Followers

Saturday 19 December 2015

The Fire of the Sun: summer, festivals and Australia - 2022 update


We’re heading to that time again, the great festive season of Christmas/Xmas and New Year.

For a number of years I have viewed these events as misplaced in Australia, as none are indigenous.  That is, none have emerged from, relate to, or express a culture and spirituality relevant to the land we call Australia or its cycle of seasonal change.  Rather, the dating of these events is set by the calendar and the content influenced by north European and American tradition.

The Dharawal people just south of Sydney traditionally marked this time of the year as;
  • the end of Parra'dowee - the season of Goray'murrai (warm and wet) "This season begins with the Great Eel Spirit calling his children to him, and the eels which are ready to mate make their way down the rivers and creeks to the ocean.  It is the time of the blooming of the Kai'arrewan (Acacia binervia) which announces the occurrence of fish in the bays";
  • and the beginning of Burran - the season of Gadalung Marool (hot and dry).  "The behaviour of the male kangaroos becomes quite aggressive in this season, and it is a sign that the eating of meat is forbidden during this time. This is a health factor; because of the heat of the day meat does not keep, and the likelihood of food poisoning is apparent..  The blooming of the Weetjellan (Acacia implexa) is an important sign that fires must not be lit unless they are well away from bushland and on sand only, and that there will be violent storms and heavy rain, so camping near creeks and rivers is not recommended."  (Bureau of Meteorology)
I have also, from time to time, been motivated to invent alternatives which attempt to address this anomaly.  One of these being The Fire of the Sun: a performed event expressed in video, of an internal, intellectual historical and spiritual exploration around the theme of summer.  More recently I’ve been rethinking what, in fact, the popularity and persistence of the festivities could be expressing about us; what their significance might be.  We are all, in any case, mistresses and masters of invention, and we love creating ‘significance’, and I believe that values and ideals are integral to this process.

City life does a good job of shielding us from seasonal cycles.  All, or almost all, varieties of foodstuffs are available all year round.  We protect ourselves from most extreme weather with air conditioners, heaters, fans and storm-proof buildings.  We block our minds from the world outside, absorbed by our mobiles, ipads and notebooks.  So why should I...we...wonder that our festivals do the same:  that they ignore the land and season in which they are set?

For many years the first celebration of the festive season was Carols by Candlelight followed by Christmas/Xmas Day and then New Year’s Eve.  More recently the Summer Solstice and Chinese New Year have been added to the Australian mix.  The following discussion around these events is, to quote, ‘in no particular order’.

Christmas Day is the date selected by the christian church to mark and celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.(*1)  Part of Jesus’ story is one of caring for and encouraging the poor and dispossessed, of working for peace, and of functioning as a co-operative community which shares resources and wealth.  Christian church rituals mark the importance of the occasion in different ways.  Some use special colours, candles, incense, song, music, gesture, poetry (psalms), prayer, movement and a focal setting of the baby Jesus or a creche.  Others reject all forms of outward show.

For non-believers the day is designated Xmas.  It is marked, not by a formal church ritual, but by informal gatherings of families and friends, usually around a meal where copious amounts of food and drink are consumed, gifts are exchanged, and a good time is had by all, family disputes aside.  In spite of the associated commercialism around this time, our celebration of Xmas seems to signify that we do believe families and friends are important and need to be nurtured;  supporting the Christian ideal that a co-operative community is a better way to live than isolated individualism.  

The gift-giving, food and drink can be interpreted as symbols of the ideal of sharing resources and wealth.  The laughter and relaxed conversation can be examples of peace-making, temporary though they may be.  Discussion around politics and religion, which tend to be divisive, are usually tabu, but not in the sacred sense.

Households also mark the day with special colours, decorations, costumes, candles, incense, and maybe also singing, music and dance.  The trappings and symbols of Xmas are also infiltrating other parts the world, as the commercial value of doing so is recognised.  Xmas is becoming global.  In contrast to many church rituals most of these family events are high energy and secular in nature, with limited reference to an ‘other’, or ‘god’.

Preceding Christmas/Xmas is Carols by Candlelight.  My reading of this event is that it has gradually blended the sacred and the secular.  Whether we and our families believe or not it is possible to feel comfortable participating in this event, be inspired by its performances, and join in the carols.  The overriding theme, ‘peace on earth and goodwill to all’, is a relevant ideal for believers and non.

