Aboriginal Australian Beliefs
An overview of the traditional beliefs of Aboriginal Australian cultures.
The major traditional religion of Australia is that of the Dreamtime and the Dreaming. These concepts have never been adequately translated into English; their full meaning is reserved for members of Aboriginal communities. From what is widely known, the Dreamtime and the powerful ancestral beings inhabiting it created the human world. Although they existed first, they are not specifically tied to time. The Dreaming is omnipresent and intimately connected to the land. It carries the laws that guide human behavior, ensuring each new generation acts in harmony with nature. Every indigenous group carried its own Dreaming stories, songs, deities, and rites tied to local landmarks. They shared their spiritual knowledge with neighboring cultures at large communal gatherings. Many of these stories are thousands of years old, confirmed in recent years by geologic studies. The path of Dreamtime beings as they created the landscapes of Australia are known as Dreaming tracks.
Respect for the dead and spiritual ancestors plays a major role in Aboriginal Australian worship. Spirits of the dead inhabit certain sacred sites as well as an afterlife in the sky. Spirits, hiding in sacred places such as trees, await their rebirth and can influence the affairs of the living. After a period of intense mourning, names of the dead are often not spoken. This sometimes requires the replacement of entire words in local languages. In modern times, this practice has also extended to photographs and videos of deceased people.
During the colonial era, Christian missionaries made repeated attempts to convert indigenous populations. They met with little success at first. Widespread cruelty toward the native people did little to make inroads among them, and so their intense bond with the land and the Dreaming persisted. Those who did convert often held beliefs from both religions, or syncretism, a practice that continues today. The Dreaming and its knowledge is still observed by many modern Aboriginal Australian people. It preserves the stories, lore, and ancestral connection that binds people to their land.
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References
Bourke, Colin, Eleanor Bourke, and Bill Edwards, eds. Aboriginal Australia: An Introductory Reader in Aboriginal Studies. University of Queensland Press. 1994.
Broome, Richard. Aboriginal Australians: A History Since 1788. Allen & Unwin. 2010.
“Census: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population.” Australian Bureau of Statistics, Commonwealth of Australia, 27 June 2017, www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/MediaRealesesByCatalogue/02D50FAA9987D6B7CA25814800087E03?OpenDocument.
Clarke, Francis Gordon. The History of Australia. Greenwood Press. 2002.
“The World Factbook: Australia.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 6 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html.
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