Definitions:
Aborigines - A group of people who live in Australia who are natives
Dream time - The creation of all things by sacred ancestors who's spirits continue into the present.
Creation beings - The aboriginal "gods" who created people and landscapes etc.
Ancestral beings - Direct ancestors of the people living today. They may not always appear in human form but sometimes in the form of a plant.
Anangu - One of the several local tribes that lives around Uluru
Dream time - The creation of all things by sacred ancestors who's spirits continue into the present.
Creation beings - The aboriginal "gods" who created people and landscapes etc.
Ancestral beings - Direct ancestors of the people living today. They may not always appear in human form but sometimes in the form of a plant.
Anangu - One of the several local tribes that lives around Uluru
Background:
Uluru is a significant Aboriginal cultural site where dreamtime beings in the form of living things (plants, humans and animals) that travelled across the land creating the world. The travels of dreamtime beings have been told through stories, sacred sites (rock paintings in caves) and ceremonies. Because Uluru features in many dreamtime stories it is not only sacred to the Anangu tribe but to many central Australian Aborigines.
According to Aboriginal dreamtime two tribes of ancestral spirits were invited to a feast in the area, but became distracted by a beautiful sleepy lizard woman at a nearby water hole and decided to linger. Angered for being stood up the waiting hosts sang evil into a mud sculpture that came to life as a dingo. There was a terrible slaughter and a great battle which ended in deaths of the leaders of both tribes. The earth itself then rose up in the grief of the bloodshed and formed what we know of as Uluru.
This story can be found represented as drawings in Uluru itself in fissures, cliffs and caves. The main path to the summit of the rock is a traditional route taken by Aboriginal ancestors when they arrived at Uluru. Various outcrops of rock represent different ancestral spirits. Aboriginals believe that when they touch the rock they can call on the spirits for blessings and communicate with dreamtime.
Uluru still remains sacred to seven aboriginal tribes in the area. These tribes still paint in the caves and perform rituals. They pass on the meanings of the rock features to their youth in songs and ceremonies performed at the base of the rock.
Aboriginies are the traditional owners of the rock and the local tribe Anangu have lived around Uluru for 10,000 years.
According to Aboriginal dreamtime two tribes of ancestral spirits were invited to a feast in the area, but became distracted by a beautiful sleepy lizard woman at a nearby water hole and decided to linger. Angered for being stood up the waiting hosts sang evil into a mud sculpture that came to life as a dingo. There was a terrible slaughter and a great battle which ended in deaths of the leaders of both tribes. The earth itself then rose up in the grief of the bloodshed and formed what we know of as Uluru.
This story can be found represented as drawings in Uluru itself in fissures, cliffs and caves. The main path to the summit of the rock is a traditional route taken by Aboriginal ancestors when they arrived at Uluru. Various outcrops of rock represent different ancestral spirits. Aboriginals believe that when they touch the rock they can call on the spirits for blessings and communicate with dreamtime.
Uluru still remains sacred to seven aboriginal tribes in the area. These tribes still paint in the caves and perform rituals. They pass on the meanings of the rock features to their youth in songs and ceremonies performed at the base of the rock.
Aboriginies are the traditional owners of the rock and the local tribe Anangu have lived around Uluru for 10,000 years.
Overview clip: