Australian Aboriginal Culture

Who are Aborigines?

Australian Aborigines

Aborigines are Indigenous Australians, the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. Indigenous Australians are recognised by scientists to have arrived between 40,000 and 70,000 years ago, but Aboriginal history says that “we have been here since time began, we have come directly out of the Dreamtime of our creative ancestors”.

The Indigenous cultures of Australia are the oldest living cultural history in the world. One of the reasons to explain why Aboriginal cultures have survived for so long is their ability to adapt and change over time. Recent statistics calculated approximately 400,000 aboriginal people, making up about 2% of Australia's total population. A majority of them live on the mainland and most of the islands, including Tasmania, Fraser Island, Palm Island, Mornington Island, Groote Eylandt, Bathrust and Melville Islands.

All Australian Aborigines shared an intimate understanding of and relationship with the land. That relationship was the basis of their spiritual life and shaped the Aboriginal culture. To Aborigines, land is fundamental to their well-beings. The word "Dreamtime" refers to the time of the creation of all things, or the beginning of the world, while "Dreaming" is often used to refer to an individual's or group's set of beliefs or spirituality. For instance, an Indigenous Australian might talk about their Kangaroo Dreaming, Snake Dreaming, or Honey Ant Dreaming, or any combination of Dreamings pertinent to their 'land'.

 

Dreamtime painting by Norbett Lynch

The 'dreamtime' stories explain how the land was created by the journeys of the spirit ancestors. Those creation stories describing the contact and features which the spiritual ancestors left on the land are integral to Aboriginal spirituality. 'Ancestor Spirits' came to Earth in human and other forms and the land, the plants and animals were given their form as we know them today.  Aboriginal spirituality entails a close relationship between humans and environment. It is the intimate knowledge of the land, its creatures and plants that sits at the core of traditional Aboriginal culture.

"We don't own the land, the land owns us."