Stage 1 Module
Land, People and Spirit: A Sense of Belonging
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Land, People and Spirit: A Sense of Belonging
Module Focus
This module is the first of three ‘Land, People and Spirit’ modules which introduces children to Aboriginal spirituality and explores its connections with Catholic spirituality. In an Aboriginal way of being, everything is connected- land, people and spirit. Aboriginal people ‘learn to be’ largely within their relationship with the land through which they express themselves physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.
Catholic spirituality also sees land and people as being sacred and as revelations of God in the world. There is therefore a beautiful connection between Aboriginal and Catholic spiritualties, which may only be made with the intention of offering respect to Aboriginal beliefs and cultures. Some experiences in this module will offer students an opportunity to ‘learn to be’ in an Aboriginal way, thus moving away from the concept of an external study of Aboriginal cultures. “Learning through experiences…allows people to get a glimpse of an Aboriginal way of seeing the world” (Edwards, O. and Buxton, L Guyunguu: Teacher’s Notes 1998 Catholic Schools Office, diocese of Broken Bay, p. 8)
Sourced from www.scu.edu.au
Outcomes
GRHD S 1.1: Explores ways a relationship with God is experiencedJ S 1.2: Sequences, records and communicates stories about Jesus
PS S 1.4b: Identifies the purpose of prayer
Learn About / Learn To
GRHD S1.1:
· the gift of creation as valued in Aboriginal and Christian spiritualties
· God’s presence in creative activity
· God’s presence in others
· the relationship between God, humankind and the environment ( land, people, spirit)
· senses as an expression of God’s love for people
J S1.2
· connections between Jesus’ journeys and the journeys of Aboriginal peoples
PS S1.4b
· different ways to pray / GRHD S1.1:
· locate and identify examples of God’s gift of creation
· describe the relationship between humankind and the environment
· identify how their senses enable them to experience and enjoy life
· describe events that indicate God’s presence in others
J S1.2
· recount stories of Jesus’ ministry and connect to Aboriginal life
· reflect on and express key messages from Jesus’ ministry which may be connected to Aboriginal messages about life and spirit
PS S1.4b
· direct prayers to the Father through the Aboriginal Our Father
· participate fully, actively and consciously at an age appropriate level
DISCIPLESHIP CHALLENGE
· Students are challenged to recognise God’s presence in the world
· Students are challenged to recognise the implications of Jesus’ words and actions
· Students are challenged to pray in a variety of ways
Catholic Discipleship
Learning about the sacredness of people and the creation of sacred spaces and places cannot begin too early. In a world where consumerism drives us from one novelty to another, and encourages us to dispose of things so that we can replace them, it is a challenge to introduce children to the thread of sacredness that runs through all of creation. Adults, themselves, can be profoundly challenged by their own children when the children have touched the inner chord and sound it with the truth and simplicity. As children explore the connections between their own faith and the spirituality of Aboriginal peoples, they will be invited to show respect to both land and people through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer Focus
Aboriginal spirituality calls people to experience wonder in their lives as they connect deeply with the land and with each other. Wonder in life happens as people stop, listen and wait in a way that restores balance. Aboriginal spirituality does not involve prayer in a formal way as is known in the Christian tradition, but is about a spiritual way of living.
Today however, there is a connection between Aboriginal and Christian spiritualties which unites land, people and spirit. Aboriginal Christians connect their Aboriginal spirituality with Christian beliefs. The Aboriginal Our Father has been written to make the Lord’s Prayer more accessible to an Aboriginal way of thinking. It is not written in any particular Aboriginal language, but in Aboriginal English. It must be remembered and respected that not all Aboriginal people like Aboriginal English as they prefer to honour the language of their own country. Aboriginal English however, as used in the Lord’s Prayer is a way of showing unity amongst diverse Aboriginal countries.
Core Scripture
Ex 3:1-5 Moses and the burning bush: You are on holy ground.
Mt 4:23, 25: Jesus teaches, preaches and heals.
Scripture in Context
Ex 3:1-5 Moses and the burning bush: You are on holy ground.
