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C H A)]P T E R 4 / B U D D H I S M : T H E B A S I C F A C T S 1
The nature
of religion
CHAPTER
1
CHAPTER SUMMARY
In this chapter we will discuss:
s This book and how to use it s Aboriginal beliefs and spiritualities
s Tips for Studies of Religion students: the Dreaming
Interview, visit and experience but The nature of the Dreaming
be prepared and respectful! Origins of the universe
s The nature of religion and beliefs Dreaming stories and art
What is religion as a worldview? Diversity of the Dreaming
The supernatural dimension The importance of the Dreaming
The characteristics of religion The Dreaming, land and identity
An example of the characteristics of
religion Judaism
The contribution of religion
a. Religious afliation is coded to the Australian Standard Classication of Religious Groups, Second
Edition.
b. Supplementary codes are not part of the classication structure. These codes are used to process
responses that cannot be coded to a category within the classication because the response contains
inadequate information.
Cat. No. 2068.0 2006 Census tables. 2006 Census of population and housing (Australia). Religious
afliation (a) (broad groups) by gender. Count of persons, based on place of usual residence.
Commonwealth of Australia 2007
?
than just understanding one religion in
isolation. Studies of Religion is not about
DID YOU KNOW?
Theology The theology. That is not to say that you should Theosophists are a
study of the completely ignore the relationship between religious group dedicated to
nature of God and who you are and how you study religion. investigating the spiritualities of the
religious doctrine This will be a very important challenge to world. Their resources are available to
usually with how you develop as a student of religions. students. Try to use as many different
an emphasis on
The aim of this book is to make your sources of information as you can so
Christianity
experience of Studies of Religion as that you gain a broader education in
Primary source interesting as possible. It also hoped the
A document or this subject.
book will give you some keys to understand
other material that
the extreme emotional and devotional
comes directly
from a person or
dimensions of human existence, often
place of interest associated with religion. The Glossary and
end-of-chapter summaries provide you
with information on each study area and
indicate their importance for the assessment.
Some obscure and fascinating facts and
information can add to the enjoyment of
Figure 1.2
The Theosophy
studying this subject. Some activities and
Societys library features will encourage you to explore
is at 484 Kent St, aspects of religion that go beyond the
Sydney. syllabus.
Figure 1.3
The internet has
opened new and
varied sources
of information.
Students need to
be careful to ensure
that information is
helpful and reliable.
added or altered by anyone, and this can although you will nd there is often an
lead to denite bias). There is much detail exception to every fact or pattern that you
on the Web that is racist, extreme or based nd. Religions are the subject of much
on opinion, speculation and rumour. Critical disputation.
comparison of website information is a
necessity. lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
In fact the best way to construct an
argument about religions (as with most
bias
other subjects) is a comparison of a variety Always consider the idea that, as sincere
of sources. This is the foundation of good as religious people may be, they do have
academic thinking. an interest in explaining their religion in
the best possible light and from their own
CONSIDER lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll particular point of view. Similarly, those
Access the Cambridge Studies of Religion opposed to religious belief will seek to show
website and compare the two sites on the worst aspects of a religion. As a student,
you must retain as much objectivity as you
the Church of Scientology. They say very
can. Even if you are a Christian, you have
different things. How can we know which
to accept that many people do not believe
is accurate? Can you nd two websites
that Jesus returned from the dead. This is Gospels The
that show a similar contrast for another an issue of faith, not demonstrable historical story of Jesus life
religious group? Perhaps in all the sources truth. The only documents that tell us Jesus and teachings,
you can make out patterns of belief and did rise from his tomb were written by especially as in the
activity in various religions. If so, you Christians and form the core of the Gospels. rst four books of
are on the right track to study religion Like a detective, you should think about the New Testament
why a person is saying what they say and The study of religion is challenging and
how it changes their attitudes to life. Do can be a mind-expanding exercise that helps
people say and believe what they do because us to understand the greatest wonders and
they have been inuenced by others? Is it the greatest challenges of the human race.
because of the group they are connected Humans also have strong motivations to
with? Or is it because of the scriptures they alter and twist events to t what they wish
have read and how they have interpreted to believe. It is your duty as a student to
them? always keep this in mind.
Media programs
Notes from class
Interviews
Books YOU
Articles
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EXERCISE 1.1 inuences it has had on their life
and their community.