The commentators in the televised commercial versions have referred to values and ideals such as peace, harmony, co-operation, community, and sharing.  The timing of the event for the evening and the candles that are held create ‘magic’, that is, something beyond the everyday (although in future this may be superseded by mobile phone lights and apps).  The event may have been taken over by large corporations and television networks promotional needs, yet the sense of magic, mystery and goodwill remains.

Then there is Hanukkah/Channuka, the Jewish festival of lights which begins on the twenty fifth day of the Jewish calendar month of Kislev.  In 2022 it falls on 18th December at dusk with the lighting of the first candle on the menorah.  Hannukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after the defeat of the Greek army - the triumph of light over darkness - and continues until 26 December.  As well as the lighting of a candle each day special foods such as potato pancakes and jam-filled donuts may be prepared for family and community gatherings.

Also preceding Christmas/Xmas is the solstice.  In Australia it is the summer solstice and our longest day: the time when the tilt of the planet allows for direct access for the sun's rays.  Many today acknowledge this event with ritual and celebration - remembering and perhaps reinventing old European tradition when the summer solstice was celebrated with fire.   This is an apt concept for Australia as here it is the time when all those who live near or in the bush have their strategies in place ready for the impending fire season. The summer solstice also marks the time after which we begin our slow withdrawal from the sun direct rays and experience its diminishing influence.

As it takes a while for the effects of this withdrawal to impact on our part of the planet our experience of summer remains heat and high energy for a number of months.  It is also the long break from school and university, and the time when everyone is outside and enjoying what our country and culture has to offer. 

Then there is New Year’s Eve; the night of fire-works.  New Year’s Eve celebrations are now global.  Advances in technology and communication mean that the major cities in most countries on our planet are able to participate in an extended celebration which follows the moment of temporal change as the earth spins on its axis.  While many cultures’ indigenous traditional new year celebrations are not yet lost, the addition of the calendar New Year is a celebration of our global community:  one during which all differences are momentarily set aside as we co-operate for the same purpose.

This simultaneity presents an opportunity for individuals and groups all over the world to move further towards the ideal of ‘global community’; beyond race, religion and difference.  In my view, that is something worth celebrating in spite of associated commercialism and corporate manipulation.  It is, after all, our individual choice how much we engage in the excesses.

More recently the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations and parade have been added to the mix.  Although culturally specific it is quite a fitting end and farewell to the summer festivities.  It too is becoming a global event, accompanying Chinese migration and business interests.

The high energy celebrations of Xmas, New Year and Chinese New Year are well placed in the season of summer, with the summer solstice, Carols by Candlelight and Christ-mas day celebrations offering space and time for reflection.  In Australian we have taken these disparate events on board and created a continuum which has ended up being a wonderful celebration of the natural season in which they are placed: summer.(*2, *3)

I am intrigued by reading about the Afro-American diaspora festival of Kwanzaa from 26 December to 1 January; devised as an alternative to the commercialism of Xmas.  Supposedly it has taken African symbols (such as crops, mat, multi-candle holder, corn/maize, gifts, unity cup and seven candles) and values and associated ideals (including collective labour, self-actualization,  self-determination, cooperative economics, ancestry, creativity, faith, commitment of parents to children) and worked them into contemporary American life.

In spite of the danger that I may have misunderstood and misinterpreted Kwanzaa, I have been inspired by the concept.  Our festivals also have the potential to be reinterpreted to signify deeper values and ideals. Those I have mentioned previously include peace, harmony, community and sharing of resources.  If it is not overly stretching we may also include,

sun/summer = symbol of our origin and source of energy;
food = symbol of our need to care for our food sources as well as the biodiversity and ecology which guarantees their and our health and survival;
gathering = symbol that we are one of many and that the success and survival of the group is as important as individual achievement;
gifts = symbol that we are willing to give and take as we share resources;
candles = symbol of the continuance of life, our ancestors, and that there may be more to life than what we can see;
children = symbol of our dreams and hopes for the future;
drink = symbol of our commitment to life.

Giving deeper meanings to our actions, our hopes and our ideals is what humans have done for centuries.  Whether we consciously continue to do this today is in some ways irrelevant. The fact is that we view celebratory events such as these as important enough to continue to engage in and extend them.  That speaks volumes.


c. Annette Maie, 2015, 2022

*1.  Some orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on 7th January and New Year on 14th January, depending which versions of the Gregorian or Julian calendars they are following.

