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Stories through (and of the) Songlines
Topic: Songlines
by Zachary, 2020 Cohort
Songlines date back over 60,000 years and are embedded within an animist belief system of Aboriginal Australians. They depict a route across the land (or sky) that describes the journey of the creators during the ‘dreaming’ (termed as the hallowed chronicle of Creation) and is an enduring experience that connects traditional Indigenous people to their origins. This voyage is documented through stories, dancing, artwork, songs and the creation of markings in the land and combines interconnected cultural laws, languages, customs and history that bond Aboriginal tribes across the continent. Uniquely, Songlines are not communicated through written word, unlike the historical documenting practices of many other cultures.
Aboriginal ancestors helped create the foundation of sacred sites during their travels. Songlines connect these Creation events, locations and the ceremonies of those places, and the ceremonial trade route and stories describe the Australian landscape. The oral history about these journeys are disseminated through the Songlines, which become the basis of the ceremonies that occur in locations along the Songlines. A well-equipped individual has the capacity to navigate the routes by merely repeating the words of the song, which describe the landmarks and natural phenomena surrounding. If sung in consequential sequence, Aboriginal people can navigate these long distances and transverse across different tribes with distinct languages and customs. Furthermore, the Songlines of the Seven Sisters is a comprehensive creation track that reaches across Australia. It depicts spirituality, desire and the power of family. The story can be tracked from Roeburn in WA, to the east coast passing through the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunyjatjara (APY) lands in the Northern Territory and South Australia. Travelling across many lands, the story is carried by the Martu, the Anangu, Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra people. As the Seven Sisters leave Roeburn, they are pursued by an evil shape-shifting spirit called Wati Nyiru or Yurlu, who drives the sisters East across the land and into the night sky, where they become the Pleiades star cluster. The songline crosses three deserts and is one of the oldest ever told in Australia.
From a Western perspective, Songlines offer insight into the life of Indigenous Australians before the arrival of European settlers in the late 18th century. The fragility of the relationship is correlated with the threat faced by Aboriginal Australians upon the arrival of European settlers, and the consequent threat of destruction of their ancient ways of life. Only recently has this damage been recognised, and efforts have been made to incorporate this rich, complex system into Western society through publications such as the Songlines on Screen SBS series and the Seven Sisters exhibition in the National Museum of Australia. Margot Neale articulated the importance of the recognition of Songlines into Australian schools, to increase an understanding of this system from a young age, which could improve understsnding and relations between the cultures. Neale notes that Songlines are more than an anthropological footnote, or just a historical Aboriginal recollection- they are the truth of this land and recognisable as Australian
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Songlines date back over 60,000 years and are embedded within an animist belief system of Aboriginal Australians. They depict a route across the land (or sky) that describes the journey of the creators during the ‘dreaming’ (termed as the hallowed chronicle of Creation) and is an enduring experience that connects traditional Indigenous people to their origins. This voyage is documented through stories, dancing, artwork, songs and the creation of markings in the land and combines interconnected cultural laws, languages, customs and history that bond Aboriginal tribes across the continent. Uniquely, Songlines are not communicated through written word, unlike the historical documenting practices of many other cultures.
Aboriginal ancestors helped create the foundation of sacred sites during their travels. Songlines connect these Creation events, locations and the ceremonies of those places, and the ceremonial trade route and stories describe the Australian landscape. The oral history about these journeys are disseminated through the Songlines, which become the basis of the ceremonies that occur in locations along the Songlines. A well-equipped individual has the capacity to navigate the routes by merely repeating the words of the song, which describe the landmarks and natural phenomena surrounding. If sung in consequential sequence, Aboriginal people can navigate these long distances and transverse across different tribes with distinct languages and customs. Furthermore, the Songlines of the Seven Sisters is a comprehensive creation track that reaches across Australia. It depicts spirituality, desire and the power of family. The story can be tracked from Roeburn in WA, to the east coast passing through the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunyjatjara (APY) lands in the Northern Territory and South Australia. Travelling across many lands, the story is carried by the Martu, the Anangu, Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra people. As the Seven Sisters leave Roeburn, they are pursued by an evil shape-shifting spirit called Wati Nyiru or Yurlu, who drives the sisters East across the land and into the night sky, where they become the Pleiades star cluster. The songline crosses three deserts and is one of the oldest ever told in Australia.
From a Western perspective, Songlines offer insight into the life of Indigenous Australians before the arrival of European settlers in the late 18th century. The fragility of the relationship is correlated with the threat faced by Aboriginal Australians upon the arrival of European settlers, and the consequent threat of destruction of their ancient ways of life. Only recently has this damage been recognised, and efforts have been made to incorporate this rich, complex system into Western society through publications such as the Songlines on Screen SBS series and the Seven Sisters exhibition in the National Museum of Australia. Margot Neale articulated the importance of the recognition of Songlines into Australian schools, to increase an understanding of this system from a young age, which could improve understsnding and relations between the cultures. Neale notes that Songlines are more than an anthropological footnote, or just a historical Aboriginal recollection- they are the truth of this land and recognisable as Australian