Hello again
I'm glad you found the material to be of use. I will put this part in
the answer section and you can combine them as you wish.
While the Aboriginals of Australia did not erect enduring structures,
they did, and do, have sacred rites relating to the Earth. There are
various kinds of sacred land in Aboriginal culture - ceremonial
sites, djang (Dreaming), and djang andjamun (Sacred Dreaming).
Ceremonial sites are now used for burials, rites of passage, and other
events. At djang sites, a creator passed through, took shape, or
entered or exited the Earth, leaving the site safe to visit.
Djang andjamun sites, however, where the ancestor still lingers, are
considered spiritual hazard zones. Laws prohibit entry to the latter
group of sites. Because features of these areas are linked to the
ancestors, they are considered sacred sites rather than inherited
possessions.
These sacred sites were/are considered to be that way because of the
actions of the 'creator' ancestors rather than by actions taken by
themselves. So the "creation" of sacred space did not really enter
their thinking. The sacred space was already created for them. The
groundbreaking rites were related more to the opening and closing of
graves than the building of a structure.
The Australian Aborigines speak of something called jiva or guruwari,
a "seed power" which is deposited in the earth. In the Aboriginal
view, every single activity, event, or life process that occurs at a
particular place leaves behind a vibrational residue in the Earth.
For example, plants leave an image of themselves as seeds. The very
shape of the land - its mountains, rocks, riverbeds, and waterholes -
and its unseen vibrations echo the events that brought that place into
creation. Everything in the natural world is a symbolic footprint of
the supernatural beings whose actions created the world. As with a
seed, the potency of an earthly location is wedded to the memory of
its origin. The Aborigines called this potency the "Dreaming" of a
place, and this Dreaming constitutes the sacredness of the earth.
Once again, we find that the 'sacred space' is nothing they create
through ceremonial or rite. It is already - and always - there.
When it comes to just what rites were associated with the Earth, the
secret-sacred aspects of Aboriginal religion has put us at a grave
disadvantage in 'proving' any claim we might make.
Perhaps we could look at the Aboriginal history of the whole country
as a form of "groundbreaking/cornerstone rite" with the continent
itself being the structure. The Australian continent is criss-crossed
with the tracks of the Dreamings - - walking, crawling, chasing,
hunting, dying, laughing, weeping and giving birth. They performed the
rituals, distributed the plants, made adjustments to the landforms and
water, establishing things in their places, making the relationships
work between one place and another - leaving behind parts and essences
of themselves.
Where they traveled and where they stopped, where they lived the
events of their lives, all these places are the foundations and the
cornerstones. These tracks and sites, and the Dreamings associated
with them, make up the sacred geography of Australia.
Australia itself is the 'sacred space' and is its own cornerstone.
Cheers
Digs |
