Aboriginal Oral Culture - Essay Example

Question: Why maintaining Aboriginal oral culture is an important practice in contemporary Aboriginal communities. Aboriginals were the early inhabitants of the Australian continent. They are said to have migrated from India 50,000 years ago to settle in Australia and the neighboring islands. Aboriginals have an invaluable cultural history. They have transmitted their customs, history and lifestyle across generations through oral traditions (Elkin 1978). Oral culture is refers to the cultural material that is shared by a distinct group of people and is passed from one generation to another through word of mouth. Cultural material can be in the form of religious practices, oral literature, laws and legislations, music and dance, information on the past and other forms of informal knowledge. Since the arrival of Europeans in Australia, the Aboriginal culture has eroded. Of the estimated 250 languages that were originally present, only 20 of them still exist. Aboriginal people occupy the larger part of Western Australia; their cultural practices and beliefs have a heavy presence there (Jacob 1991). Aboriginal oral culture is of great importance to them. It is through their culture that they maintain a fully functional society. Their culture spells out their religious beliefs, their laws as a community; it controls the relationship with other people and also seeks to educate its members in socio-economic and political operations. Maintaining oral culture is a core objective for the aboriginals for a number of reasons. It helps a people to maintain and preserve their culture, as well as their family history. The study of aboriginals has always been considered a rich source of the early history because of the nature of their way of life (Broome 1994). When Europeans first arrived in Australia, they considered the aboriginals as primitive because they wanted them to adopt their western concept of life. However, it was later evident that the aboriginals were extremely artistic. They used a variety of instruments, dance, song and ornaments in their ceremonies to elaborate their relevance. Aboriginals had many ceremonies to mark various stages of life. Through participation in ceremonies, members become aware of the important stages of life. The four vital stages of life: birth, initiation, marriage and death are greatly celebrated. Birth rite is performed on a child and its parents by the elders of the community to welcome the new member into the community. Initiation ceremonies are performed to youths who are preparing to change their roles from childhood to adulthood (Yengoyan 1987). The initiation period for girls is shorter and less intensive. They are taught on how to take of the family when they get one. Emphasis is placed on household chores and community activities. Boys, on the other hand, have a long program where they are taught hunting skills and gathering skills and generally ways of taking care of their. They are also taught on protecting their family and the community at large (Maddock 1972). The climax of initiation for boys is circumcision after which they can marry. The marriage ceremony involves close relatives of the boy and girl. The girl is considered married when the man involved has paid the dowry decided on by the elders of both families. The ceremony of death is conducted by elders and religious leaders when they pray for the acceptance of the spirit of the dead by the ancestors. There are other ceremonies marked by seasons such as harvesting, rain, drought, and feasting. All of these ceremonies have their own rules such as who should attend, when and how and who is to preside over them. Oral culture enables generations to be aware of these ceremonies and their relevance. Oral culture allows the transmission of religious beliefs across generations. All the tribes belonging to the aboriginal group have their own gods (Berndt and Berndt 1978). They do not have one god. Rather, the gods are classified on the basis of what they do. There is a god of fertility, a god of protection and another for nature. Religion is introduced to members of the community while they are young. Religion is an important part of a community that every member must engage in. Community members also get to know their origin from religious stories of the dream. In the dream, people get to learn that supernatural spirits were responsible for the creation of everyone in the world and all the things in it. One gets to understand the origin of nature. Another importance of oral culture to aboriginals is education. There are various aspects of oral culture that educate the community members. Oral literature through folktales, riddles, proverbs and sayings is used to warn, entertain, sharpen wit and educate. Social vices are condemned in folktales and proverbs. Tongue twisters and other short form are used to improve confidence and communication among children in the community. Songs are an important part of education in the aboriginal communities. There are songs for every occasion thus young members, depending on their sex, are educated on the various songs and what those songs mean. For instance boys are educated to react to war songs by getting ready for war. Story telling is also another important means of education. Through legends, myths, tricksters and other stories, members are educated on their history as a people. They learn where they came from, why they migrated and some of the prominent members of their lineage. Stories also teach values such as hard work, humility, confidence among others. The rewarding of values encourages their acquisition in the community. Oral culture also helps the community to develop socially and economically. This is through the teaching and application of economically beneficial activities such as farming, hunting, art, and leadership. Young members of the aboriginal community acquire skills through training by the elderly experts. It is a requirement that elderly people train young ones in their family on their skill so that they can take after them (Maddock 1972). This ensures that a skill passes down generations resulting in economic development. Members also interact while working in their day to day chores therefore developing social skills. Children are also able to learn how to interact and live with other children through play. The community set up sensitizes children on the importance of peaceful coexistence and team work. They learn that there are things that they cannot do on their own, and that is why they have to live together as a community. Values taught in an oral culture such as respect and consultation help in problem solving. Leadership is taught to male members of a family. A leader is charged with many responsibilities, one of them being that they should solve conflicts amicably (Yengoyan 1987). Communal conflicts are solved by elders together with the ruler, who employ the values that a community upholds in solving disputes. Since every member is educated on what is right and wrong through culture, solutions reached at become better understood and accepted by all parties. A ceremony such as marriage and inter-clan interaction through trade and disputes trains members of a community to get negotiation skills (Berndt and Berndt 1978). One learns to bargain for a reasonable consensus with the other party. Youths are taught the skill of negotiation in their training during initiation so that they can ensure peaceful coexistence with their neighbors. Destined leaders are taught to negotiate so that they can protect the community from unnecessary wars. This skill is relevant at family and community level. Oral culture is important in resolving land claims. Culture teaches on the history of a people. Therefore, through history we are able to understand the correct geographical home of a certain community of the vast aboriginal community. This history is important in inter-clan land claims, in cases where one tribe may be claiming the land of another. Oral culture will enable the older generation to know their ancestral boundaries so that they can protect it from invasion. The role of oral culture in the lives of aboriginal communities is invaluable. As a community, they want to preserve their identity and culture so that the future generation will know and appreciate their origin. The aboriginal culture being the culture of native Australians should not be allowed to perish in the wake of all this modernization. Preserving the aboriginal culture will be very important for the future generation of aboriginals who risk considering themselves ‘western’. Since over 230 languages have become extinct due to modernization, it should be a communal priority to keep their culture alive and relevant (Elkin 1976). The earlier aboriginal generations were responsible because division of duty was clear among the sexes. The current generation has compromised what the community considers important and replaced it with modern standards. It may not be realistic to maintain early standards of oral traditions, but necessary standards should be maintained so that their culture is not eroded. The lessons instilled by oral culture are still relevant in the modern day life. Young community members can learn necessary skills such as problem solving and negotiation skills (Broome 1994). Oral culture can also train people to be responsible members of society. Some of the skills trained by their culture are still relevant. Farming and art are still relevant today and thus they should continue to be taught. List of References Berndt R.M. &Berndt C.H., (1978), The Aboriginal Australians: The First Pioneers, Pitman Publishing Pty Ltd, Carlton. Broome, R., (1994), Aboriginal Australians 2nd ed, Allen and Unwin, St Leonards. Elkin, A.P., (1976), The Australian Aborigines, Angus and Robertson, Sydney. Jacob, T., (1991), In the Beginning: A Perspective on Traditional Aboriginal Societies, Ministry of Education, Western Australia. Yengoyan, A., (1987), Economy, Society and Myth in Aboriginal Australia. In WH Edwards, Ed , Traditional Aboriginal Society, Macmillan Education Pty Limited, Australia. Maddock, K., (1972), The Australian Aborigines, Allen Lane, London. Read More