*2.  Tu B'Shavut (Abor Day or New Year For Trees that bear fruit and nuts) is also celebrated by some members of the Jewish community on 25 January.  This fits well into this season when we are enjoying the sweet summer fruits.

*3. The only day I have not included during this period is the 26th January, the date officially designated as Australia Day.  I have not included it as I remain conflicted about a day which marks the beginning of British conquest of the land and the colonisation, slavery and murder of the original inhabitants, being promoted as a day to celebrate 'being Australian’.   Yabun, a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture on the same day, the smoking ceremonies that have recently been introduced around the harbour and the Vigil the night before, counters this somewhat.  I have written more on this, Australia Day: conflicts and alternatives

2016 Postscript.  While clearing the last of my fathers papers recently I came across an email describing one of his Xmases in the POW camps.  I have uploaded it on Wordpress - 'Rusty' Rups' Xmas in the Camps 1942-1944




Wednesday 4 November 2015

In memory of mum


We step out into the world with great trust and hope
and begin
No idea of what, where, or how

What extraordinary faith we have

Our paths may differ
some straight
some twisted
some with unexpected gifts and surprises
            some not

and then,
when our time comes
our paths blend
            the ending known

We know the what,
just not the when , how, where or why       

That too is a step of faith


Mum (11/9/1921- 19/9/2015)

Feet planted firmly on earth
Intention focussed and sure
The warrior
defender of family and home
loyal to the core
no sacrifice too great
  steadfast in love


We are One

From the depths of the earth
to the highest heavens
and the farthest reaches of the Universe
We are one

May your journey be full of light
laughter
and love.
(and a  little eccentricity....)

Goodbye mum

Annette & Mariette
© 2015


ADDENDUM.  As I was travelling home after mum's cremation and wake there was a beautiful full unbroken rainbow curving across the bay and over her home ending further south.  Others who attended the day noticed it as well.  Recently I have been reminded of that beautiful version of, and farewell, 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DKWlrA24k&feature=youtu.be.  Enjoy.


Tuesday 26 May 2015

AUSTRALIAN CULTURE AND SPIRITUALITY - 2023 update

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I initially wrote this in 2015 when I was motivated to return to the topic by another blog which referred to ‘Australian culture’.[1]  The ensuing conversation highlighted that some of ‘us Aussies’ are still unsure about what this means, or who we are, or what makes us distinctive as a nation and people, or what makes our art, or indeed our religion/beliefs, distinctive.  For these and probably other reasons we keep worrying the topic.  I wonder if other countries and cultures engage in this exercise.  What is obvious is that some of us still seem to be unsure that we have anything uniquely Australian to offer the rest of the world...apart from our mineral resources and being a good investment opportunity.

It seemed to me at the time of writing that Indigenous Australians and Torres Straight islanders are clear what culture means to them.  It is part of their traditional and emerging story, dance, song, music, costume, art, language and being.  But their life in this land spans 40,000-60,000 years, maybe more[2].  For those of us who arrived much later and have existed here a mere 230 years or less, it seems to be, in some cases, a different story.  So it was interesting to read Stan Grant’s Australia Day at the end of 2020 and realise that for Indigenous people like him it is not as straight forward as it appears.

Stan Grant is of Wiradjuri, Kamilaro and Irish descent.  In Australia Day he explores Australian culture, history and who we are as a nation.  He also discusses what it is to be ‘an Australian’ and how he fits uneasily into this delineation – “I have been on this journey my entire life, always looking out, always wondering, who am I?” (p. 30) 

So is this an uniquely Australian question because of our particular history?

I wonder if Australians from countries like Senegal, Ghana, China, Thailand, Iran, Lebanon, Maori New Zealand, or India think about it either.  Their own tradition goes beyond and further back than any recent religious change or Western influence.  From an outside view, much of the original cultures still seems strong and clear even if they are now naturalised Australians.  On the other hand is this just an illusion and are they also undergoing cultural change and have questions about who they are now?

Perhaps a distinctive culture initially arises when a group of people is able to develop an identity for themselves without outside influences or conquest over generations.  Even though early Europe, Asia and the Middle East have long been hotbeds of conquest and reconquest, with Africa, North and South America, and Australia more recent, perhaps the cultures that were indigenous at the time had a strong enough cultural sense and confidence to absorb parts of conquering alien cultures without losing their own identity; in a sense living together but separately on shared land.  

