Download Free The Religion Of The Aborigines Of Australia As Preserved In Their Legends And Ceremonies A Lecture Etc Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online The Religion Of The Aborigines Of Australia As Preserved In Their Legends And Ceremonies A Lecture Etc and write the review.

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.
Aboriginals believe they have lived in Australia since the Dreamtime, the beginning of all creation, and archaeological evidence shows the land has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years. Over this time, Aboriginal culture has grown a rich variety of mythologies in hundreds of different languages. Their unifying feature is a shared belief that the whole universe is alive, that we belong to the land and must care for it. This was the first book to collate and explain the many fascinating elements of Aboriginal culture: the song circles and stories, artefacts, landmarks, characters and customs.
This book argues for the diversity of religions and the human element in the development of religion.
Study of the magico-religious customs of the Australian Aborigines to discover the most elementary forms of culture, ritual & belief; Comparison drawn between cultures about rites; p.7-20; Birth rites, importance attached to placenta & umbilical cord, ceremonies connected with naming the child - Arunta, Kaitish, Unmatjera, Urabunna, Warramunga, Yaroingaa, Binbinga, Kakadu; p.21-47; Initiation, types of rituals, variations in different tribes - Port Stephens, Kamilaroi, Jibauk, Kurnai, Arunta, Ilpirra, Unmatjera; p.48-70; Marriage, betrothal - Urabunna, Dieri, Kariera, Arunta, Ilpirra, kaitish, Warramunga, Iliaura, Waagai, Bingongina, Walpari, Loricha, Kurnai; p.71-90; Death - Dieri, Kurnai, Wotjobaluk, Adelaide & Gawler areas, Encounter Bay, Gulf country, North Queensland, Arunta, Warramunga, Unmatjera, Kaitish, Tjingilli; p.91-98; The food request & totemism, increase rites - Natal Downs (Pegulloburra), Arunta, Urabunna; p.99-105; Rain-making- Arunta, Kaitish (water totem), Tjingilli, Anula, Dieri; p.106-112; Conduct of war, avenging parties - Arunta, Australia generally covered, Vic., N.S.W.; p.113-143; Sacrifice and communion, totemic aspects - Central Aust., Urabunna, Kaitish, Unmatjera, Encounter Bay, Warramunga, Walpari, Umbaia; p.144-164; Rites associated with the consecrated life, making & function of medicine men - Arunta, Unmatjera, Kaitish, Warramunga, Worgaia, Anula, Tongaranka, Wiimbaio, Wotjobaluk, Theodora, Wolgal, Ngarigo, Wiradjuri, Kurnai; p.165-186; Survey of mythological Lore, Alcheringa myth, tradition concerning lartna (Arunta), marriage system (Arunta, Urabunna), totemic groups (Unmatjera, Kaitish, Warramunga, Walpari, Tjingilli, Umbaia, Gnanji Dieri), creation (Wotjobaluk, Kurnai;, Wurunjeri), legends of a deluge (Lake Tyers), origin of death (N.S.W., W.A.), fire (Arunta, Booandik), sun (N.S.W., Vic.); p.187-213; Beginning of theism, evidence for High Gods - Kaitish, Narrinyeri, Wiimbaio, Wotjobaluk, Kulin, Kurnai, Kamilaroi, Euahlayi, Yuin, Ngarigo, Lake Macquarie groups, Arunta, Binbinga, Loritja, S.W. West Aust., Herbert River.
"This work is a serious anthropological study of Australian Aboriginal religion. It is designed to be read by adults, and is primarily for use in universities and/or similar institutions. It is not, therefore, for use in schools. Where Australian Agorigines are concerned, and in areas where traditional Aboriginal religion is still significant, this book should be used only after consultation with local male religious leaders. This restriction is important. It is imposed because the concept of what is secret, or may not be revealed to the uninitiated in Aboriginal religious belief and action, varies considerably throughout the Australian continent; And because the varying views of Aborigines in this respect must on all occasions be observed. January 30th 1973 Ronald M. Berndt" --
This classic resource is organized as follows: Chapter I: Origins The Customs and Traditions of Aboriginals The Story of the Creation The Coming of Mankind The Peewee’s Story The Eagle-hawk and the Crow The Birth of the Butterflies The Confusion of Tongues The Discovery and the Loss of the Secret of Fire The Moon The Wonderful Lizard The Lazy Goannas and what happened to them How the Selfish Goannas lost their Wives What some Aboriginal Carvings mean Chapter II: Animal Myths The Selfish Owl Why Frogs jump into the Water This is the legend of the frogs. Kinie Ger, the Native Cat The Porcupine and the Mountain Devil The Green Frog How the Tortoise got his Shell The Mischievous Crow and the Good he did Whowie The Flood and its Results How Spencer’s Gulf came into Existence Chapter III: Religion The Belief in a Great Spirit The Land of Perfection The Voice of the Great Spirit Witchcraft Chapter IV: Social Marriage Customs The Spirit of Help among the Aboriginals Ngia Ngiampe Hunting Fishing Sport Chapter V: Personal Myths Kirkin and Wyju The Love-story of the Two Sisters Cheeroonear The Keen Keeng Mr and Mrs Newal and their Dog Thardid Jimbo Palpinkalare Perindi and Harrimiah Bulpallungga Nurunderi's Wives Chirr-bookie, the Blue Crane Buthera and the Bat Yara-ma-yha-who The Origin of the Pleiades
Critique of the literature on and an examination of Australian Aboriginal ritual and belief focussing on meaning rather than function; supernatural beings, high gods, culture heroes; mythical geography; initiation rites; secret cults; medicine men; death and eschatology; First published in Hist. Relig.