In the story of the burning bush, Moses is told that the ground on which he stands is holy. This is because of God’s presence. The Creator remains present and active in the loving gift of creation and thus the land is holy. Our God is a God of covenant to whose gracious love we are called to respond as stewards of creation within an interconnected community. The biblical call to a covenant of love is central to the Book of Exodus.
Christians believe that the ground that we walk upon today is holy because it is always the sacramental presence of God. This is similar to the belief of Aboriginal people that the spirit is present in the land. This spirituality of place is all encompassing, all inclusive and all embracing.
Mt 4:23, 25: Jesus teaches, preaches and heals
“It is likely that Jesus set out as a disciple of John the Baptist but soon parted company with John and began a life of a wandering preacher with a message that was different from the call to repentance that John so emphasised. Jesus met people in their own environment and took every opportunity to speak to them wherever there was a gathering. He spoke to ordinary people” (Woods, L The Christian Story ACU Press, p. 149)
In his journey as a wandering preacher, Jesus also healed people. He didn’t work magic, he shared the hopes and dreams of the sick and downcast that they would again be loved and accepted in society. Jesus reached out to many people who were on the margins of society and they came to find him who were “not only physically and mentally hurt, they were often excluded from society and forced to beg for a living”. (Hari, A. and Singer, C. Experience Jesus Today, Editions Du Signe, Cedex France, 1995, p. 11)
Catechism of the Catholic Church for teacher reference
nn. 293-294,319 Why was the world created? Compendium # 53
nn. 302-306, 321 What is divine providence? Compendium # 55
nn. 342, 354 What kind of bond exists between created things? Compendium # 53
nn. 1699, 1713 What is the root of human dignity? Compendium # 53
nn. 2574-77, 2592 How did Moses pray? Compendium # 537
Background for Teachers
Land, People, Spirit
This module, “LAND, PEOPLE AND SPIRIT – A Sense of Belonging” is closely tied with Broken Bay’s approach to learning from an Aboriginal point of view, Guyunggu. Learning in an Aboriginal way is based on peoples’ relationship with the land through the spirit. “People learn and express this connection in all aspects of themselves- physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually” (Guyunggu, 1998, introduction).Therefore the three strands of the module~ land, people and spirit, are intimately connected and cannot be considered in isolation. This opportunity to experience Aboriginal spirituality allows children to embrace the sacred, thereby contacting their own spirituality. In some way, every person is connected to the basic force and energy of life.
Aboriginal spirituality comes from the Dreaming, through land and people (as seen in the title of this module, “LAND, PEOPLE AND SPIRIT”). Oomera Edwards (Guyunggu) describes the Dreaming as “the spiritual concept of purpose, time, connectedness and spirit. The Dreaming encompasses spiritual knowledge, past, present and future.”
Connecting Land, People and Spirit in Aboriginal and Christian Spirituality
There are three ‘Land, People and Spirit’ modules. Each module will create experiences that will allow children to explore aspects of the connection between Aboriginal and Christian spiritualties in light of land, people and spirit.
It is recognised that the three aspects of Aboriginal spirituality~ Land, People and Spirit are intimately connected and cannot be totally separated. Whilst different aspects will be explored, the connections will be maintained.
LAND
LAND IS SACRED:
In Aboriginal Beliefs
For Aboriginal people land is sacred. It may be said, to Aboriginal people, land is God. For Aboriginal people, to look at their country is to see God near and present. “Without land we are nothing…Without land we are a lost people.” (Djon Mundine O.A.M in Catholic Earthcare Australia On Holy Ground, p.9)
In Catholic Beliefs
Sacramentality is the basis of our Catholic faith i.e. all life is holy and that means that all creation is holy. Catholic Social Teaching principles teach us that we are stewards of creation. The goods of the earth are gifts from God, and they are intended by God for the benefit of everyone. How we treat the environment is a measure of our stewardship, a sign of our respect for the Creator. “To claim to love the Creator but to abuse the world in which we live is like claiming to be fans of Shakespeare whilst burning his plays” (Rose, M and Fletcher, J Why Should Christians Care for the Environment?)