A number of these countries and peoples have more recently gained independence from their colonisers/conquerors or have agreed on treaties and to some extent have been able to maintain or reclaim their particular identity and cultural practices.  Australia, on the other hand, has taken neither of these steps.  It has remained colonised with no formal Treaty or agreement with First Peoples and the Constitution and law still maintain the shadow of Britain.  The ongoing repercussions of continuing white rule for the Indigenous Peoples in Australia is addressed by Aileen Moreton-Robinson in Our story is in the land”: Why the Indigenous sense of belonging unsettles white Australia.

Over the last couple of centuries in Europe there have been numerous attempts to revisit and revive ancient beliefs and traditions, festivals, ceremonies, and rituals.  I also have travelled a similar path:  exploring my long forgotten cultural-religious heritage.  My path of revisiting ended up in Australia and an attempt to integrate the envisaged old with the experienced new.[3]  Yet I wonder how deep any such revival goes, and what it may mean longterm?

With this in mind it was interesting to watch the finals of Eurovision 2015.  The only entrants that seemed to retain a distinctive link to the country they were representing came from France and Israel.  In both cases the tradition was expressed through the music, the language and lyrics (in the case of France) and the dance (in the case of Israel).  There was a culturally specific sensibility in the songs and the way in which they were presented.

On the other hand there was little to distinguish most of the other songs.  Those sung in the native language helped to specify which country was being represented. Those sung in English could have come from anywhere.  Moreover it was difficult to pinpoint the performers’ countries of origin from their appearance.  The many cultures that now make up Europe have mixed the genetic pool in every European country, as with Australia.

Australia’s presence and performance at Eurovision was exciting and wonderfully performed, but it also was not distinctively different, as far as culturally specific music, to any other.  Guy Sebastian, however, was.  He had a sense of freedom and unpretentiousness that other performers did not have.  Has that something to do with being Australian, or is that just him?  Stan Grant makes a similar observation in Australia Day,


“It was overseas that I realised just how Australian I was; all of those clichés are true: we don’t stand on ceremony, we are quick to laugh and we laugh loudly, we work hard and we treat people as we find them.” (p.12)

Some of us know that we are no longer British, or Irish, or Dutch, or..., and I include myself in this group.  We know Australia has changed us and we no longer have deep links to our or our families’ countries of origin.  We know we feel differently when we visit ‘old country’; that we are no longer like them or necessarily think like them.  We know how we feel when we return here: the sense of space and openness, the colours of the water and sky, and the strength of the sun. 

Early Australian writers and artists of colonial heritage did focus on the Australian environment and lived experience.[4]  What they presented as Australian culture may have been of its time, but it seemed more certain, more secure. Of course their view of Australia, of the country and of their relationship to the land, was tempered by their perspective and experience as ‘rightful settlers’. Only a few acknowledged Indigenous Australian presence and culture.

On one level we have changed since then. We have become a multicultural society and we have had to adapt, although Moreton-Robinson reminds us that with over five hundred original language groups Australia was always multicultural.  In the growing awareness of the Eurocentrism of the first waves of arrivals, the changing cultural mix of more recent arrivals, our resulting political correctness and our modernisation since then, have we also lost the sense of who we are as a nation?  The one thing that has continued through this, however, is our disconnect with the First Peoples of Australia.[5]

Back in 2015 my mother kept asking when I telephoned, ‘what did we do before TV?’  Well, I guess we told stories, wrote letters, visited family, played or walked outside, sat on the verandah and socialised, and generally had a bit more time to reflect.  Life experience was localised.  We are not those kinds of people now.

In modern times, as well as being introduced to a wide range of cultures, the recent rise of cyber-technology, the current global conquistador, does not allow much time for self-reflection. It’s almost all we can do to clear the email inbox let alone catch up with Social Network news and it is globally focused.  Have people like me missed the boat as far as trying to define what is unique about being Australian, including its artistic expression and religion/belief?

The technology developed by ‘the West’ has driven, and continues to drive and change, global culture.  Accompanying the technology are changes in lifestyle, changes in artistic expression, and in many cases, changes in beliefs.  In other words the technology shapes our vision of ourselves and the world, and that vision is leading towards homogeneity.  But I also believe that the land, environment, native animals, and seascape changes the people who live with them and creates a special feeling of ‘being home’. Perhaps when we take the time to visit and spend time with the land we begin to know who we are...or is this also romanticism?