1 Propose several ways students can
learn about religion. 2 Go to the Cambridge Studies of
Religion website and access the
2 Why should students be careful
Nan Tien Temple link, or another
when researching religion via the
similar website. Describe how
internet? Give some examples.
the Buddhist community seeks to
3 After researching a religious speak about their teachings.
organisation via the internet,
3 Go to a public library, or your school
identify some (if any) bias.
library, and look at the section
on religion (200 in the Dewey
ACTIVITY 1.1 catalogue system). Do you see a
wide variety of books? Are there
1 Talk to a minister of religion, a books that are of interest to you or
rabbi, a mufti, or similar person would be helpful in your Studies
from any religious tradition and of Religion course? Consult the
discuss their tradition, noting the Encyclopedia of Religion in Australia
(Cambridge University Press, 2009).
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TIMELINE
Monotheism The The supernatural: the transcendent This is something you will also nd in
worship of only one the lives of Buddhists, who use meditation
god
dimension (transcendence) and the
to transform their mind, body and
Transcendence immanent dimension (immanence) perception of the world. In the Buddhist
An existence example, self-transformation can be
above or apart
In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, God is
said to transcend (rise above) the world, that both a religious quest to reect the true
from the material
is, God is predominantly beyond the world. nature of the Buddha and also used more
world
This is an idea common to monotheism. philosophically to make oneself a better,
Immanence more peaceful and more considerate human.
The idea that Transcendence is different from immanence,
gods or spiritual which refers to the spirit pervading the
world, particularly in the immediate realm
forces pervade
of peoples lives and experiences. A deity can
The characteristics
the universe and
are present in be both immanent (in the phenomena of the of religion
every aspect of material world) and transcendent (beyond
life, as compared the world), and this division can be used These days many Aboriginal people are
with the idea of to distinguish various forms of belief. For Christians but when Christians rst
transcendence example, Pantheism suggests that the divine arrived in Australia, many of them failed
Deity A god or is in created order. to recognise Aboriginal spirituality as a
goddess Some religions, such as Japanese Shinto, religion.
Pantheism The believe that there is spirit in many parts of They thought the best way to help
idea that God is in the environment. This idea of all-pervasive Indigenous Australians was to make them
everything and the spirit is called animism, which is often Christian, to force them to forget about
natural world understood as a link between spirits and the their Dreaming stories. There were, and
Animism physical world. Remember that transcendence to an extent there remain, very different
Primitive or tribal refers to the out there aspects of spirituality, attitudes to religion in Australia. Aboriginal
religion; the belief
while immanence refers to the inner people, when they rst heard of Jesus,
that spirits inhabit thought it was the white persons Dreaming
aspects of spirituality. In general terms,
all objects and story. They didnt understand why they had
have inuence on
the monotheistic religious traditions, such
as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, focus to believe it as well. White people couldnt
people and natural
on the idea of transcendence, while Indian understand why the Aboriginal people did
events
religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, not have a supreme god.
Evangelical Ninian Smart, one of the leading
Originally, from focus more on immanence.
This transcendent dimension can also scholars of religion, has provided us with
the Gospels; from
be spoken of as something internal. As your a useful denition of religion. Religion,
the 18th century
CE it refers to study proceeds, you may listen to believers Smart suggests, comprises many or all of the
a Protestant accounts of their faiths and how they speak following seven points.
movement that of their religious experiences. You will nd
believes ones soul many Christians, for example, particularly
can be saved only
Smarts seven characteristics
those who are evangelicals or Pentecostals,
by having faith in who will talk of the inner light of Jesus or
of religion
the atoning death
of Jesus entering their hearts. How do you 1 A practical and ritual dimension:
of Jesus
know this has happened to other people?, including worship, prayers
Pentecostals we asked a Christian minister. He replied, 2 An experiential and emotional
Followers of
You know that Jesus is with them because dimension: an emotive content behind
the variant of
you see their life change completely. Here ritual and prayers
Christianity that
emphasises the
we have a link between an internal change 3 A narrative or mythic dimension:
gifts of the Holy believers say has taken place and the need to for instance, stories that pertain to a
Spirit constantly transform the self. particular tradition such as Judaisms
use of the Flood story or the Christian 7 A material dimension: buildings, works
Garden of Eden story, or a Dreaming of art and so on.
