The
Dreaming stories are told to every generation. They have been passed down
for thousands of years and we hope they will continue to be retold. They
are powerful tools for educating people and are often combined with storytelling,
art, music and dance. Many of the stories are sacred and cannot be told
to non-Aboriginal people. These stories are often told at initiation ceremonies
which are also sacred.
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Many
Adnyamathanha Dreaming stories assume that the audience has previous knowledge
or is Aboriginal. This is because many aspects of the stories are not obvious
and many people on first hearing these stories, may not be able to grasp
their full meaning. When the first Europeans heard the Dreaming stories
they did not understand their importance in Aboriginal society. The stories
that are reproduced today are often only basic versions of the original
Dreaming stories which were long and complex. |
