Land and The Dreaming

The Aboriginal population of Australia is made up of hundreds of peoples or nations, each with their own sacred places, animal totems and other items in the geographic area known as their country, or traditional lands.

Sacred sites are places within the landscape that have a special significance under Aboriginal tradition. Hills, rocks, waterholes, trees, plains and other natural features may be sacred sites. In coastal and sea areas, sacred sites may include features which lie both above and below water. Sometimes sacred sites are obvious, such as ochre deposits, rock art galleries, or spectacular natural features. In other instances sacred sites may be unremarkable to an outside observer. They can range in size from a single stone or plant, to an entire mountain range.

The concept of "The Dreaming" or "Dreamtime" is inadequately explained by these English terms, and difficult to explain in terms of non-Indigenous cultures. Dreamtime is often referred to by the Warlpiri name Jukurrpa, It has been described as "an all-embracing concept that provides rules for living, a moral code, as well as rules for interacting with the natural environment... Jukurrpa provides for a total, integrated way of life... a lived daily reality". It embraces past, present and future, and some of the ancestor or spirit beings inhabiting the Dreamtime become one with parts of the landscape, such as rocks or trees. The concept of a life force is also often associated with sacred sites, and ceremonies performed at such sites "are a re-creation of the events which created the site during The Dreaming (Jukurrpa)". The ceremony helps the life force at the site to remain active and to keep creating new life: if not performed, new life cannot be created.