Australian Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality
Aboriginal Symbolism and Art
Sacred literature within Aboriginal society is identified as sacred objects,
sacred paintings and sacred sites. Songs and dances tell the stories of
the significance of the Spirit Beings’ interaction with people and their
bestowal of land upon particular language groups. Songs and dances
function as both art and narrative; they actually ‘paint’ or illustrate a
language group’s relationship to its land or Spirit Being. Aboriginal art
and ritual objects play an important role in the telling of stories and in
preserving the sacred laws handed down from the past.
Aboriginal symbolism and art tell stories that have many layers of
meaning, some of which are secret sacred. The first layer is the surface
layer, which is the most obvious—open and accessible to all. It consists
of such elements as colour, texture, movement, sound and so on. It is
the surface layer that is first noticed. Second and further layers are not
obvious and usually require some degree of experience of, or
relationship with, Aboriginal people or culture in order to understand
them. Sometimes this means visiting a particular area of land; other
times it means being in a relationship with a particular Aboriginal person
or community. The deepest layers are secret sacred and are accessible
only to initiated Aboriginal persons (elders). These are the layers that
give the full story, with all details, meanings and significance.
Aboriginal symbolism and art have many different expressions, ranging
from oral, musical and dance traditions to the visual arts. Aboriginal
people have a very strong oral tradition. From the beginning of time
they have expressed everything through words, music and dance. These
art forms not only recorded their Dreamings, rituals and ceremonies but
also reminded them of the activities and events of their Ancestral
Spirits. These traditions were maintained and handed down through
every generation, each language group having its own unique type of
expression. Oral arts included narratives and song cycles, which
performed an important function in the telling of Aboriginal mythology.
Musical arts incorporated voice, clap sticks, drums and other
instruments.
Dance was done by individuals or groups, and was performed both
within ceremonies and for social purposes. The visual arts performed a
religious function in that they, together with the other art forms, gave
visual expression to spiritual reality. Aboriginal visual artists are expert
in a vast spectrum of styles, using a great variety of media. Examples of
media include the human body (painted for ceremonies such as
initiations); rocks (engravings and petroglyphs); rock walls,
Oxford Studies of Religion
Australian Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality
caves and shelters (X-ray figures and Mimis, or spirit figures, found
throughout Australia); wood and sheets of bark (the distinctive
Arnhem Land rrark, cross hatching); poles and sticks (message sticks
with general or sacred designs); ground and sand (traditional central
desert ground art, which developed into the renowned ‘dot’
paintings); clay and hardened beeswax; feathered string; shells and
pearls; baskets.
Much traditional art was ‘temporary’, made out of ochres, charcoal
or feathers, and lasted only for the duration of particular
ceremonies such as funerals. In more recent times some artists
have used ‘permanent’ media such as wood, canvas and paper, as
well as pencils, crayons, oils, acrylics and synthetic polymers. Other
contemporary styles include photography, cinema, television and
video. Some Aboriginals have experimented with state-of-the-art
satellite and multimedia technologies.
Many volumes have been written about Aboriginal symbolism and
art—the particular types and styles, the media, the significance, the
aesthetic or financial value. Yet virtually all of this primarily Western
interpretation of Aboriginal art misses the most basic element: the
religious functions.
Aboriginal symbolism and art are inextricably linked to Aboriginal
religion and spirituality. Paintings and symbols give expression to
religious traditions, customs and practices. They communicate the
Dreaming, the time of the Ancestral Spirits, the Law and all the
values, traditions, customs, ceremonies and obligations of Aboriginal
people. They tell the stories that have been handed down from the
past, and in so doing convey them to future generations.
Aboriginal symbolism and art enable the passage of knowledge both
within Aboriginal society and, in limited ways, to the outside world.
Paintings and symbols express something of the Aboriginal
worldview. More recently they have also expressed something of
the capacity of Aboriginal artists to blend motifs derived from
traditional religion with imported Western Christian concepts.
Oxford Studies of Religion
Australian Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality
Aboriginal symbolism and art express intimate religious and social relationships with the
Ancestral Beings and with creation. They assist in the maintenance of custodial obligations
pertaining to particular areas of land, and they express totemic relationships and personal
relationships, such as those between elders and initiates or between men and women.
Aboriginal symbolism and art are unique forms of communication. They can be religious,
political, geographic, social and even humorous in nature. They can relate something of the
time of the Ancestors; make very specific and explicit claims to areas of land; describe the
features of a river or mountain range or the flight of a bird; recall times of peace or acts of
slaughter and dispossession perpetrated by Westerners. At times they can even be used to
call people together—thus the bullroarer, a flat piece of wood or stone that is swung
around on a long piece of thin hide or card, is used on some occasions to call people for
ceremonies or to imitate the voice of an Ancestral Being.
Aboriginal painting of fish and animals to be hunted gives visual expression to a spiritual reality.
Activities
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What is meant by ‘oral tradition’?
Why is art so important to an oral tradition?
What is the link between art and Aboriginal spirituality? Give examples.
Prepare a visual presentation of different types of Aboriginal art and describe
what the artwork symbolises.
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