!  Shall do.  I found it so interesting that I spent some of

    Told you I would, so here's the first installment :) What I write
here is derived from 2 books, the aforementioned Sacred Places in
Australia, by James COWAN, and Aboriginal Mythology by MUDROOROO.

    At the start of time, there was an event called The Dreamtime.  This
Dreamtime was a period when the world was created, and landscapes formed
by Sky Heroes.  This was when men appeared on earth, and the law, songs
& ceremonies were given to them.  The Dreamtime was the start of an
ongoing process of creation.  It continues today, and is manifest in the
spiritual world of the Aborigines.  This 'Dreaming' defines their
relationship to the land, animals, families, totems and each other.

    As MUDROOROO explains, "To the Aboriginal person, the entire
universe is permeated with life - it is a living, breathing biomass
which has separated into families.  There are families of stars, of
trees and of animals, and these are connected to our human families.
Our way of life is spiritual in that there is an interconnectedness, an
interrelatedness with all existence, existence extending from the
merely physical realms to the spiritual, encapsulated in the term 'the
Dreaming'."  ...a longish quote, but these are the words of a true
authority!

    As COWAN says, "All myth & ritual is centred on this creation-time.
Tribal morality, customs, magical lore, artistic expression and
technology find their origin in the Dreaming.  For Aborigines to deny
the existence of the Dreaming would be to deny their identity, indeed
their very existence."

    So, the Dreaming is the basis of an Aborigine's place in the world.
It defines how he (NO I'm not going to tread the PC path.  'He' also
refers to 'she' <g> ) interacts with the universe, and his standing
within it.

    During the thousands of years that Aborigines have lived in this
country, they have developed an intimate relationship with the land.
This relationship is both physical & spiritual, and descends directly
from the Dreamtime.  As COWAN says, "They have discovered a way of
worshipping their environment to the exclusion of all other gods, by
drawing the land upon which they rely for survival into a covenant
capable of embodying all their spiritual needs."

    Aborigines don't consider themselves to be owners of the land, but
custodians.  They are carers & nurturers of the land.  They have an
understanding of the land which goes further then mere hunting and
gathering prowess.  The actions of the Sky Heroes during the Dreamtime
left certain places charged with _djang_ which is part of the energy
left at sacred sites by the ancestors.  This djang can be activated &
used nowadays by the use of ceremonies, songs & ritual.

    The knowledge of these rites & sacred places is passed down through
generations, usually from father to son, or mother to daughter.  This
esoteric knowledge is a vast body of song, stories, and ceremonies which
is specific to a part of the country, which it is the responsibility of
the shaman to maintain.  This knowledge may also be gender specific,
some applies only to women, or men & may not be told to, or witnessed
by, the opposite gender.  Other aspects are common to both sexes.  Most
is known only to initiates.

    If an Aborigine says that he 'owns' a section of country, it doesn't
equate to the western concept of ownership.  It means that he/she is the
custodian of the "songs, body paintings and esoteric lore associated
with its creation during the Dreaming."  (COWAN) Other people may be
familiar with these aspects through participation in the ceremonies, but
they are not 'theirs'.  To cite COWAN again, "To own a Dreaming (a shard
of information derived from ancestral times) reinforces a man's (or
woman's) persona spiritually as well as socially."

    This sacred lore is about the only possession which aborigines
acknowledge.  Because of this, an individual can't just paint any old
Dreaming except their own, without permission of the person who is the
caretaker.

    This introduces the notion of "metaphysical property - the idea of
<*>
Continued in the next message...

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