In Australia many of us seem to experience a conflicted relationship with the Australian bush and beyond.  We are not fully comfortable: happy to visit and enjoy for short periods of time and then happier still to return quickly to our suburban homes.  Is it because we arrived here as invaders and immigrants from constructed towns, gardens and farms and were not happy until we had recreated that mirror image here?[6]

In Australia Day Stan Grant explores the concept of the Australian landscape requesting more from us than we are willing to give, calling it ‘The Vanishing Place’.  What this tells me is that all we arrivals who feel this way have not yet really come to terms with this place, its stillness, its silence, its wildlife and the First Peoples who continue to be connected to their stories and law.[7]

I have on many occasions attempted to answer these questions and solve the contradictions, and this is another.  However I always seem to end at the same place: in the city and needing to come to terms with the city environment and lifestyle.  The great wonderful landscape of Australia has had to be left behind as I no longer live in the desert or country, or on the mountain.  I need a city-based culture and belief system and expression, as that is where I live.  And though my city shares the architecture and market driven work ethic as all other developed countries around the world, I would like to think my Australianness, which has been forming since the time of the First Fleet, makes me, and perhaps other Australians like me, feel different to city dwellers in other parts of the world.

But what is it?  I don’t know.  But I suspect it may have something to do with reflection:  taking the time to look at ourselves as individuals who live, and as a nation which lives, in this land and to consider the implications.  It may be that we need to take time to listen to and learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to understand the deep wounds inflicted by 230+ years of colonisation and governmental refusal to allow self-determination.  Maybe it needs for us to become an independent nation no longer tied to Britain, or until the First Peoples of Australia are acknowledged as such in the constitution and/or there is a Treaty and/or achieve self-determination which should be theirs by right.  Maybe it is all of this.[8]   It’s like growing up.  You need to bounce ‘who you are’ against other adults and peers until at some stage you can stand on your own two feet.  I also have a fantasy of a First People’s couple as our ‘governors’ general’ or ‘royal couple’[9].  In my view that would put everything into perspective

I love the idea that in the distant past Australia was part of Gondwana, a large mass of land south of the equator which encompassed what was later to become Africa, India and South America, and that geologically and probably environmentally as well, we have ties to those countries.  I also love the theory that all human existence emerged out of east Africa.[10]  Yet, at some stage, Gondwana split into four independent land masses, each developing its own culture of flora and fauna.  Then at another stage some of the original humans chose to leave their place of birth, find a land of their own, and begin the process of developing their own brand of culture in response to the new environment.

We are now living in a world being joined together again in cyberspace.  It is the space of the mind and computer.  It is not the space which has fed and supported us for the past tens of thousands of years.  The value is that it promises to offer a space where all persons have equal value.  Yet it is used to promote the worst of human behaviour by specific groups.  It seems to work against and at the same time support nationalistic tendencies.  Perhaps the problem and answer has nothing to do with technology, but with us as individuals.

So we are back to personal story, our perception of who we are, or wish to present, as uniquely Australian.  It may have something to do with the First Peoples of Australia as front and centre. It may have something to do with being an independent nation.  It may have something to do with focussing on and preserving the uniqueness of our flora and fauna.  It may be that we need more time.  It may be that our cultural uniqueness can only come from continuing to write stories, create and perform music and dance, create artwork and devise rituals which are inspired by this unique environment and the history of its people.  Maybe we only become unique when we allow the land we live in and on, and the traditional and continuing culture of Australia’s First Peoples, to change us.[11]

 


When I was living in the mountains I found a wonderful rock at the end of a street near my home.  It looked as if the molten earth had pressed up in waves and set over time.  To me it was a sacred site which drew me to meditate on the origin of life.  It was Stan Grant’s ‘vanishing place’.  In my view it should have been cordoned off and targeted as a place of pilgrimage.  But it wasn’t.  Already a new house was being built on land nearby.  Have we missed the boat...run out of time?  I hope not.[12]

 



[1] Grant Hall, China’s strategy for exporting culture: an approach worth emulating in www.wherewordsfailblog.com.  The question of 'Australian Culture' is one I have gnawed at since the 1980's,  I have also updated and revised this article many times since it was first written, as new information and thoughts have emerged.

