Traditional Philosophy of the Land for Aboriginals in Australia - Essay Example

Traditional Philosophy of the Land for Aboriginals in Australia Written Presentation Aboriginals have been described in the study of history and anthropology as the indigenous people of a certain geographical location. These people are the precursors of the particular national identity as well as the ethics, culture and elements of sub culture that have come to dominate an entire race and country. In fact, the word ‘aborigines’ signifies people who have lived in a certain place ‘from the beginning’. (Stanner, 1979) These people are the ones who render religious and cultural significance to long standing rituals practiced even today. It has been believed that Australian Aboriginals have been in the area for over 120,000 years. This presentation deals with the fact that Australian Aboriginals are one of the oldest in the world with a rich heritage of culture and ethics behind them. It has been believed that these people originated 120,000 years ago and lived a lifestyle of opulence until the first fleet of European settlers touched base on Australia in the year 1788. This was followed by colonisation and reversal of roles. The aborigines became the outsiders and were subject to the laws and rules set forth by the new European ‘rulers’. (Koenig, 1998) The study of culture and evolution of the human ethics and lifestyle can be studied through an analysis of aboriginal society. The complex of values and thoughts that go into the creation of human culture is well depicted in the analysis of Australian aborigines like the Ngambaa and Thungutti people. This evolution was marred by the colonial encounter that they suffered in the 18th century. Yet, the rich legacy that they have left behind is an important part of the traditional fabric of Australian living and culture. (Rowley, 1970) In 1971, a noted Anthropologist said, "In Aboriginal Australia generally, land was traditionally inalienable. Throughout most of Aboriginal Australia there were basically two kinds of small social groups, each related to the land in different ways. One through descent, directly or otherwise, the other through occupancy and use. The first was an exogamous unit, such as a clan, associated with a site or combination of sites. This was a landowning group and its focus was on these sites and the areas immediately adjacent to them. Their ownership was not a personal or individual affair, and territorial claims were not transferable. The land was held in trust collectively in a time perspective, which extended indefinitely back into the past and forward into the future. The other type of unit was what has usually been called a horde. This was a land-occupying and utilising group concerned predominately with uniting and food collecting. (Jacobs, 1981) "These two kinds of units reflected the two basic views in social life - the religious and economic, viewed as interdependent. All Aboriginals, male and female, were simultaneously members of both kinds of unit, but adult males had two distinct roles. In one, as land-owners, they were land-renewing or land-sustaining in the sense of keeping basic machinery going. In the other, with their women-folk, they were land exploiting. To appreciate the question of land tenure in Aboriginal Australia these two facts must be taken into account." (Jacobs, 1981) The above words demonstrate the fact that colonisation has been the root cause of creating a rift between traditional beliefs and the evolution of human culture in the Australian Aboriginal society. The evolution of myths and other such practices into the beginnings of a more modernised society was brought to a halt by colonisation, which quashed any scope for imbibing the traditional values into the evolution of a more modern society in Australia. (Ekerman, 1995) While the lack of traditional values renders any society incomplete, it may also be seen, as depicted in the above words, that the full stop to the this activity rendered the values and ethics of the Aborigines in Australia as irrelevant for times to come. This was basically due to the fact that Australian society as a whole enjoyed the contact with the invaders and colonial values and thus began to imbibe the same. Further, any invader begins by ousting the existing power. (Hiatt, 1996) The European settlers turned colonial rulers, did this in Australia and thus rendered the ethics and values of the Aborigines as null and irrelevant. With the ousting of the Aborigines to the distant forests, the Europeans began to exert greater pressure on the people around and thus the European way of living and values began to take over. These have become an important and all pervasive element of the fabric of life as enjoyed by the modern Australian. The values and traditions of the Aborigines have become a myth, and a matter of external factors. (Lynne, 2002) It may be seen that prior to such activities, the Australian prehistory was a matter of the passing down of a rich heritage. This prehistory has been proven with the finding of a rock artwork that has been discovered in the tropical woodlands that surround Kimberley in Western Australia. This discovery took place in the 1990s and the artwork is reminiscent of the Stonehenge in England as far as detail and technicality is concerned. It demonstrated the fact that Australian Aborigines have in fact been in existence since the past 120,000 years. This lends credibility to the fact that the values and beliefs followed by the Australian Aborigines are in fact authentic Australian fare. (AWABA) Aboriginal philosophy among the Aboriginal society in Australia had a certain religious quality to it. It was simple and different from the traditional Christian leanings owing to the fact that it had been around a lot longer than the advent of Christianity. The wisdom of the Aborigines came across in the nuances they followed in linguistic expressions and communication patterns, as well as the attitudes towards everyday living and building of a life and a culture. In this case, the above discovery shows that even tools and technology had a great role to play as far as the shaping of the Australian Aborigine’s mindset was concerned. Dreamtime beliefs formed a major part and influence of the way these people lived their lives. (Bell, 1983) Even during colonisation, the authentic Australian Aborigines remained unchanged in their values due to these dreamtime beliefs. They escaped into faraway jungles in a bid to save their culture and ethics, and to retain their values. Further, in the modern context, activities like mineral exploitation and industrial expansion in Australia took away the homes of these people following a mass outcry, which has led to several legislations in their favour. The National Aboriginal Conference also put forth various recommendations for the shaping of these legislations. The government reached the agreement called Makaratta with the National Aboriginal Conference so as to help promote the rights and values of the Aborigines in Australia as these people were recognised as the forerunners of the showcasing of traditional Australian culture and values. (Jacobs, 1981) Traditional Philosophy of the Land for Aboriginals in Australia Oral Presentation The following is