Aboriginal spirituality; stolen generation
...nal children, depriving them of their families and their culture. Kerrianne Cox demonstrates how tens of thousands of ‘stolen children’ were deprived of their sense of self, their identity, and their inherent spirituality in a brutal attempt of genocide by white European settlers. They were denied the right to learn to ‘live on the land’, and ‘dance and sing’, and be apart of their rich culture and vast family, learning ‘the ways of the tribe’. Kerrianne Cox’s lyrical ballad, describes within it, the inhumane injustice that the aboriginal peoples suffered for over sixty years. The song details how the forced removal of aboriginal children from their land, deprived them of hearing the stories of the dreamtime, which for them, is at the core of all spirituality. Based on actual events, this song has a simplicity that burns through the sole of cynicism. The song circulates around the assimilation policy ( 1951),and as the title suggests it is about, how many children were stolen from their families, suffered agonising and traumatic separation from their parents. Within her words Kerrianne Cox tells the story of the stolen generation, and how for years and years settlers ignored the ‘lost generation’ and many families were separated, not only from each other, but also from their way of life, beliefs and traditions. Children became wards of the state, girls and boys learned the ways of the whites, and adopted their beliefs, through indoctrination. The missionaries attempted to ‘save souls’ through converting the ‘heathen’ Aborigines. Religious services were compulsory and frequent drilling and lessons reduced their will to follow their cultural and spiritual beliefs. Children were taken from their communities, in order to minimise the influence of the Aboriginal beliefs and practices from communities. Aboriginal languages and practises were discouraged in most missions. Australians, like others, generally thought that the races of mankind could be fitted neatly into a civilisation hierarchy overlain by some idea of moral worth and of fitness to survive. North Europeans were on the highest rung of this civilisation ladder; Aborigines on the lowest rung. Kerrianne Cox writes her song, as a type of historical narrative, of the anguish of an aboriginal mother, ‘She longed to know her children were all right’, and the impact the forced removal had on her children, ‘My baby she cries, my baby remembers me. ‘By these phrases we may empathise with the very trauma that the mothers had to go through, the pain the children felt when they were striped of their aboriginality, and family. The song shows he impact of the white racial policies of protection, and assimilation, through the heart and soul of those whom hurt the most, the mothers of the stolen children. We may see by the many displaced aboriginal peoples in society today, the grave injustice that the White settlers imposed on them, many without knowledge of whom their families are, many without jobs, money, food or education. Still today the aboriginal peoples suffer from the injustice of racial indifference, and the raw end of police discretion. Kerrianne Cox encapsulates the essence of the wrong doing that was bestowed upon the aboriginal population, the heartache, the loss, the indescribable trauma of small children stolen from the clutches of their mother’s arms, only to be stripped of their heritage and denied their culture and inherent spirituality. Her song is a relevant consideration for our contemporary age of questions and rebellion to existing beliefs. She serves as a reliable trustworthy source, encapsulating in her words the event that stains our history books, and shames our nation. How useful is the material in creating an understanding of aboriginal spirituality? Kerrianne Cox describes how Aboriginal Spirituality is inextricably linked to the land, and the land as the living link between them and the Spirit Ancestors. To the aboriginals it is ‘both church and religion.’ By taking the children away from their land, the result was not just stripping them of their family, but of their land, culture, and spirituality. Aboriginal people have a spiritual world view or perspective. They see a world generated by a creative principle that is ever present and always active. This perspective recognises the total way of life of aboriginal nations and people, while affirming balance and harmony within the whole environment. The practices associated with this way of life create support, and maintain one’s sense of identity as an aboriginal person, and as a member of one’s family, community, and nation/people. These practices honour the traditions, customs, and symbols aboriginal people have inherited from their ancestors. We may come to understand by the song’ Stolen children’, the impact of the forced removal of aboriginal children had on their aboriginality and spirituality. As Kerrianne Cox says they were denied their right to ‘live on the land’, to ‘dance’ to ‘sing’, all of which is a very important part of their culture and way of living.As the stolen generation were denied their right to their beliefs and their heritage ,Important features of their Aboriginal spirituality were also lost, such as the belief in spirits to explain the world and events; in totems, which link individuals and groups with particular natural features; that everything is connected in time; that heritage and beliefs are passed on through oral tradition, and that spiritual beliefs are very closely tied to the land and natural environment. All these elements combine to create a unique spirituality and experience. Aboriginal Spirituality is the belief system of Indigenous Australians, known as ‘the Dreaming.’ It explains the creation of earth and life, and gives principals, morals, values, the Law for living. It incorporates a cultural and social framework, a way of life, and a guide to the transcendent dimension. The Dreaming refers to all that is known and understood by Aborigines, establishing relationships between kinship groups, animals, plants and the land. It links the past and the future with the present, all coming to be ‘whole’ through the Dreaming. It provides an individual and group identity and a unique understanding and interpretation of the world. It is timeless, an unending influence and circle of life. After Death, believers will return back to the land shaped by their Spirit Ancestors. Aspects of the Dreaming permeate all parts of life, from relationships to hunting and roles within the group Aborigines believe that the Dreaming refers to the past, before the Spirit Ancestors came, when Earth was a flat featureless land in darkness. Spirits then appeared, giving life, shaping land, and determining relationships. The stories of the spirits and their actions provide moral lessons to show the ramifications of not following the customs set out by the Elders and Spirit Ancestors. Aboriginal totems are symbols passed on from a Spirit Ancestor, linking individuals and groups with a plant or animal, and in turn, their land habitat. Through totems, individuals and communities connect with their Spirit Ancestors and their specific animal or plant. When they die, Aborigines will return to the land, at the totemic place from where they came. The totem gives people their identity and physical and symbolic connection to the land. The teachings and Law of the Dreaming are passed on through generations through oral and pictorial tradition. Dance, storytelling, painting, song and ceremony tell Dreaming ...