Rituals


Rituals are more than just traditions, they are habitual actions. They enact our deeply held values by way of ceremony or performance. For the Aboriginals, they have taken what they have learned from the dreaming and have created a set of rituals. They do this by performing songs and ceremonies that have been passed down from generation to generation, similar to that seen in South America's Carnival celebration. Because the dreaming is so sacred within their members, these rituals have been able to be reinforced throughout the ages.


This may be partly do to the constant reminders of the celestial beings being shown by way of totems. Also, initiated members fashion rangga (ceremonial objects) in the likeness of these celestial beings to activate their life sustaining powers during rituals. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t add new rituals. For instance, Burrumarra (Big-Man of the 1960s-70s) had a dreaming that the totemic cuttlefish Nyunyul came from the deep water to create the island in which they lived. This dream was accepted and now there is a strict taboo to eat cuttlefish among this clan as well as rangga.