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Australia
Australia is both a continent and a country. Located in
the Southern hemisphere, it was "discovered" by
European explorers in the early 17th Century.
Indigenous Australians, now known as Aborigines, had lived
here for 42,000 to 48,000 years before the Europeans showed
their white faces. Clearly, this land was already discovered.
Australia is home to unique species not found anywhere
else. Its geographic isolation means that over 80% of mammals,
flowering plants, and in-shore fish exist only in Australia–creatures
like the kangaroo, koala, and wombat. Over 45% of bird species
exist nowhere else, including the kookaburra and the emu.
Dingos, that popular symbol of Australia, arrived around
3000 years ago through Aboriginal trade with Austronesian
peoples.
The first Australians arrived from
southeast Asia, arriving via land bridges and (short) boat trips. Aboriginal
hunter-gatherers had (and still have) a complex oral tradition, and their feats
of memory continue to amaze us. They treat the land with reverence, taking care
not to abuse the Earth.
Aboriginal religion and culture centre
around the Dreamtime. Through the Dreamtime, people will understand the origins
of the Aborigines and maintains their culture. The land and all the creatures
play a vital part in their religious traditions. Incredibly, many of their
traditional stories, passed orally for hundreds of generations, are now being
validated by scientists. Aboriginal accounts of geological changes like
volcanic activity and sea level changes are now being examined from an
Aboriginal perspective.
The Dreamtime can be a complex idea with two possible meanings.
First, the aboriginal creation time is known as the Dreaming.
"Dreaming," however, can also refer to the spiritual
beliefs of a certain person or group–who may have
Shark Dreaming, Kangaroo Dreaming, or any other Dreaming.
Many millennia ago, "Ancestor Spirits"
arrived on the Earth from the heavens. These spirits took many forms, including
human. They gave form to the plants and animals, and created relationships
between individuals or groups of all species. Many physical locations have
stories of Ancestor Spirits who created the hills and rivers in the surrounding
areas.
There are many different aboriginal tribes,
and legends vary between tribes. Most Dreamtime legends surround the Giant
Snake or Giant Dog. Each legend is a colourful and unique explanation of the
world according to the Aborigines.
Uluru rock art shows stories of the Dreamtime. There are
layers of paint, one atop the other–paintings are
renewed regularly. Some paintings are thousands of years
old. This photo courtesy Wikipedia.
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