Topic 9 (Yr 2 only): Role of Elders in spiritual system in traditional/contemporary Aboriginal society
*note: please take a good look at appendix page. All evidences used to support key points are there.*
1. Men’s connection to the land: heart of traditional Indigenous spirituality
Common misconception people seems to have, is that dreaming stories and other traditions are the core of spirituality in Indigenous traditional society. Yet what really defines traditional Indigenous spirituality was their sacred connection to their land. There were more than two hundred Aboriginal countries in Australia, telling different stories and teaching different traditions, but every single one of them portrays their profound relationship to their land. This connection is universal throughout every Indigenous country and this is what made them spiritual. Nevertheless, dreaming stories and other traditions are integral part of traditional spiritual system because they give people’s spirituality deeper meaning.
2. Dreaming stories in traditional Indigenous spiritual system
Dreaming is simply, a time period, when ancestral beings roamed around featureless land and created mountains, rivers, birds, animals, etc. Stories of Dreaming time are used by every Aboriginal countries because of how effectively it connects people to the land. For example, a Gumbayungirr elder would tell a story (appendix 2.3 for complete story) about how the great Rainbow Serpent went on a journey to search for his own country in the time of Dreaming, and created mountains, creeks and rivers. This simplified version of the story uses rich and spiritual metaphors to conjure up an image of natural landscape as being sacred, and therefore how it should be cherished and nurtured eternally.
3. Other traditions in traditional Indigenous spiritual system
Aside from Dreaming stories, traditions such as paintings, dance, walkabouts and songs are used to connect people to the land.
Paintings and dance allow people to engage into the dreaming story because of interesting ways in which the story is being imitated and expressed. By doing so, people believed that they come in contact with spirits in Dreaming stories. This rainbow serpent painted by an elder for example (see appendix 3.1) establishes friendly, natural and spiritual mood, reinforcing the idea that these natural features should be maintained and protected.
Songs and mimicry (mimicking of cries of birds and animals) help people tune into natural world, thus making them more spiritual. Such rhythms often evoke an image of aboriginal landscape and remind people of their dreaming stories which further intensify their relationship with mother earth. (see attached file to listen to traditional aboriginal music).
Many landscapes in walkabouts are significant because they feature in Dreaming stories. So walking about these sites make people feel deeper connection to the land.
4. Edler’s role in traditional Indigenous spiritual system
Core of Aboriginal spirituality lies in their connection to the land and stories/traditions are used to intensify that connection. Elder’s role is to pass on his knowledge and experience, telling these stories and teaching traditions, that properly reflect his country’s unique way of tuning into the natural world. An elder was therefore a spiritual teacher, who lived long enough to develop profound relationship with the land over a great period of time. Elders also often act as spiritual guide, counseling unenlightened ones and holding certain rituals and ceremonies.
5. Brief look at spiritual system in Indigenous contemporary society
When European settlers arrived in Australia in 17th century, traditional Aboriginal spirituality began deteriorating. Long story short, they killed and drove Indigenous people out of their land. They made Aboriginals believe that white people are superior, introduced Christianity and started to white wash their skin. This process is called ‘segregation’ and this led to ‘stolen generation’. Today, 68% of Aboriginal people are Christian, 15.9% have no religion and only 1.2% practices traditional spirituality (appendix 6.5 for statistics). Christianity clearly dominates contemporary Indigenous spirituality while the rest are ceasing to exist in any spiritual realm.
6. Elder’s ministry role in Indigenous contemporary society
Today, many elders are Christian. They argue that Christianity and Aboriginal beliefs say essentially the same thing in different language. By integrating Christianity into Aboriginal belief system, they have developed what we now call ‘Indigenous contextualized theology’.
An influential Aboriginal Christian group called UAICC (United aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress) expects their elders to play certain roles (more in appendix 6.4). This include that they must lead by personal example, give encouragement, advice and wise counsel, exercise discipline, provide spiritual leadership and pastoral care. Lastly, they should practice Indigenous traditional spirituality such as telling Dreaming stories. This means that, aside from elders’ role as priests, they should also contribute in maintaining traditional spiritual beliefs.
