Why is it called a songline?
The term ‘Songline’ describes the features and directions of travel that were included in a song that had to be sung and memorised for the traveller to know the route to their destination. Certain Songlines were referred to as ‘Dreaming Pathways’ because of the tracks forged by Creator Spirits during the Dreaming.
What are indigenous Songlines?
What are songlines? Songlines trace the journeys of ancestral spirits as they created the land, animals and lore. Integral to Aboriginal spirituality, songlines are deeply tied to the Australian landscape and provide important knowledge, cultural values and wisdom to Indigenous people.
Who coined the term Songlines?
The term ‘Songlines’ was became popularised by author Bruce Chatwin in the 1980s, in his book Songlines. There was controversy over this name, as it implied that First Nations people would sing their way across the country like some kind of ancient GPS or map.
What is a Corroboree ceremony?
A Corroboree is a ceremonial meeting of Australian Aboriginals, where people interact with the Dreamtime through music, costume, and dance. It is sacred to them and people from outside the community are not permitted to partake or observe the event.
What are Songlines Colin Jones?
A short film where Colin Jones, teacher of Aboriginal history, talks about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art is a type of written language that documents cultural knowledge of the land.
What is meant by Dreamtime?
Dreamtime or Dreaming for Australian Aboriginal people represents the time when the Ancestral Spirits progressed over the land and created life and important physical geographic formations and sites. The past of the Spirit Ancestors which live on in the legends are handed down through stories, art, ceremony and songs.
What are Aboriginal storylines?
Storylines is an online archive managed and hosted by the State Library of Western Australia, with advice and guidance provided by an Aboriginal reference group with ongoing state-wide consultation.
How do Songlines connect culture and people?
Songlines have been described as a “cultural passport” which, when sung in the language of a particular region and mob, show respect to the people of that country. Neighbouring groups are connected because the song cycles criss-cross all over the continent.
Are Songlines real?
There are songlines that accurately describe landscape features (like now-disappeared islands) from the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Their provenance may stretch even further back, all the way into the last ice age. They are also alive.
What is the purpose of corroboree?
What is the purpose of Corroboree? A Corroboree is a ceremonial meeting of Australian Aboriginals, where people interact with the Dreamtime through music, costume, and dance. It is sacred to them and people from outside the community are not permitted to partake or observe the event.
Where did the word corroboree originate from?
Origin and etymology The word “corroboree” was adopted by British settlers soon after colonisation from the Dharug (“Sydney language”) Aboriginal Australian word garaabara, denoting a style of dancing. It thus entered the Australian English language as a loan word.
What did the Songman do for a living?
A songman was highly regarded. He was a special performer who composed songs to describe day-to-day events. His extensive repertoire could be enriched by songs handed down from ancestors.
Who is the author of spiritual song of the Aborigine?
Aboriginal author and Yorta Yorta woman Hyllus Maris (1934-86) expressed this connectedness with the land beautifully in her poem Spiritual Song of the Aborigine [16].
What did Eddie Kneebone say about Aboriginal spirituality?
Aboriginal spirituality is the belief that all objects are living and share the same soul or spirit that Aboriginals share.—Eddie Kneebone, Aboriginal Reconciliation campaigner and painter [5] This is a very fundamental statement about Aboriginal spirituality.
What is the slang word for Aboriginal dancing?
Shakealeg: This is a common slang word for Aboriginal dancing. In particular, shakealeg refers to the ability to the traditional movement which sees the dancers knees moving in and out while the feet continue to move forward at the same time. Gubba: Is one of many words that means white people.