Birth rite is performed on a child and its parents by the elders of the community to welcome the new member into the community. Initiation ceremonies are performed to youths who are preparing to change their roles from childhood to adulthood (Yengoyan 1987). The initiation period for girls is shorter and less intensive. They are taught on how to take of the family when they get one. Emphasis is placed on household chores and community activities. Boys, on the other hand, have a long program where they are taught hunting skills and gathering skills and generally ways of taking care of their.

They are also taught on protecting their family and the community at large (Maddock 1972). The climax of initiation for boys is circumcision after which they can marry. The marriage ceremony involves close relatives of the boy and girl. The girl is considered married when the man involved has paid the dowry decided on by the elders of both families. The ceremony of death is conducted by elders and religious leaders when they pray for the acceptance of the spirit of the dead by the ancestors. There are other ceremonies marked by seasons such as harvesting, rain, drought, and feasting.

All of these ceremonies have their own rules such as who should attend, when and how and who is to preside over them. Oral culture enables generations to be aware of these ceremonies and their relevance. Oral culture allows the transmission of religious beliefs across generations. All the tribes belonging to the aboriginal group have their own gods (Berndt and Berndt 1978). They do not have one god. Rather, the gods are classified on the basis of what they do. There is a god of fertility, a god of protection and another for nature.

Religion is introduced to members of the community while they are young. Religion is an important part of a community that every member must engage in. Community members also get to know their origin from religious stories of the dream. In the dream, people get to learn that supernatural spirits were responsible for the creation of everyone in the world and all the things in it. One gets to understand the origin of nature. Another importance of oral culture to aboriginals is education. There are various aspects of oral culture that educate the community members.

Oral literature through folktales, riddles, proverbs and sayings is used to warn, entertain, sharpen wit and educate. Social vices are condemned in folktales and proverbs. Tongue twisters and other short form are used to improve confidence and communication among children in the community. Songs are an important part of education in the aboriginal communities. There are songs for every occasion thus young members, depending on their sex, are educated on the various songs and what those songs mean.

For instance boys are educated to react to war songs by getting ready for war. Story telling is also another important means of education. Through legends, myths, tricksters and other stories, members are educated on their history as a people. They learn where they came from, why they migrated and some of the prominent members of their lineage. Stories also teach values such as hard work, humility, confidence among others. The rewarding of values encourages their acquisition in the community.

Oral culture also helps the community to develop socially and economically. This is through the teaching and application of economically beneficial activities such as farming, hunting, art, and leadership. Young members of the aboriginal community acquire skills through training by the elderly experts. It is a requirement that elderly people train young ones in their family on their skill so that they can take after them (Maddock 1972). This ensures that a skill passes down generations resulting in economic development.

Members also interact while working in their day to day chores therefore developing social skills. Children are also able to learn how to interact and live with other children through play.

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