65:
based on shared beliefs and obligations. The perpetuation of songlines through generations sustains a spiritual connection to the land, underscoring the concept of "connection to country," wherein the intricate relationship between individuals and their ancestral lands forms a cornerstone of
Aboriginal identity and cultural preservation.
217:
Singing is an essential element in most
Mardudjara ritual performances because the songline follows in most cases the direction of travel of the beings concerned and highlights cryptically their notable as well as mundane activities. Most songs, then, have a geographical as well as mythical referent,
104:
By singing the songs in the appropriate sequence, Aboriginal people could navigate vast distances, often travelling through the deserts of
Australia's interior. The continent of Australia contains an extensive system of songlines, some of which are of a few kilometres, whilst others traverse hundreds
64:
A unique facet of songlines lies in their role as cultural passports, denoting respect and recognition for specific regions and their inhabitants when the songs are sung in the appropriate languages. This intricate network of songlines interconnects neighbouring groups, fostering social interactions
252:
Songlines can be visualised as corridors or pathways of knowledge that crisscross the entire continent, sky and water. Songlines, sometimes referred to as dreaming tracks, link sites and hold stories, known as story places, which are read into the natural features of the land. These sites of
60:
At its core, a songline functions as both a navigational aid and a repository of cultural knowledge. Embedded within traditional song cycles, dance rituals, stories, and artistic expressions, these pathways enable individuals to traverse vast distances while reciting the songs that describe
145:
Neighbouring groups are connected because the song cycles criss-cross all over the continent. All
Aboriginal groups traditionally share beliefs in the ancestors and related laws; people from different groups interacted with each other based on their obligations along the songlines.
132:
Since a songline can span the lands of several different language groups, different parts of the song are said to be in those different languages. Languages are not a barrier because the melodic contour of the song describes the nature of the land over which the song passes. The
61:
landmarks, water sources, and natural features. Notably, the melodic contours and rhythmic nuances of the songs transcend linguistic barriers, facilitating cross-cultural understanding as different language groups interact and share the essence of these ancient narratives.
137:
is what is crucial to understanding the song. Listening to the song of the land is the same as walking on this songline and observing the land. Songlines have been described as a "cultural passport" which, when sung in the language of a particular region and
239:
Aboriginal
Creation myths tell of the legendary totemic being who wandered over the continent in the Dreamtime, singing out the name of everything that crossed their path - birds, animals, plants, rocks, waterholes - and so singing the world into existence.
253:
significance, formed by ancestral beings, are like libraries, storing critical knowledge for survival. The stories at significant sites contain knowledge that instruct on social behaviour, gender relations or where water or food can be sourced.
81:
as they traversed the continent long ago. Animals were created in the
Dreaming, and also played a part in creation of the lands and heavenly bodies. Songlines connect places and Creation events, and the ceremonies associated with those places.
336:, valleys often end in a canyon or cliff, and so travelling along the ridge lines was much easier than travelling in the valleys. Thus, the songlines tend to follow the ridge lines, and this is also where much of the sacred art, such as the
86:
about places and the journeys are carried in song cycles, and each
Aboriginal person has obligations to their birthplace. The songs become the basis of the ceremonies that are enacted in those specific places along the songlines.
236:... the labyrinth of invisible pathways which meander all over Australia and are known to Europeans as "Dreaming-tracks" or "Songlines"; to the Aboriginals as the "Footprints of the Ancestors" or the "Way of the Lore".
642:
Song-lines are about the connectedness of
Aboriginal space and our part in it and how it connects us to our country and to other song-lines... So we have connection to the land through the spirit. (Pat
298:. Walujapi is said to have carved a snakelike track along a cliff-face and deposited an impression of her buttocks when she sat establishing camp. Both signs are currently discernible.
218:
so by learning the songline men become familiar with literally thousands of sites even though they have never visited them; all become part of their cognitive map of the desert world.
287:
in the East, guiding the first humans to
Australia, and then flew across the land from East to West, naming and creating the animals, plants, and natural features of the land.
73:
The
Dreaming, or the Dreamtime, has been described as "a sacred narrative of Creation that is seen as a continuous process that links Aboriginal people to their origins".
109:— peoples who may speak markedly different languages and have different cultural traditions. One songline marks a 3,500-kilometre (2,200 mi) route connecting the
57:. These routes serve as crucial connections between individuals and their ancestral lands, carrying intricate geographical, mythological, and cultural information.
1015:
909:
187:
note that the Dreaming Spirits "also deposited the spirits of unborn children and determined the forms of human society", thereby establishing tribal law and
90:
A songline has been called a "dreaming track", as it marks a route across the land or sky followed by one of the creator-beings or ancestors in the Dreaming.
157:
where the correct direction is down). Aboriginal people regard all land as sacred, and the songs must be continually sung to keep the land "alive". Their "
325:. Each people sing the part of the Native Cat Dreaming relating to the songlines for which they are bound in a territorial relationship of reciprocity.