an oral presentation that is based on the study of the Aborigines of Australia as discussed in the written presentation. The paper follows the following structure: Definition of Aborigines in general. The very essence of aborigines in the definition of existing world cultures has been touched upon. Definition of Australian Aborigines in particular. The Australian Aborigines have been defined in terms of their philosophy and ethics as well as dreamtime values. Pre historical implications of Australian Aborigines. The discovery of the rock artwork at Kimberley has been discussed in the essay so as to demonstrate the prehistoric roots of the Australian Aborigines. Colonisation and the effects of the same. The invasion by the first European settlers in the year 1778, has been discussed as a strong context for the explanation as to why the Aborigines have been treated as outsiders in Australia. Modern industrial activities and effects on Aborigines in Australia. The various modern day activities like mineral exploitation as well as industrial expansion that have been strongly contested by the Australian Aborigines have been discussed. Discussion of restoration of rights. The role of the Government as well as the National Conference for Australian Aborigines has been discussed so as to throw light on the evolution of various legislations that support the Aborigines and their rights. (Aboriginal) traditions embody a unique and profound view of reality that may even now be developed by Aboriginal scholars to enrich the mainstream of human thought. The skills are precisely what the nation needs to appreciate and to conserve a unique environment in real danger. - Charles Rowley 1970 The above words throw light on the following two premises: Aborigines in Australia are the real indigenous people; the precursors of tradiotional values and beliefs. The Aborigines are now being restored their rights and values in the modern world. These are the two premises upon which the essay hinges. These two premises have been discussed under various elements that have formed the crux of Aboriginal society in Australia. These elements are discussed as follows in terms of salient points that are the defining moments in the evolution of the Australian Aborigines: Discoveries like the rock artwork at Kimberley in Western Australia that demonstrate a strong proof of the fact that the Aborigines in Australia have been in existence for over 100,000 years now. An outline of the ‘dreamtime’ values and how these have served the Aborigines in Australia during all times. Colonization and the effects of the same on the Aborigines. This has a strong nexus with the use of dreamtime values that the Aborigines made use of in order to escape any external influence on their lives and values. How the values and philosophy of these people has become a foreign feature in the modern Australian sense. The growth of industrial activity as well as mineral exploitation in Australia that has forced the Aborigines out of their natural homes. The growth of outcry against these activities and the contribution of the Government as well as the National Aboriginal Conference for the restoration of Aboriginal rights through legislations and agreements like the Makaratta. The character of the Australian Aboriginal take on life can be understood through the following words: One cannot fix the Dreaming in time: it was, and is, everywhere. We should be very wrong to try to read into it the idea of a Golden Age or a Garden of Eden, though it was an age of heroes, when the ancestors did marvellous things that men can no longer do…...clearly the Dreaming is many things in one…….among them a kind of narrative of things that once happened; a kind of charter of things that still happen; and a kind of logos or principle of order transcending everything significant for (Aboriginal) man. - W E H Stanner 1979 Aboriginal life has been described in the essay in strong context of pre historic discoveries as well as colonisation. An important part of the life of an Australian Aborigine includes the use of land. This may be studied from the following perspectives: Religious sentiments attached with the very acquisition of land: the Australian Aborigines believe that only a chosen few are fit to own and use land. The use of land is similar to any form of worship as they worship the forces of nature like wind, rain, soil and other such factors that encourage cultivation and feed them. The attachment of any ethic or philosophy to land. An example of this may be seen in the short story How Tribes and Rivers were Made. In this story, the basic structure of the dialogue takes place around the definition of the importance of land and water in the lives of the Australian Aborigines. The very use of land supports the creation of settlement and civilisation for the Australian Aborigines. The modern times have seen the passing of various resolutions that have supported the use of land by the Australian Aborigines in the face of growing industrial activity as well as mineral exploitation. This was strongly opposed by the Australian Aborigines as their homes were taken away as a consequence. Three important resolutions have been passed in the negotiations that took place between the Government and the National Conference for Aborigines in Australia that support the Aborigines and their way of living. The above picture, along with the short stories that have been studied, demonstrate the essence of aboriginal life and it relevance to Australia in general. The short stories in particular are of great interest as far as the content is concerned. It has helped the author understand the very nexus of ideas and values in the everyday living of the Australian Aborigines, thus furthering the fact that the ‘dreamtime’ values have been more than a myth – they are the reality of the Australian Aborigines and have a large bearing on the essay and the depiction of Aboriginal philosophy and religious leaning as followed by the Australian Aborigines. The concluding note of the essay is one of optimism for the cause of furthering the rights of the Australian Aborigines as well as further research in this area. References: Eckerman A (1995) Introduction to Aboriginal Societies Hiatt L R (1996) Arguments about Aborigines: Australia and the evolution of social anthropology Cambridge: University Press. Rowley C D (1970) The Destruction of Aboriginal Society. Stanner W E H (1979) White Man Got No Dreaming: Essays 1938 - 1973 Bell Diane (1983) Daughters of the Dreaming Hume Lynne (2002) Ancestral Power: The Dreaming, Consciousness and Aboriginal Australia http://www.dreamtime.net.au/main.cfm for stories of the Dreaming AWABA. Aboriginal Philosophy. URL: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/group/amrhd/awaba/culture/wisdom.html (Accessed during: February, 2008) Jacobs, Cedric. (1981) National Aboriginal Conference Documents. AIATSIS Library, PMS 4159 "Papers presented at the International NGO Conference..", URL : http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/treaty/nac/ m0015847_a.rtf (Access during: February, 2008) Keonig, Anne (1998) Land Rights for the First Australian. URL: http://www.biology.iastate.edu/intop/1Australia/Australia%20papers/Land4Aborig (Accessed during: February, 2008) Read More