Story Smart is less interested in what people
4 A doctrinal and philosophical believe and trying to understand the religion
dimension: a system of values, beliefs and its adherents. He is more interested in
or laws how they express their beliefs. Under this
5 An ethical and legal dimension: the idea approach, Smarts denition plays down the
that rules have to be applied to uphold idea that a religion needs a supreme god.
both the values and understandings that But we cannot apply a denition like this
a religion may offer to the world to all religions. Some traditions, such as
6 A social and institutional dimension: Chinese Confucianism, have little mythic
including the actual organisations that dimension. Neither does much of it apply to
constitute the religion New Age practices.
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EXERCISE 1.3 ACTIVITY 1.3
1 Life is often spoken of as including 1 Identify a religious tradition that
both the sacred (to do with emphasises transcendence.
religion) and the secular (those Identify a religious tradition that
areas distinct from religion). emphasises immanence. Design
Describe the relationship between a two-column chart and note
the sacred and the secular. Does the similarities and differences
religion regard the sacred and the between the two.
secular as distinct areas of life?
2 Construct a table and, choosing
2 Outline some of the characteristics one particular religious tradition,
of religion. list and dene, using examples, the
characteristics of religion as they
3 Richard Fenn, a medievalist,
apply to that particular tradition.
provides the following denition of
(Note: do not choose Judaism as
religion. How relevant do you think
examples follow in the text below.)
it is?
Religion is 3 Look though a television guide
that which adjudicates the social and identify how many shows on
and spiritual tension between those religion will be available in one
who are present and those who are week. Distinguish the variety of
absent. shows and religious traditions.
(Fenn, RK, The Persistence of
Purgatory, Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press, 1995, p. 34)
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Figure 1.7
Items associated
with Judaism. Can
you identify each
of them?
called the Torah and are believed to have symbol of Jewish identity. When the
been revealed to the prophet Moses on Mt Temple was rebuilt (circa 516BCE70CE),
Sinai. The Torah is also the source of Jewish reading from the Torah and Prophets was
law. The laws show Jewish people how they maintained as part of Temple ritual. Jewish
should live and behave. worship today centres around the reading
A prophet is a person who is a messenger of the scriptures. The Hebrew Bible is
of God, that is, a person who has received read each year from cover to cover and
inspiration or relevation from God that is Jewish people mark the passage of the year
to be communicated to either the Jewish by reference to the place in the cycle of
people or to others. The Hebrew Bible readings.
is a collection of sacred scriptures, but it
serves many purposes beyond recording the
messages prophets have received from God. Ethics secular and religious law
It inspires those who read it, and literature The Book of Leviticus, which is the third
refers to it. It illustrates the nature of God, of the rst ve books of the Hebrew Bible,
and records what God said through the contains laws. These laws not only tell
prophets. When the Jewish people rst had Jewish people how to behave ethically,
a Temple (circa 1000586 BCE), all their but how to live within their fundamental
major rituals were held there, where, it was covenant relationship with God. There are Figure 1.8
believed, God resided. After the Temple was laws about what to eat, how to plant crops, A shofar is an
destroyed and the Jewish people were forced what to wear, how to bathe and so on. They
instrument
to leave their homeland, the ritual of reading made from a
provide a complete world view, describing rams horn and
the Hebrew Bible became a signicant the Jewish social reality as a political and is blown to make
ethical entity. Ethical commandments about announcements
Halacha Legal how to behave include warnings on not Rituals and ceremonies
code of Judaism being greedy or desiring what other people
based on the own. They should respect their parents and Alongside the religious book the Tanakh,
teachings of communities and so on. Leviticus suggests Jewish rituals are inextricably linked to
the Torah and
that, if each Jewish person follows these the togetherness of the Jewish community.
interpretations One important ritual (for Jewish people
laws and ethical rules, they will be happy
and applications regardless of their religious afliation) is the
by Rabbinic
and prosperous, and ultimately God will be
happy and grant good things to all Jewish weekly meal which marks the start of the
authorities over the
people. rest day called Shabbat. Both a family meal
generations
In Australia we have laws administered and a religious event, the meal serves many
Sharia law Legal
code of Islam by the government and applicable to functions. It is held on a Friday evening,
based on the all religious groups in our society. Our marking the beginning of the Sabbath. It
teaching of the government represents the world view exemplies that the most important Jewish
Quran and other of a Western secular or non-religious rituals take place in the home. It places a
Islamic sources democratic state with a strong but not focus on scripture, tradition and the joy
Shabbat overwhelming Christian heritage. In many of good food. It strengthens family ties by
Important ritual religious systems, including Judaism, Islam bringing all the family together to share
observance for and Indigenous beliefs, the main law is a their religion and each others company.
