Aboriginal Religions in Australia: An Anthology of Recent Writings

Description

Over the last 25 years there has been an explosion of interest in the Aboriginal religions of Australia and this anthology provides a variety of recent writings, by a wide range of scholars. Australian Aboriginal Religions are probably the oldest extant religious systems. Over some 50,000 years they have coped with change and re-invented themselves in an astonishingly creative way. The Dreaming, the mythical time when the Ancestor Spirits shaped the territories of the Aborigines and laid down a moral and ritual law for their occupants, is the fundamental religious reality. It is the basis of the Aborigines's view of their land or country, kinship relationships, ritual and art. However, the Dreaming is not a static principle since it is interpreted in different ways, as in the extraordinary movement in contemporary indigenous painting, and in attempts at an accommodation with Christianity. The contributions of anthropologists, cultural historians, philosophers of religion and others are included in this anthology which not only guides readers through the literature but also ensures this still largely inaccessible material is available to a wider range of readers and non-specialist students and academics. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Illustrations, Maps and Colour Plates List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1: Revaluations Introduction 1 Baldwin Spencer and F.J. Gillen 2 High Gods 3 Stanner on Aboriginal Religion Part 2: Religious Business Introduction 4 “Women’s Business”, What is It? 5 Big Businesswomen Part 3: Sacred Places Introduction 6 Do Places Appear? 7 Sacred Geography 8 Myth and History Part 4: Art and Religion Introduction 9 Yolngu Art and the Creativity of the Inside 10 Linda Syddick on Longing 11 The Enigma of Emily Kngwarray Part 5: Different Dreamings Introduction 12 Aboriginal Religion Today 13 Life and Land in Aboriginal Australia 14 Creation in the Kimberley Part 6: Religions and Law Introduction 15 Land Rights: The Religious Factor 16 The Hindmarsh Bridge Affair and Secret Knowledge Part 7: Religious Exchanges Introduction 17 Faith and Fear in Aboriginal Christianity 18 Islam and Australian Aborigines Index