Aboriginal Spirituality Research Paper

Aboriginal Spirituality defines individual identity to both country and clan, differing according to each tribe. Country is the ritual estate for traditions and beliefs, and is major in the sacred cycle of mutual dependence between man and land. Country is where Aboriginal Spirituality is physically expressed, and often where teachings of the Dreaming are learned from. Gagudju Elder Big Bill Neidjie describes the relationship between man and country, “feeling… all this country”. The metatemporal concept of the Dreaming guides all aspects of life. Including the traditional role of country, where Aboriginal Spirituality is all pervasive and country is mother, as shown through balance rites such as the Bora in the Darkinjung community, where young

The dispossession meant a loss of identity, directly impacting and undermining Aboriginal Spiritualties. Fr Frank Brennan describes that dispossession resulted in a loss of “relationships, rights and duties…land and their possessions”. The land is the ritual estate for Aboriginal Spirituality, offering physical, mental and spiritual sustenance. Separation from land caused a decline in ability to perform religious traditions connected with the land. This meant that essential ceremonies were eventually lost and knowledge of the Dreaming forgotten; limiting practices and beliefs connecting Aboriginal Spiritualties with the land. The separation from land continually affects Aboriginal Spiritualties, with their land use rights being denied, and Aboriginal law of caring for sacred sites being restricted. The separation of kinship groups has a continued effect on Aboriginal Spiritualties, as tribes and communities were pulled apart. There was a cultural oppression of abuse, loss of language, family and beliefs where Aboriginal communities are deprived of independence and belonging. The separation meant that ancestral links were broken, resulting in a continued inability to fulfil totemic obligations, linking them to their clan, kinship groups, and roles in the tribe. The ramifications of the Stolen Generation resulted in a continued effect of broken kinship ties, where the passing down of the Dreaming through generations was limited resulting in inability to connect with Aboriginal Spiritualties. The continuing effect of dispossession has resulted in a loss of language and culture, and despite the efforts of Mabo regarding Native Title many peoples of the Stolen Generation are unable to connect with their Aboriginal Spiritualties or kinship