aboriginality and the land
...belonging to them. Aboriginal people have been given custodianship of the land from the Spirit Ancestors. The Spirit Ancestors are the creators of the land. They formed and gave life to the land and laid down the law this is called The Dreamtime. The Dreamtime is the religious experience, the spiritual tie that binds aboriginal people to the land that owns them. The Dreamtime legend has been passed down from generation to generation through song, story and poetry, art, drama and dance. Aboriginal people believe that They were born from the land as pictured in “40,000 years (Awakening)” drawn by Terry Shewring. Although scientists believe that They Island hopped from the Indonesia Islands during the ice age. The land is Their mother, as stated by Wandjuk Marika in 1977 when he said: “I am of the earth. I am a son of the earth. I am the trees, the rivers, the rock, I am kin to the earth’s creatures. I am kin to the earth’s creations. The earth is my mother.” Aboriginal People were severely impacted upon the invasion of the British in 1788. When the British invaded Australia they thought of themselves as a superior race, they believed that Aboriginal people were inferior and therefore they would soon die out. They built missions for the Aboriginal people so they could care for the Aboriginals and teach them about God and the Christian ways so that they could go to heaven. This was called the protection policy. But as a result to these missions Aboriginal people were not allowed to perform traditional ceremonies and because of this they lost Their culture, language and identity. When Aborigi...