730:
1130:
625:
371:
1008:
93:
A knowledgeable person is able to navigate across the land by repeating the words of the song, which describe the location of landmarks,
340:, is located. In contrast, in many other parts of Australia, the songlines tend to follow valleys, where water may be found more easily.
491:
597:
106:
1100:
1115:
1001:
965:
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879:
856:
833:
776:
707:
472:
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97:, and other natural phenomena. In some cases, the paths of the creator-beings are said to be evident from their marks, or
1110:
301:
The Native Cat Dreaming Spirits who are said to have commenced their journey at the sea and to have moved north into the
945:
668:
177:. Songlines not only map routes across the continent and pass on culture, but also express connectedness to country.
139:
78:
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170:
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117:. Desert peoples travelled to the ocean to observe fishing practices, and coastal people travelled inland to
925:
402:
318:
245:
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In some cases, a songline has a particular direction, and walking the wrong way along a songline may be a
314:
31:
17:
180:
Songlines are often passed down in families, passing on important knowledge and cultural values.
521:
792:
464:
Dark Sparklers: Yidumduma's Wardaman Aboriginal Astronomy : Night Skies Northern Australia
337:
294:
people of the Victoria River Valley venerate the spirit Walujapi as the Dreaming Spirit of the
118:
50:
1120:
796:
661:
Sacred Earth, Sacred Stones: Spiritual Sites And Landscapes, Ancient Alignments, Earth Energy
458:
344:
158:
110:
697:
101:, on the land, such as large depressions in the land which are said to be their footprints.
764:
735:
8:
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272:
174:
961:
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161:" describes a strong and complex relationship with the land of their ancestors, or "
98:
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889:
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348:
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993:
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of Australia. They mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the
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83:
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Relationships to country: Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people
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45:, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the
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598:"Indigenous Australians: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people"
1043:
396:
381:
333:
150:
114:
94:
54:
244:
Margo Ngawa Neale, senior Indigenous art and history curator at the
291:
74:
825:
Singing Saltwater Country: Journey to the Songlines of Carpentaria
756:
208:
The Mardudjara Aborigines - Living The Dream In Australia's Desert
938:
The Mardudjara Aborigines: Living The Dream In Australia's Desert
602:
284:
188:
46:
760:
Emu Dreaming: An Introduction to Australian Aboriginal Astronomy
1079:
329:
264:
134:
871:
Voices of the First Day: Awakening in the Aboriginal Dreamtime
432:"What is the Connection Between the Dreamtime and Songlines?"
280:
154:
122:
957:
Singing the Land, Signing the Land: A Portfolio of Exhibits
578:(Report). Res005 . Queensland Studies Authority. March 2008
456:
343:
Songlines have been linked to Aboriginal art sites in the
77:
are believed to play a large role in the establishment of
891:
Footprints on Rock: Aboriginal Art of the Sydney Region
731:"and they store knowledge that's critical to survival"
757:
Norris, Ray; Priscilla Norris; Cilla Norris (2009),
1023:
654:
1092:
750:
983:"Why Songlines Are Important In Aboriginal Art"
547:"Why Songlines Are Important In Aboriginal Art"
450:
413:", inspired in part by the aboriginal Songlines
194:
894:, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council,
490:Malcolm, Lynne; Willis, Olivia (8 July 2016).
406:, inspired in part by the aboriginal Songlines
142:, show respect to the people of that country.
1009:
539:
489:
305:, traversing as they did so the lands of the
279:, a creator-being associated with the planet
113:with the east coast, to the place now called
424:
372:Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology
954:Watson, Helen; David Wade Chambers (1989),
686:
1016:
1002:
27:Aboriginal Australian belief and practice
888:Popp, Tom; N. Popp; Bill Walker (1997),
822:Bradley, John; Yanyuwa Families (2010),
790:
516:
514:
485:
483:
692:
492:"Songlines: the Indigenous memory code"
14:
1131:Australian Aboriginal cultural history
1093:
728:
175:traditional country of their ancestors
997:
791:Woodford, James (27 September 2003).
511:
480:
228:, British novelist and travel writer
729:Boltje, Stephanie (4 October 2023).
663:. London: Duncan Baird. p. 30.
