LEARNING TO ADAPT TO A FOREIGN LIFESTYLE INVOLVES MANY NEW EXPERIENCES – FROM STRANGE FOODS, DRINKS & DELICACIES, TO LEARNING YOUR BEARINGS, ADAPTING TO THE CLIMATE, AND ENGAGING WITH THE LOCALS.
A LOT OF THESE THINGS YOU CAN BRING BACK HOME IN THE FORM OF SOUVENIRS OR NEW SKILLS, BUT WHEN YOU TELL YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY OF YOUR ADVENTURES, THE STORIES YOU SHARE TEND TO BE THE MOST INTERESTING THING TO DISCUSS – WHETHER THEY BE TALES OF YOUR EXPERIENCES, WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED OF HISTORICAL EVENTS, CULTURAL FESTIVITIES, OR FOLKLORE.
OF ALL THE BENEFITS TRAVELLING OFFERS, THE EXPERIENCE OF IMMERSING YOURSELF IN DIVERSE CULTURES CAN ELICIT INTRIGUE LIKE NO OTHER.
WHAT’S MORE, THE ACT OF SHARING STORIES DURING YOUR TRAVELS, AMONG A GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, IS ONE OF FASCINATION; BUILDING A UNIQUE AFFINITY THAT CAN RARELY BE EXPERIENCED WITH TOTAL STRANGERS.
ABORIGINAL FOLKLORE
AUSTRALIA IS A POPULAR DESTINATION OF CHOICE FOR TRAVEL-LOVERS & EXPLORERS, AND WITH GOOD REASON – THE WEATHER, THE LANDSCAPES, THE CRITTERS – BUT AS A RELATIVELY NEWLY-DISCOVERED COUNTRY, MUCH OF ITS HISTORY IS LARGELY UNKNOWN TO MOST…
THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA REPRESENT JUST A SMALL PORTION OF THE OVERALL POPULATION, YET THEIR CULTURE OFFERS SOME OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST INTERESTING POINTS OF DISCUSSION.
OF ALL THE FASCINATING FACTS YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, THEIR BELIEFS MAKE FOR SOME OF THE MOST INTRIGUING STORIES WHICH ECHO THROUGHOUT CAMPFIRES ACROSS THE ENTIRE NATION.
THE DREAMTIME
DREAMTIME REFERS TO A CONCEPT ROOTED IN ANCIENT ABORIGINAL CULTURE, KNOWN AS JUKURRPA.
MOST CULTURES HAVE A STORY OF CREATION TO EXPLAIN THE INCEPTION OF MATERIAL EXISTENCE, WHETHER IT BE RELIGIOUS, METAPHORICAL OR SCIENTIFIC. DREAMTIME HOWEVER, IS UNIQUE IN HOW IT REFERS TO A SEPARATE PERIOD OF LIFE.
THE BELIEF STATES THAT BEFORE CREATION OCCURRED, OUR WORLD CONSISTED OF SPIRITS, KNOWN AS THE ‘ANCESTORS’. THEY AREN’T DEITIES AS SUCH, NOR ARE THEY WORSHIPPED IN THE WAY GODS TYPICALLY ARE, BUT THEY ARE STILL REVERED FOR THEIR POWERS TO THIS DAY THROUGH SONG, DANCE & CEREMONIES USING COSTUMES AND CUSTOMARY ABORIGINE INSTRUMENTS, SUCH AS CLAP STICKS OR THE DIDGERIDOO.
WHILE THE ANCESTORS ARE SERENADED FOR THEIR PART IN THE WORLD’S CREATION, DREAMTIME IS ALSO BELIEVED TO BE A CONTINUUM OF PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
THE VARIETY OF STORIES, BELIEFS AND RITUALS DIFFER AMONG OVER 500 SEPARATE CLAN GROUPS ACROSS THE NATION; ALL OF WHICH SHARE THE COMMON PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE SPIRITUALLY INTERTWINING WITH THE LAND, AND IT IS OUR DUTY TO PROTECT AND RESPECT IT.
THE ART OF STORYTELLING
STORYTELLING IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ABORIGINAL CULTURE. DREAMTIME STORIES DIFFER THROUGHOUT THE SEPARATE CLANS, BUT SOME OF THEM ARE COMMONLY SHARED NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING: THE RAINBOW SERPENT, EMU AND THE JABIRU, AND TIDDALICK THE FROG.
THROUGH STORYTELLING, THE ESSENCE OF THE ANCESTRAL SPIRITS LIVES ON, AND ALLOWS THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE THEY CREATED TO INTERACT WITH THE DREAMTIME.
THIS IS MORE THAN JUST AN ABORIGINAL BELIEF, ALL CREEDS & CULTURES HAVE THEIR OWN FOLKLORE & TRADITIONS. WITH STORIES, PEOPLE OF ALL CULTURES CAN LEARN TO UNDERSTAND AND CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER, AS WELL AS THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL?
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT!
SHARE WITH US THE BEST STORIES FROM YOUR TRAVELS, EXPEDITIONS & EXPLORATIONS AND WE’LL UPLOAD OUR FAVOURITES.
ACCEPTABLE SUBMISSIONS:
- TELL US ABOUT AN ADVENTURE FROM YOUR TRAVELS
- STORIES YOU’VE LEARNED FROM FOREIGN CULTURES
- COVERAGE OF YOUR CURRENT OR MOST RECENT EXPLORATION
TELL US IN AS MUCH DETAIL AS YOU LIKE, IN THE FORM OF A BLOG, A VIDEO, WITH PICTURES OR A PODCAST.
ALL WE ASK IS THAT IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR US TO POST ON OUR WEBSITE OR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, AND CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING THINGS:
- WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
- HOW HAS THE EXPERIENCE INFLUENCED YOU?
- THE MORE YOU CAN DESCRIBE THE SETTING AND YOUR FEELINGS, THE BETTER!
WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU COME UP WITH! SEND THEM OVER THROUGH OUR CONTACT FORM OR GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM PAGES.
