b) ANALYSE THE IMPORTANCEOF THE DREAMING AND CULTURAL OWNERSHIP WITH REFERENCE TO KINSHIP AND FAMILY:.
The Dreaming tells of the journey and the actions of Ancestral Beings who created the natural world. The Dreaming is infinite and links the past with the present to determine the future. It is the natural world, especially the land or county to which a person belongs, which provides the link between the people and The Dreaming. Some stories recorded by non-Aboriginal people over the years have lost their full translations. Some of these contained information dealing with sacred cultural practices and just goes to show how important it is for stories to be passed down to family after each generation.
Ancestral Spirits made rules and the law to govern the land, it's people, animals and plants. If life on earth was to continue, these rules would need to be followed. Ceremonies ensure that vital components of this law and The Dreaming stay intact. They provide a time where all people in a language group work together for the survival of The Dreaming. Aboriginal ceremonies are concerned with acting out The Dreaming, it's laws and stories. Men and Women had different roles in ceremonies and these roles varied from language group to language group. In many areas men were given the role as guardians of a special spiritual site where a ceremony was performed. This role meant that the site would need to be cared for accordingly so that that particular spirit would continue to live there. Women were the guardians of a special knowledge and therefore hold great religious and spiritual power within the language group.
Recorded in the countryside all around us, Aborigines can see all the evidence of the creative events of The Dreaming. Dreamtime stories which talk about the Ancestors and Creation of the land give significance to all aspects of the landscape. Aboriginal descendants of particular Ancestral Beings have a very special relationship with the features of the countryside associated with the Ancestor/family.