332:region, because of the soft Sydney
24:
975:
25:
1142:
107:many different Aboriginal peoples
206:songlines in his 1978 monograph
1101:Australian Aboriginal mythology
987:Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery
814:
784:
722:
677:
551:Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery
436:Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery
105:of kilometres through lands of
793:"Songlines across the Wollemi"
648:
618:
590:
565:
283:, who came from the island of
68:
13:
1:
1116:Australian Aboriginal culture
1025:Indigenous music of Australia
940:, Holt, Rinehart and Wilson,
417:
367:Australian Aboriginal culture
403:Songlines (Alphaville video)
246:National Museum of Australia
232:describes the songlines as:
195:Descriptions and definitions
7:
1106:Australian Aboriginal music
960:, Deakin University Press,
908:Taçon, Paul (Spring 2005),
702:, Random House, p. 2,
355:
257:
202:Robert Tonkinson described
10:
1147:
1111:Australian styles of music
936:Tonkinson, Robert (1978),
32:Songlines (disambiguation)
29:
1062:
1031:
874:, Inner Traditions/Bear,
655:Molyneaux, Brian Leigh;
910:"Chains of Connection"
338:Sydney Rock Engravings
255:
242:
220:
153:act (e.g. climbing up
49:belief systems of the
828:, Allen & Unwin,
797:Sydney Morning Herald
630:Port Adelaide Enfield
459:Yidumduma Bill Harney
345:Wollemi National Park
250:
234:
212:
169:often links to their
159:connection to country
111:Central Desert Region
1126:Walking in Australia
931:on 30 September 2009
851:, The Viking Press,
30:For other uses, see
989:. 18 February 2020.
769:2009edia.book.....N
411:The Dreaming (song)
362:Aboriginal passport
296:black-headed python
167:Aboriginal identity
51:Aboriginal cultures
683:Tonkinson 1978:104
553:. 24 February 2015
497:ABC Radio National
275:tell the story of
273:Northern Territory
1088:
1087:
967:978-0-7300-0696-1
901:978-0-7313-1002-9
881:978-0-89281-355-1
858:978-0-67080-605-8
835:978-1-74237-241-9
778:978-0-9806570-0-5
709:978-1-4481-1302-6
632:. 17 January 2020
474:978-0-9750908-0-0
438:. 26 October 2017
222:In his 1987 book
99:petrosomatoglyphs
16:(Redirected from
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978:
976:Further reading
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914:Griffith Review
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349:New South Wales
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171:language groups
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606:. 12 July 2020
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526:Deadly Story =
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457:Cairns, Hugh;
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392:Oral tradition
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387:Method of loci
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303:Simpson Desert
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200:Anthropologist
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183:Molyneaux and
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43:dreaming track
41:, also called
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848:The Songlines
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670:1-903296-07-2
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230:Bruce Chatwin
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225:The Songlines
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926:the original
916:(9): 70–76,
913:
890:
870:
847:
824:
815:Bibliography
800:. Retrieved
786:
759:
752:
740:. Retrieved
734:
724:
713:, retrieved
698:
688:
679:
660:
650:
643:Waria-Read).
641:
634:. Retrieved
629:
620:
608:. Retrieved
601:
592:
580:. Retrieved
567:
555:. Retrieved
550:
541:
529:. Retrieved
525:
501:. Retrieved
495:
463:
452:
440:. Retrieved
435:
426:
401:
377:Ethnogeology
251:
243:
238:
235:
223:
221:
214:
213:
207:
198:
182:
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151:sacrilegious
148:
144:
131:
119:sacred sites
103:
92:
89:
84:Oral history
79:sacred sites
72:
63:
59:
42:
38:
36:
1032:Instruments
626:"Songlines"
522:"Songlines"
269:Arnhem Land
191:paradigms.
69:Description
1095:Categories
1054:Lagerphone
1049:Didgeridoo
1039:Bullroarer
557:16 January
442:16 January
418:References
277:Barnumbirr
267:people of
127:Kata Tjuta
95:waterholes
1044:Clapstick
922:1448-2924
397:Story arc
382:Ley lines
334:sandstone
323:Unmatjera
215:Songlines
115:Byron Bay
75:Ancestors
18:Songlines
1075:Songline
868:(1991),
845:(1987),
742:30 April
736:ABC News
696:(2012),
659:(2001).
461:(2003),
356:See also
311:Kaititja
292:Yarralin
258:Examples
185:Vitebsky
121:such as
55:Dreaming
39:songline
802:29 July
765:Bibcode
715:29 July
636:10 July
603:AIATSIS
531:10 July
503:10 July
328:In the
319:Kukatja
285:Baralku
271:in the
248:, says:
189:totemic
47:animist
1080:Wangga
964:
944:
920:
898:
878:
855:
832:
775:
706:
667:
610:9 July
582:9 July
471:
330:Sydney
315:Ngalia
307:Aranda
265:Yolngu
135:rhythm
1063:Other
929:(PDF)
576:(PDF)
281:Venus
204:Mardu
155:Uluru
123:Uluru
962:ISBN
942:ISBN
918:ISSN
896:ISBN
876:ISBN
853:ISBN
830:ISBN
804:2016
773:ISBN
744:2024
717:2016
704:ISBN
665:ISBN
638:2021
612:2021
584:2021
559:2020
533:2021
505:2021
469:ISBN
444:2020
321:and
290:The
263:The
173:and
125:and
347:in
165:".
163:mob
140:mob
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