Jews beginning
religiously sanctied law. In some states Religions can be broken down into
at sunset on
in Australia judges may allow traditional different components for discussion, such
Friday night as liturgy, text, stories or myths, philosophy,
and concluding
laws and punishments to work alongside
government laws for the Indigenous ethics, laws, art, architecture etc. There
at nightfall on are always two avenues to approaching a
Saturday. It population. Jewish and Islamic people who
live in countries like Australia must live religion: the textual and the experiential.
represents the day
under local secular laws, although Halacha Anyone can read the Tanakh or other
God rested after he
created the world, ( Jewish law) or Sharia (Islamic law) can religious or academic texts.
that is, the seventh still inuence their lives in ethical ways and We can read about the history of a
day of creation protect some dietary and funeral practices. religion, and we can even read its scriptures,
as recorded in but it is also vitally important to see it in
Genesis. Shabbat action.
literally means
cease lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Liturgy A EXERCISE 1.4 from this section on Judaism. What
collection of rituals similarities or differences between
forming public 1 Analyse how Jewish identity has
the two religious traditions can
worship; a service been maintained over the years.
you see? You might also like to
of the Eucharist,
2 Explain why the Hebrew Bible is add examples from the religious
particularly in the
Eastern Church
important for Jewish people. traditions you will be studying in
the Preliminary and HSC course.
Textual Relating 3 Discuss one important Jewish
to a text ritual. 2 Construct a ow chart or mind
Experiential map illustrating how these
Relating to characteristics interact to create a
ACTIVITY 1.4
experience dynamic, living religion.
1 Look back at the table of the 3 Propose and organise an excursion,
characteristics of religion you either with fellow classmates or
created in Activity 1.3. Add alone, to see a religious tradition in
examples for each characteristic action.
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ISBN: 9780521279505 Hartney & Noble 2011 Cambridge University Press
Photocopying is restricted under law and this material must not be transferred to another party.
CHAPTER 1 / T H E N AT U R E O F R E L I G I O N 17
The contribution of
religion to society
Religion can make a profound contribution
to how we understand ourselves as human
? DID YOU KNOW?
The Quakers (or Religious
Society of Friends) were
established in the 1640s to be an
beings. It can also contribute to culture, the ardently peace-loving religious
arts, to other people and our views of the group. Quakers worship by quiet
world generally. Religions discuss the basic sitting and they are very concerned
questions of life and may address the issue about social justice issues. Refusing
of a supreme being, or an ultimate cause and
to go to war, many Quakers died on
reason for life.
battleelds serving as ambulance
Religious beliefs can help us answer such
drivers and medics caring for the
questions as, Who am I?, Why do evil
and suffering exist? and Is there life after wounded. Their concern for the
death? Answers to these questions can offer horrors of the twentieth century led
comfort, a sense of belonging, meaning them to campaign to save Jewish
and community, and can contribute to the Germans from Nazi Germany. For
mental health of a society. Religion can also their amazing efforts, two relief
confront, challenge and stimulate change in organisations represented by the
a society, especially in the face of a social or religion were awarded the Nobel
political injustice. Peace Prize in 1947.
Religions can also encourage extreme
violence when their believers become
convinced that their world view is being
challenged.
INVESTIGATE lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Do religious organisations tend towards
political engagement or not? What do
you think were Christian responses to
Australian engagement in war? (This will
be an issue that emerged in Australias
history during the twentieth century.) Figure 1.9
Quakers meet for
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EXERCISE 1.5 the answer given by that religious
tradition satisfy you? Why or why
1 Construct one question that
not?
religions may seek to answer.
2 John Miltons Paradise Lost,
2 Recall, based on your knowledge
published in 1667, is considered
at this time, whether all religions
a classic discussion of evil.
believe in the concept of God.
Investigate it on the internet and
3 Predict whether all religions discuss whether it contributes to
suggest there is life after death. your understanding of good and
evil.