7. Flaw in Indigenous contextualized theology and elder’s limited role in reality as a consequence
There are other elders out there, arguing that Christianity is incompatible with Indigenous traditional spirituality because of their obvious key differences. There are many examples (see religious studies, reserved notes) but the most significant one is how Aboriginal people see themselves as being connected to the land while Christians see themselves as being separate from the land. Aboriginal people’s connection is the heart of traditional Indigenous spirituality, which is contradicted by Christianity. Indigenous contextualized theology is thus nothing more than a sad excuse to convert more Aboriginal people. As a consequence, Christian elders end up acting as priests, never succeeding to bring up traditional beliefs during the mass.
8. Flux in elder’s role in spiritual system in Indigenous contemporary society
Majority of non Christian elders have moved out to reserves or rural areas where they can maintain traditional spirituality. They see no hope in urban Aboriginal communities because of abundance of Christianity and drugs, alcohol and violence destroying the rest.
But there still exists very small number of elders trying to bring traditional values to even places like Redfern. Roseina Boston, an elder from Gumbayungirr country is a fine example. Although she is a Christian, she believes that Christianity can not connect people to the land so people must get in touch with their old ways to better appreciate the world around them and become spiritual as an Aboriginal person. She is active in the field of telling dreaming stories, painting and gumleaf playing (Gumbayungirr tradition) and is traveling around Australia doing what elders from traditional society did long ago (see appendix 7.8 to see her works).
Final thought
Traditional ways of connecting to the land are virtually non-existent in contemporary urban society. Christianity can offer spirituality as a Christian, not as an Indigenous person. More elders like Roseina must step forward and bring people back to mother earth, to reclaim their lost spirituality, instead of embracing a new one. We as architects must therefore come up with a design that brings people to elders and intensify their enlightenment as elder tell them a story.
APPENDIX
1.1- ‘By keeping these connections alive, then, by going back to the land, we strengthen ourselves. We strengthen our families, our Spirituality, our Aboriginality.’ http://www.vinnies.org.au/files/NSW.Seeking%20shared%20spirit.htm
1.2- ‘Land was and is central to spiritual/religious life, as is clearly demonstrated within the concept of The Dreaming. Land, is to Aboriginal people, vibrant spiritual landscape. Ancestors traveled the land, engaging in natural environment…’
The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, written by Leinert and Neale
1.3- ‘A spiritual view of life based in the Dremaing cannot be separated from the land. In Aboriginal spirituality, the land means not only earth or rocks but also the whole environment.’
Studies of Religion, written by Patricia Howard and Jonathan Noble
1.4- ‘By the time the first Europeans settled in Australia in 1788 there were perhaps as many as a million aborigines in Austrlia and over 200 different spoken languages.’
http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/abor.html
2.1- ‘for Aboriginal people, the Dreaming is a very important concept in understanding life. The Dreaming explains how the physical features in the landscape came into existence. It explains how Aboriginal people are to spend their life now. It also shows how the earth’s life-giving powers are to be kept going in the future.’
Studies of Religion, written by Patricia Howard and Jonathan Noble
2.2- ‘During the Dreaming, ancestral spirits came to earth and created the landforms, the animals and plants. The stories tell how the ancestral spirits moved through the land creating rivers, lakes and mountains.’
Interview with Roseina Boston on 15th of March, Redfern
2.3- ‘Far off in Dreamtime, there were only people, no animals or birds, no trees or bushes, no hills or mountains. The country was flat. Goorialla, the great Rainbow Serpent, stirred and set off to look for his own tribe. He travelled …’
http://www.didjshop.com/stories/rainbow.html
3.1- Image from Aboriginal fables and legendary tales
3.2- an audio clip from an attached file
3.3- ‘Major sites are usually very significant places that have important spiritual meaning. Walkabout pilgrimages followed the ancient trails and linked up sacred sites. The traveling itself is important as it re-establishes a living relationship between the pilgrims and the Dreaming.’
Studies of Religion, written by Patricia Howard and Jonathan Noble
3.4- ‘By performing ceremonies, the Dreaming and its life-giving power lives on through human beings and animals. Aboriginal people dance to call up the spirits of the Ancestors and to keep the Dreaming alive.’
