One of the oldest surviving cultures on Earth; deeply connected to the dream world and their ancestors, under threat since British colonisation in 1770.
Indigenous Australians were some of the first humans to migrate from Africa around 75,000 years ago, confirmed by a recent DNA study in 2016.
Today their culture still exists, making them one of the oldest surviving cultures on earth, however they have been attacked and neglected, treated as primitive ever since the British invasion and colonisation in 1770, highlighted in the 2019 documentary In My Blood It Runs (Maya Newell) & 2009 drama Samson and Delilah (Warwick Thornton), the latter depicting the harmful petrol sniffing addiction that destroys poverty ridden indigenous communities.
The Indigenous Australians have created a legacy of some of humanity's earliest and most enduring art, music, and spirituality; deep rooted in the ancient belief that dreams and ancestors are a vital part of living reality.
Ngarranggarni or Tjukula Jukurrpa, meaning 'Dreamtime' in various aboriginal languages, is regarded as a dimension that transcends time and influences natural events and human life. It represents creation, symbolising the dream realm in which everything in existence was created, as well as an accessible gateway to the ancestral energy of the past and the spirit world.
Grindstones found at Cuddie Springsnear Walgett in western New South Wales had been used to grind seeds more than 30,000 years ago. The Egyptians didn’t start baking until 17,000 BC so their title as the world’s oldest bakers seems under threat from a culture that started the practice almost 15,000 years earlier. - The Guardian (2016)
They communicate with their creator ancestors such as; The Rainbow Serpents, Lightning Men, Wagilag Sisters, Tingari and Wandjina, who travelled across the unshaped world, in both human and non human form, immortalised in cave paintings dating back 50,000 years (gallery below) ~
2020 saw devastating bush fires ravaged large areas of Australia, destroying an estimated 72,000 square miles of land, over 5,900 buildings and killing at least 34 people. An estimated one billion animals have been killed and some endangered species may be driven to extinction. Indigenous Australians have bush fire prevention methods dating back thousands of years and delivered warnings about the harmful effects of climate change and environmental destruction when the land is neglected by government.
In June 2020 protests erupted in Australia against police brutality, as a result of at least 432 Aboriginal deaths in police custody since 1991, including 5 deaths in 2019/20. Statistics show that despite only accounting for 3% of the general population, indigenous australians account for 27% of the prison population, making them the most incarcerated people on earth.
"Australia Day" is celebrated as a national holiday annually on January 26th, the day the first British fleets arrived in the 18th century, appropriately renamed "Invasion Day" by those who use the date to peacefully protest the colonisation and cultural destruction of one of the worlds oldest cultures.
Now even the indigenous languages such as Miriwoong, dating back 10,000+ years are under threat. Stories past down in these languages regarding ecological changes to the land have been confirmed true by modern science, proving the immense power of their oral tradition.
Check out this powerful rare documentary 'The Gagudju' (1988):
We stand with the indigenous people of Australia and the world. The following organisations help to protect the culture of indigenous Australians.
- PSYCHIC GARDEN
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