http://www.songlinesaustraliafoundation.net.au/tjangala_kapi.jpg
In the weeks lecturewe looked at song lines and there significance in past Aboriginal communities(Kuttainen, 2015) . Song lines were used as traditional navigation thererfor creating maps of the landscape using language. Australian Aboriginal people used song lines to navigate, communicate and to appreciate the land around them. By using this method of navigation, they translate visual space and place into song therefore creating a virtual map of their surrounding past and present.
The importance of song lines to the
Aboriginals’ place and space was a large contributing factor to their cultural
tradition and connection with the land. It enabled
them to navigate through the land efficiently also to support themselves for what
the land had provided. The deep connection with the land and the importance of the song lines,
help create a bond unfamiliar to the average European settler. Whether the song lines were geographically
correct or not, its relevance to aboriginal people showed a reflection of the
land and what was held value at the time.
It captured a moment in time for us to see the importance of their
perspective.
The European settlers could have not
taken songs lines seriously as navigation tool. The logical foundation blocks that the
songs where build on were not recognised, as the settlers did not have that same bond with the land. It may have been seen as a primitive way of navigation as
it had little to no written evidence. Quoted
by Tuan, 1991, “A principle reason for the neglect of speech is that
geographers and landscape historians (and, I believe, people in general) tend
to see place almost exclusively as the result of the material transformation of
nature”. By looking at this quote we can begin to see that the way of communication as
of speech may not fully represent or explain the connection and importance of a
tradition or ritual.
Have a look at this YouTube video to
help get an understanding of the importance of song lines to Australian
Aboriginal people of the past.
Reference:
Kuttainen, V.
(2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and making of place, Lecture 5:
Stories and Places. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au
Tuan, Y.
(1991). Language and the making of place: a narrative-descriptive approach.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696. Retrieved
fromwww.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the points made in this post regarding navigation through the space that Aboriginal people created for themselves through song lines. Although the maps created through song line could have been disregarded by European settlers in the interest of creating maps for navigational purposes, I also think the issue of power comes to interest. On an obvious note the issue of power has come with the renaming of certain landmarks or locations thus disempowering the Aboriginal people and empowering the European settlers e.g. Ayer’s Rock/Uluru. Secondly as we explored in Tuan’s reading language and naming of space has potential to transform and create place. Although possibly not intentional re-mapping Australia in a way that made more sense to the European settler could have possibly transformed Australia from the place Aboriginal people knew and associated themselves with to a new Western oriented country. Potentially disempowering Aboriginal people and empowering European settlers and those familiar with the Western way of life
References
Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: a narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696. Retrieved fromwww.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Retrieved from http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2011/12/on-this-day-uluru-given-its-aboriginal-name/
Nice post!
ReplyDeleteChatwin describes ‘Songlines’ as “the labyrinth of invisible pathways which meander all over Australia. . . to the Aboriginals, as the ‘Footprints of the Ancestors’’ (1987).
Songlines describe a story or myth where ancestors have performed special actions or rites which gave a place spiritual meaning. “The ancestors have sung their world into existence”. (Tuan, 1991). These paths are recorded by traditional songs, stories, dance and paintings.
The songs have to be sung in sequence and rhythm needs to be understood so that indigenous people can navigate their way around Australia continent. In some ‘unreal’ way, it must create a virtual topographical map in the mind, a representation of place. If the first arrivals realised indigenous people had these abilities, they may not have been so hasty to describe their culture as intellectually inferior and worthless.
It was Chatwin’s belief that Aboriginal culture was the ‘civilised’ culture, rather than Western traditions.
References
Chatwin, B. (1987). The songlines. London: Cape.
Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-686. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306,1991.tb01715.x
I enjoyed learning through this post. It was quite extraordinary that they as a people could map the land with their voices, projecting their Dreamings into the environment aswell as to mark their territory under their respective dreaming (Wallaby Dreaming, for example)(Chatwin, B.), that they would know from rock to rock as to not enter another area if it belonged to another dreaming.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn’t a connection that could have been shared with the white settlers unfortunately, because through that a lot of culture was lost, it would be interesting today to see a Songline map. However you look at it though, it was if they came from separate worlds, they would never going to get along.
For what it was, it was nice, communicating maps and the plains through communication in space and place with one another, for a songline wasn’t strictly a guide on a map, it was a piece of culture and a means of using the area around them to express that.
---
References:
Chatwin, B. (1987). The Songlines. London. Retrieved from
https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/Conc-camcontent-bb_bb60/items/getitem.jsp?as_course_code=14-BA1002-TSV-INT-SP2&content_id=_1631285_1&course_id=_60553_1&doc_id=30251