[2] Since the initial writing more information has come to light which extends this dating: Bruce R. Fenton, Archaeology-Places-Humans-In-Australia-120000-Years-Ago’ in Archaeology, 11th March 2019

[3] This search formed the base for my thesis Centre of the Storm: in search of an Australian feminist spirituality through performance-ritualA summary of the performance-ritual elements can be found at, Centre of the Storm: In Search of

[4] There are many.  We read them and learnt their poetry at school.  One that springs first to mind is Dorothea Mackellars My Country, C. 1904.

[5] 2020 ended up being an interesting first half of the year, beginning with the firestorms which decimated our forests and wildlife, followed quickly by the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then the global repercussions of the murder of George Floyd in America.  The recurring themes which emerged from the Indigenous Australian community into the mainstream were - Indigenous Australians have a history of engaging in landclearing/caring practices yet their advice is not usually sought; racism is rife in Australia too and there have been 437 Aboriginal deaths in custody with no convictions, yet it takes an American incident for the rest of Australia to sit up and take notice;  whereas Aboriginal leaders took the initiative to protect their own communities from COVID-19, serving as an example of how Indigenous-led action succeeds, they have been historically blocked from deciding and advising for their own communities.  All in all it has become clear that Indigenous Australians, at one level, are still invisible, which says a lot about the-rest-of-Australian culture, including the culture of our governments.  It is becoming increasingly clear, at least to me, that until we address and redress this we may never 'find our place' here.  We need to put our house in order. 

Nola Turner Jensen who has researched and written extensively on cultural mindsets; specifically the difference between Aboriginal heritage and Anglo-European heritage mindsets expresses the current situation succinctly in 'Why I can't breathe (culturally) as an Aboriginal person in Australia' 

[6] The text, Woman and the Land, which served as the hypothesis for my thesis asked similar questions,

[7] Bruce Pascoe’s and Vicky Shurkuroglo’s Loving Country is a beautiful illustration of this continuation of Aboriginal stories, law and caring for country.

[8] By the beginning of 2020 I had become increasingly aware of Aboriginal Australians alerting other Australians to the fact that Australia was never ceded therefore there is 'unfinished business' between 'the Crown' and them, as well as constitutional changes which need to be made before the rest of the Australian public can consider the issue of becoming a republic - The republic is an Aboriginal issue, As Tony McAvoy says, The time to push for a treaty is right now. 

[9] These positions still carry the imprint of colonial rule – they are the British Queen’s representatives in Australia.  2022 update - perhaps we should do without them all together and continue to follow what I understand is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practice of 'Welcoming to Country' by elders of that Country...and leave it at that.  Whatever it ends up being it has to be led by First Nations Voices.

[10] This 'accepted truth' is now also being challenged. Steve Strong in The First HumanRace Came From Australia NOT Africa explores this assertion through research that has, on the whole been previously ignored.

[11] In 2021 I read Loving Country by Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou.  Loving Country is a beautifully written travelogue which takes the reader on a tour around Australia from an Indigenous perspective, resting at places of significance along the way to listen to stories about the land, its First peoples, wildlife and importance.

[12] In 2019 this came my way - What if Aboriginal people help all Australians to connect to countrywritten in November 2015. What if?  What a huge difference it would have made in developing an Australian identity and a deep personal connection to the land if we had known the stories, songs, dances, language, Indigenous names of our birth or arrival places, and allowed Aboriginal Australians their right to introduce and welcome us to country. Marcia Langton's book, Welcome to Country,  and Tyson Yunkaporta’s Sandtalk: how Indigenous thinking can save the world are such offerings.  I have written a short introduction to the books mentioned in this article at Australia Day, Welcome to Country, Loving Country and sand talk.

Then in 2021 I discovered A History of Aboriginal Illawarra, Vol. 1: Before Colonisation (the country where I grew up) by Mike Donaldson, Les Bursill and Mary Jacobs.  In this publication Yuin Elder Guboo Ted Thomas says, 

"Whiteman has got to come and learn all about Dreamtime. He's got to come and say to the Aboriginal, ‘What went wrong?’ People today are starting to think about the Aboriginals. How, for 40,000 or 50,000 or a l00,000 years, they’ve looked after the land and they never had any problems at all. This tribe's been here all the time, the Yuin, all around Wallaga Lake. I’m trying to teach people how to love one another. What’s missing today is spirituality. We need that coming together. Australia is a very racist country towards Aboriginal people and l believe that its time now that we must come together and be as one. Today its money, money, money. That's their god. That's the problem." (p.6)

 

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