ACTIVITY 1.5 3 Construct an outline for a talk on
the following subject: Religion has
1 Choose one of the big questions made a great contribution to the
of life such as, Why are we here? lives of individuals as well as the
Investigate the answer given by community.
one of the religious traditions. Does
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signicance, and the form and shapes of the The stories tell about them waking and
land prove the truth of the myths told about doing things, but there is no general theory
it. regarding where everything (including
The Dreaming is not chronologically the universe a Western scientic and
distinct from now it is a different order theological idea) came from. The universe
of events from now. The basic outline of already existed in some form in most
The Dreaming all the Dreaming stories is that something Dreaming stories. Indigenous Australians
The belief system exists the land, a site, some rocks, a do not have a universal story that explains
of the Australian waterhole; a story is then invoked that the creation of everything.
Aboriginal peoples explains how an ancestor transformed this In fact, this is the rst interesting
land. In the time of the Dreaming, the challenge: the issue of time. Scientists have
environment was shaped and humanised discovered that Australian Indigenous
by mythic beings, many of whom took civilisation extends back as far as 70 000
animal or human form. These beings are years or more, but Indigenous Australians
eternal, although they may have travelled did not have a formal or written calendar.
beyond the lands of the people who still Yet they did follow events and changes,
sing about them. These stories are essential for example, the Arrernte people of central
to Indigenous cultures because they explain Australia could name thirty changes in the
why things are the way they are. They course of 24 hours which included:
explain why the landscape looks as it does, s the Milky Way stretches out across the
why certain animals cannot be eaten and centre of the sky
others can, how people should behave and s bandicoots return to their burrows
what rituals should occur. Dreaming stories s the shadows are variegated
contain all the information needed to live in s the sky is aame with red and yellow.
a place, prosper and understand the story of Recognising these patterns throughout
the land. the day and across the year helped establish
when rituals would take place. Each day
INVESTIGATE lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll repeats these patterns in differing forms, and
Access the Cambridge Studies of they are not cyclical, but more rhythmic or
parallel. It is for this reason that speaking
Religion website and follow the links for
of a Dreamtime is incorrect, and reference
the Dreaming. Note that, when reading
to a Dreaming is more appropriate. The
or hearing Dreaming stories, there are
Dreaming is not a concept of time, but a
several layers of meaning in each story. class of events. The term the Dreaming
Often there is the creation of a physical is variously translated into Indigenous
feature, but also moral, tribal and cultural languages and is used to refer to two things
aspects. There are also deeper meanings events which are embodied in the stories
that are only accessible to Indigenous told about various parts of the landscape,
peoples, or initiated members or elders. and actual features of that landscape. During
one ceremony, elders were singing a great
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creator-snake through the landscape; night
fell and the elders stopped. An observer, the
academic Tony Swain, asked what happened
Origins of the universe to the snake; the reply was simply, We leave
Indigenous Australians do have stories him there until tomorrow when we sing him
about how certain parts of the land came on again.
to be the way they are. Many stories tell of The cosmology of Indigenous Australian
ancestors who are lying in a state of sleep. religion does not appear as some great
theory, but rather as a code of rules, already there. Next, something becomes
assumptions and manners that are illustrated active an inactive ancestor comes to
throughout a series of stories relating to a life, and then brings others into the story.
particular cultural group. Finally, because of that awakening and
The story told by Aunty Beryl shows movement, a new awareness is brought
that the Darling River, as a sacred site, to the people in the ritual so they can
comes with its own sacred story which can understand the land and their relation to it.
be explained in the following way. The main plot of the story is about
the creation of the land, in particular, the
creation of the Darling River in western
Stories of the Dreaming New South Wales. The creation involved
At the start of this tale something exists several ancestor spirits. Guthi-guthi is the
the landscape and the ancestor spirits are creator spirit who releases Weowie, the
water serpent, who rst creates the water In this way, the Dreaming creates a
features of the landscape. Old Pundu the reality that ensures people can inhabit
Cod and Mudlark are also involved in this the land and be at one with the ancestors.
creative process, making the Darling River. Acknowledging these rights and
The story also tells of the creation of the responsibilities ensures that you will be well
two groups, Eaglehawk and Crow, which and that you can rely on the Darling River
include the Ngiyaampaa and Barkandji to provide for your needs.