Creation is a primary revelation of God and so when we care for creation we are really caring for God. St Augustine said that sacrament is a visible presence of an invisible reality and so land is sacrament because it is a concrete way that we can see the presence of God every day. Sr Elizabeth Johnson RSJ states “We need to appreciate all over again that the whole universe is a sacrament, vivified by the presence of the Creator Spirit” (Catholic Earthcare Australia On Holy Ground, p. 13).
LAND: COUNTRY
Aboriginal Country
Australia has approximately 270 Aboriginal countries, each with its own Dreaming, language, art, songs, rituals, behaviours and customs. There is both commonality and diversity within Aboriginal countries. Aboriginal culture in each country is influenced strongly by the land e.g. the art, songs, rituals, behaviours and customs differed in countries near water to those in desert lands. Aboriginal mobs often tell similar stories, but the symbolism behind the stories differs from country to country. Children growing up in their country would develop mental maps of their countries and learnt proper behaviours within those countries. Today, groups of Aboriginal people are trying to maintain this culture and especially the transfer of knowledge from old to young.
Mapping is a way of expressing connections at different points along a particular track or path. In an Aboriginal way, certain ways of behaving are an integral part of seeing and relating to different places. This means that your behaviours show your respect to the particular place.
Aboriginal people have always had special places within their country. These places are used for different reasons. Some are learning places, celebration places, healing places, ceremony places or meeting places.
“Individual clans ‘speak’ in different capacities for particular areas of land and generally have a responsibility to protect and look after sites of cultural and religious significance, known as dreaming or sacred sites…Aboriginal landowners continue to be reliant on the natural environment for both spiritual, social and natural well-being” (Northern Land Council, 2003 Caring for Country http://www.nlc.org.au
“People talk about country in the same way that they would talk about a person: they speak to country, sing to country, visit country, worry about country, feel sorry for country, and long for country. People say that country knows, hears, smells, takes notice, takes care, is sorry or happy…country is a living entity with a yesterday, today and tomorrow, with a consciousness, and a will toward life. Because of this richness, country is home, and peace; nourishment for body, mind and spirit; heart’s ease.”
(Aboriginal Art Online http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/land.php)
Country in Biblical Lands
The land of the Bible also was made up of different countries and groups of people with different cultures and languages. The story of Jacob from the Old Testament tells us that it was from Jacob’s twelve sons that the twelve tribes of Israel grew. As with Aboriginal countries these biblical countries had similarities and differences and yet there were connections between them and in various ways they influenced each other.
Ø To the south in the Nile Valley, were an important people governed by dynasties of kings or Pharaohs.
Ø To the north on the plains of Asia Minor lived the Hittites.
Ø To the east were the vast expanses of Mesopotamia in a region called the Fertile Crescent. Here powerful civilisations grew such as Sumer, Akaad and Babylonia in the south and Assyria in the north in the area now known as Iraq. Further east in the area which is now Iran lived the Medes and then the Persians.
Ø People then came from the west to invade including the Greeks and the Romans.
Ø In this area was a tiny people called the Israelites who were buffered between great powers. Biblical texts call this area Canaan, now Palestine (taken from the word Philistines). The central region is made up of the plain of Galilee and the hill country of Samaria and Judah. To the east was the Jordan valley.
(Charpentier, E, 1981 How to Read the Old Testament SCM Press, Paris, p. 16)
“The land is often a player in biblical narratives. Often, the writer of a biblical text requires some understanding on the part of the reader of the land and its particular circumstances in order to appreciate the significance of the narrative.” (Ryan, M Teaching the Bible 2001 Social Science Press, Nelson Cengage Learning, South Melbourne, p. 1)
Like Aboriginal countries there were diverse terrains in the Biblical lands. These included:
· rich agricultural areas, often on fertile plains
· barren deserts
· rivers and seas, including the Dead Sea which is 80km of salt water which does not support fish life
· mountainous areas, some of which were fertile