Aboriginal+Spirituality+-+FAQs+Marian


 * [[image:scan0004croprot.jpg width="526" height="303" caption="This photograph, taken c.1900 in the Tilba Tilba region of the far south coast of NSW, depicts a group of Aborigines gathered at a funeral with a Christian minister. It is a good example of the way in which Christian ceremonies came to replace traditional Aboriginal cermonies."]]

Discuss the continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal spiritualities in relation to: - separation from the land - separation from kinship groups - the Stolen Generations**

Dispossession refers to the Aboriginal people being forced from their land and traditional way of life as a result of government policies such as 'Protection' and 'Assimilation'. Aboriginal spirituality is not so much a religion as it is a culture and a way of life, so this separation of Aboriginal people from their land and kinship groups has had a severely detrimental impact on their spirituality, and subsequently their culture and identity.

For Aboriginal people, their connection with the land, particularly their own country, is of fundamental importance to their spirituality. When the Aboriginal people were placed in missions and reserves, they were not simply deprived of their property, they were deprived of their deep spiritual connection with their Ancestral Beings, as they no longer had access to their country and sacred sites. The Aboriginal people lost their independence and their traditional subsistence lifestyle which formed an integral part of their culture, as it was the way in which they respected the land of their Ancestors that provided them with all their needs, including nourishment, natural medicines and shelter. The lack of access to their country also meant that the Dreaming of the Aboriginal people could not be expressed through the ceremonies and rituals they were obligated to perform. Subsequently, they were unable to fully experience their spirituality, an essential aspect of which is ceremonial rites, such as initiation rites and death and burial rites, leading to an incomplete and fragmented sense of identity.

Another vital aspect of Aboriginal spirituality is the intricate kinship groups within a partiuclar Aboriginal community. The extended family relationships within an Aboriginal kinship group are central to the way culture is passed down and how the society is organised. When the Aboriginal people were taken from their communities, these important kinship groups were disassembled. Since Aboriginal spirituality is an oral tradition, the lack of kinship groups meant that younger generations of Aboriginals did not have the knowledge of their spirituality handed down to them by their elders. They lacked understanding about the Dreaming and how to interpret the Dreamime stories, and so were left without the moral, social and ethical guidelines which form the basis for their spirituality and way of life. The lack of direct oral communication also meant that these stories were dramatically altered over time and could never be retrieved in their original state again. The cultural oppression that accompanied dispossession also resulted in Aboriginal languages and ceremonial procedures not being handed down.

The extent of the detrimental impact of dispossession on Aboriginal spirituality can be seen through Stolen Generations. Up to 100 000 people of Aboriginal and part-Aboriginal heritage were forcibly removed from their families as children and placed in either a government or church-run institution, or a White home. Their bonds within their kinship groups, ther relationship with the land and their connection with their culture were all broken. Instead, they were forced to adopt European culture and behaviours. These children were taught and expected to speak English, they were educated and taught the norms of a White society and were forced to sacrifice their own spirituality for Christianity. These children never experienced their spirituality in full because they were separated from their land and their kinship groups, both of which are essential and integral parts of Aboriginal spirituality. They grew up in a foreign culture that provided them with no sense of identity or belonging for their entire lives and refused them any opportunity to learn about their spirituality, let alone pass it down to the generations after them.