Australia's Aboriginal People

10). In the Dreamtime, which commenced at the beginning of the world and ended long before human beings can remember, Ancestral Beings formed the land, created living things, and "founded the religious ceremonies, marriage rules, food taboos, and other laws of human society" (Sutton, 1988, p. 15). These Beings traveled, lived in particular places, had numerous adventures, broke or kept the laws, and then were transformed into animals, plants and the various human peoples. But there is no true split between the spiritual and the material in Aboriginal thought. Thus, though the Dreaming Beings and their physical incarnations--which can range from a person to a water-hole--may be distinguishable, they are also, "at a certain level, one" (Sutton, 1988, p. 16).

The entire continent of Australia is covered by a complicated network of Dreamings. Some are part of particular places and belong to those who live there. Others extend for great distances and connect those whose lands they inhabit. Dreamings--present in everything--can be "activated by ceremony and art" to provide spiritual nourishment for the generations that are descended from them (Caruana, 1993, p. 10).

The connections between each individual and the Ancestors of the Dreaming are expressed by means of the totem to which he or she belongs. Since activating the

Sutton, P. (1988). Dreamings. In P. Sutton (Ed.). Dreamings: The art of Aboriginal Australia (pp. 13-32). Ringwood, Victoria: Viking.

Cooper, C. (1994). Traditional visual culture in south-east Australia. In Andrew Sayers. Aboriginal artists of the nineteenth century (pp. 21-109). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Ryan, J. (1997). Meaning and abstraction: The essence in Aboriginal art. Art and Australia, 35(1), 74-81.

When the aborigines passed into northern Australia, over 40,000 years ago, the continent included New Guinea and the sea voyage to Indonesia was quite brief. But the seas began to rise and, 8,000 years ago, the Aborigines were left in "relative cultural isolation" to adapt to the harsh land without interference from other peoples--except for contacts with Indonesian and Melanesian sailors (Sutton & Anderson, 1988, p. 5). The great efficiency with which they accomplished their adaptation resulted in a very stable way of life. The notion that Aboriginal civilization was static was the conclusion of Europeans, who began arriving in 1788. But archaeologists, while demonstrating the range of differences among the many groups, speaking 200 separate languages, have also shown that waves of change periodically swept through the continent. There were "changes in tools and implements, in social organization, and in ceremonial practices and mythological concepts" (Sutton & Anderson, 1988, p. 5). The various groups were not isolated from each other. Only 100 years ago, under conditions unchanged for millennia, Dieri tribesmen would travel 500 kilometers each year to collect ochre, the rock basis of the most important Aborigine pigment, and others from the area would travel hundreds of kilometers in another direction to collect the narcotic leaves of the pituri plant. The fact that the two product sources were so far apart "but featured in a single direct exchange system" proves that there was a great deal of opportunity "for idea.

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