Studies of Religion, written by Patricia Howard and Jonathan Noble
3.5- ‘Oral tradition can be contrasted with the written histories and sacred stories of other religious traditions that do some passing on of traditions via written documents.’
Studies of Religion, written by Patricia Howard and Jonathan Noble
4.1- ‘Long time ago, we elders were spiritual leaders. We told stories at the time of Dreaming. We taught people how to dance, sing. By doing so, you develop deeper relationship with the land. But that was long time ago, we don’t do that no more.’
Interview with Pastor Raymond Finn on 13th of March, Redfern Block
5.1- ‘The settlers took the view that the Indigenous Australians were nomads who could be driven off land wanted for farming or grazing and who would be just as happy somewhere else. In fact the loss of traditional lands, food sources and water resources was usually fatal, particularly to communities already weakened by disease.’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aborigine
5.2-
‘The Horso Creek Massacre (1880)’
Serigraph, edition of 55
by Queenie McKenzie
5.3- ‘I can’t separate from Christianity either, it gives me peace, I need both (Agnes Palmer, 1993)’
The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, written by Leinert and Neale
6.2- ‘We speak different languages and have different costumes. But we can speak English and talk about Jesus Christ together’.
Interview with Pastor Raymond Finn on 13th March, Redfern Block
6.3- ‘The two paintings…demonstrate contextualized theology. A bush turkey is a part of the natural Australian landscape. Indigenous Australians relied on the land for their survival. In these paintings, the bush turkey represents the founder and central figure of Christianity. ‘
Studies of Religion, written by Patricia Howard and Jonathan Noble
6.4- ‘…there will be a great responsibility on Elders to be:
· full of the Holy Spirit
· men and women of prayer
· persons who lead by personal example
The role of the National Council of Elders includes:
Helping to set the tone and giving strength to the Congress;
Giving encouragement, advice and wise counsel;
Counselling applicants and candidates for the various ministries of the church;
Arranging the cycle of prayer and fasting;
Exercising discipline;
Developing the Congress vision and programs;
Fostering the development of Aboriginal theology;
Helping the Conference to develop policy;
Providing spiritual leadership and pastoral care.
Indigenous Elders have a special role in handing down whatever remains of their indigenous culture and their Aboriginal perspective of Australian history. This makes Elders, people of special significance for today's generation of youth and young adults and the wholistic approach to ministry by UAICC. Their way of passing on such information was mostly through storytelling.
Elders have a special role in the ministry of providing pastoral care -
· for the grieving or dying
· for those immersed in conflicts -
including conflicts within Congress leadership
· for youth and young adults
· for ministers and Congress leaders
Indigenous Elders need to be encouraged and enabled to become involved in a wide range of community matters, e.g.
· in courts
· in inter-family/inter-clan conflicts
· in the forefront of all community developments such as Shalom, Manguri, Narana etc.
http://nat.uca.org.au/uaicc/about/elders_role.htm
6.5-
Religious identification of Indigenous Australians in 2001
-Australian Bureaus of Statistics 2001-
7.1-
Sketch of Redfern Sunday mass on 13th of March, by Christopher (me!)
7.2-
Saturday's Australian Cartoon August 09, 2003
7.3- ‘There are grumblings around Redfern about pressure to go to church among those using Hillsong’s services, says local REDwatch activist Geoff Turnbull’
‘Black Sabbath’ the Bulletin, 10/12/2005
7.4- ‘two systems co-exist, but fundamentally incompatible (Michael Anderson 1987)’
The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, written by Leinert and Neale
7.5- ‘What I think of integrated system? I think it’s a bastard love-child between Christianity and Aborigines!’
Interview with Max on 15th of March, 2nd anniversary of Redfern Community Centre
7.6-
Percentage distribution of Aboriginal people in Australia
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001
7.7-
Photograph of me and Roseina Boston on 15th March at Redfern
7.8- an audio clip of Roseina playing gumleaf, attached file
7.9-
Painting by Roseina from Munganbana Aboriginal Art Gallery
8.0- ‘Yes I’m Christian but that can’t give us everything. We need God and our old ways. We need both.’
Interview with Roseina Boston on 15th of March, Redfern