§  SPIRITUALITY: http://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-spirituality

§  KINSHIP: http://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-family

§  THE DREAMING: http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/dreamtime2.html

Inhabitants may have used these sacred sites in certain rituals which they performed. Rock engravings, bones, drawings and carvings indicate that sites such as Koolnada Caves and Cape York Peninsula were also occupied and used by inhabitants as part of their daily lives, whilst sites such as Kow Swamp, which was initially a grave sight, may have been visited far less, with the exception of rituals or ceremonies.

Sacred sites gave meaning to the land and it’s natural landscape and their purpose was to anchor values and kin-based relationships into the land. These sites contributed to religious and spiritual beliefs as often, they were the place where many ceremonies as well as sacred traditions and customs. 

Over many generations, the sites have been cared for and protected by the traditional owners of the land. Individuals formed very close connections with the sacred land as it was a big part of their cultural heritage. Many ancient and sacred sites were destroyed as land was cleared or mined after British settlement. This distressed the individuals and groups responsible for the sites.

Society’s structure was based on the kinship rules, which varied from the different social groups, such as family groups, skin groups, and cultural groups. These rules would have greatly affected the relationships between people in both the same or different groups, as the Aborigines were not allowed to interact with certain people and were taught to behave differently when talking to particular individuals.

Therefore, kinship is not really a religious or spiritual thing, but a structured way that people behave to each other based on a set of rules.

The people it involved were the respected people called the elders. These elders or respected people made the laws and they were passed on verbally and through song, dance and painting. These laws were a spiritual connection with the land, connections between people, groups animals and plants.

Laws where passed down verbally to those who are initiated. This meant that the laws handed down to the person would change the persons life from childhood to adulthood.

How did this contribute to religions/ spiritual beliefs?

They thought that if laws were passed down to a person verbally through a ceremony that they will become an adult.  

Traditionally, Indigenous initiation ceremonies mark the change from childhood to adulthood. People are ‘put through the Law’ and learn their responsibilities. They are then seen as adults. People continue to be initiated and learn more of the Law throughout their lives. Under the guidance of Elders, they learn about the rules that govern social structure, behaviour, the life cycles of animals and plants, and skills for hunting and gathering food. 

The ancestral beings decided the rights, responsibilities, and behaviours of all things in the land. These laws typically covered what foods could be eaten and how the food should be shared, the punishments if laws were broken, the rules for family, marriage and social organisation, the rules for looking after land and the sacred sites, and the rules for ceremonies and rituals.

Where they live is determined by where their ancestors lived, they have to care for the land and the way they do this is passed down by stories. For 50,000 the Indigenous Australians lived in harmony with the lands, they made sure that they only took what they needed, they cared for the land and were careful not to damage it. They moved around the land, this allowed them to not over fish or hunt in one area, some groups deliberately did not hunt in seasons when the animals were breading. They also built certain things to help them get food. The Indigenous Australians depended on the land for food and water, the food supply depended on the seasons. The men hunted the animals, and the women and children gathered plants.

Today, many still use the traditional methods of hunting, gathering and caring for the land. Many will mix the traditional methods of acquiring food with going to the shop, they ensure that their children learn the ways to care for the land through the Dreaming knowledge. 

They also used the Australian land to draw and carve pictures to tell their culture, the land was split up into different areas for different groups. Although they never officially owned any of the land there was a general understanding of which groups lived where.