people. From this story, an ongoing link This creation story is also brought to
between these two groups can be drawn life through ritual. At the site of the river,
and there are implications regarding their in particular, this story becomes the centre
relationships. There is an underlying layer of the action. The story of creation may be
of meaning in this story that relates to the sung right through. While it is being sung,
relationships between these groups and the actions of the singers or dancers may
Totem Object, also to their totems. So there are other have particular signicance. Through this
such as an animal, dimensions practical and ethical ones to symbology they re-enact the story. They
plant or particular the story, for example, do not eat certain follow the action of the story as it moves
landmark, species of sh or do not marry people who around the site. Woven into it are a whole
through which are taboo or forbidden. This story has range of laws and ideas. To remember the
an Australian implications relating to the use of the river story is to remember how to live life as
indigenous person
and, in particular, to the sh that can be tradition has decreed.
is linked to the
eaten.
ancestral being
responsible for his
Other stories leave hints regarding such
things as where food is to be found and
?
or her existence
how it is to be prepared, what areas are DID YOU KNOW?
Symbology The
study of symbols
forbidden to men or to women, and other
The French sociologist
aspects of life, including practical aspects
of daily life as well as ethical, moral and Emile Durkheim (18581917)
tribal issues. As well as telling of creation made a long and detailed study of
and the development of groups, these the belief systems of Indigenous
Dreaming stories function as the law, an Australians. His book Elementary
ethical reinforcement system, and the Forms of Religious Life was very
rituals themselves are a way of marking the inuential. Durkheim examined the
rhythmic progression of events, including totems Aboriginal people used to
the growth of each generation of children identify themselves. These totems
into adulthood. were sacred. For example, a tribe
that identied as kangaroo people
FURTHERMORE lllllllllllllllllllllllll
could not eat kangaroos and held the
The strength of the links to subclans or kangaroo as their sacred symbol or
subsections of the cultural groups is seen totem. Durkheim (himself an atheist)
played out in the documentary that relates believed that these totems were
to Rolf de Heers lm Ten Canoes (2006). sacred because they represented the
Making of the Ten Canoes shows how the unity of the tribe. Look about you
director becomes increasingly frustrated will notice that most groups, even
because only people in certain clans can corporations depend on totemic
play the role of particular ancestors. The symbols, logos and coats of arms
documentary shows how complex this to represent the unity of the group.
Indigenous classication of tribal members Sometimes these totemic symbols
can be. are held sacred.
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ISBN: 9780521279505 Hartney & Noble 2011 Cambridge University Press
Photocopying is restricted under law and this material must not be transferred to another party.
CHAPTER 1 / T H E N AT U R E O F R E L I G I O N 23
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EXERCISE 1.6 2 Investigate another Dreaming
story, perhaps from your area, and
1 Explain what the Dreaming is. discuss whether it could be difcult
2 Identify some of the features of for Westerners to understand
Dreaming stories, using examples the concepts contained in the
from some stories you have read or Dreaming stories.
heard. 3 Construct a table with these four
3 Dene what layers of meaning headings: Origins of the universe,
may include. Sacred sites, Stories of the
Dreaming, and Symbolism and art.
Outline how the Dreaming relates
ACTIVITY 1.6 to each.
1 Investigate another Dreaming story
and present it to the class as a
story.
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EXERCISE 1.7 2 Investigate some Indigenous art
and write a report on a particular
1 Investigate whether the Dreaming
work that you feel demonstrates
is the same across Australia.
the Dreaming.
2 What does the Dreaming teach?
3 Construct a table and list three
3 Explain the Aboriginal concept of headings: the Dreaming, the land,
the land. and Aboriginal identity. Investigate
two different Dreaming stories and
summarise these elements in your
ACTIVITY 1.7
table.
1 Discuss the following topic: There
is not one Dreaming, there are
many.
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EXTENDED-RESPONSE
QUESTIONS
1 Propose your own ideal religion and
Figure 1.13 describe what elements from Ninian
A galactic Smarts list you think would be the
hitchhiker most important and how they are
signicant to your ideal religion.
2 What are the main features of the
Dreaming stories that show how
important these stories are for
Aboriginal people?
3 If you were, or are, an Aboriginal
person, explain the ways parts, or
aspects, of the land would help you
understand who you are?