ABORIGINAL TRADITIONAL
SPIRITUALITY AND THE GOODNEWS
The GOSPEL is Good News about God. Good News about his creation
and his teaching and his promise of freedom. My Aboriginal
people knew about this but they did not know how the Creator
or the Ancestral Being would free them. After someone died
they had a Ceremony of Freedom. This ceremony is to remind
them that the Spirit of the dead will be set free. This gave
them hope even though they did not know about the Resurrection.
At the time of occupation Aborigines were seen as next to
animals. They could be used as slaves, or they should get
rid of them as trouble-makers. There were fights between
the occupiers and the traditional Aborigines. The whites
always did better with their guns, and the owners of the
land were the losers.
The Good News was brought to the Aborigines later. Already
the damage had been done. Their land and hunting grounds
were settled by whites, and when they were found in the vicinity
they shot at them and chased them away. Whatever the whites
did to them caused hatred and distrust.
When the whites with white clothing came amongst them with
the Good News it took a while for the Aborigines to trust
them. They accepted them in their communities. They listened
to what they had to tell them. They took what they had to
give them. It took years to trust them as friends.
With all these things going on the Gospel continued to be
taught. Later, when they came to understand the Gospel a
little they began to say, "It is very much like our
teaching. Especially the Old Testament stories and laws and
all about God and the Promise of God.'
One of the things the missionaries did not do is try to
find out if Aborigines had religion, or teaching about
the Creator.
They overlooked the faith the Aborigines had in a God or
Superpower that they believed in, and obeyed, and worshipped.
Their attitude was, 'Poor Aborigines, let's help them;
they are heathens and nomads, uneducated and hopeless,
helpless
and good-for-nothing.' So, with that in mind the Aborigine
had nothing. They had to leave everything and take on completely
the white man's culture. It was not easy for them - not
easy for the government, not for the Church and not for
the Aborigines.
The government decided, 'Get rid of the problem.' That
is what caused the genocide. When that was stopped they
started
taking away kids and placing them in homes and Church
Missions. In Queensland they set up a penal settlement
and sent many
so-called trouble-makers there. Some who were branded
as trouble-makers were simply people that spoke up for
their
rights. During my ministry I remember three men spoke
to me about the conditions on the station. I advised
the men,
when they got back, to talk to the boss about it. I was
away at the time. The boss rang and told the police there
was
a riot on the station. The police went and arrested them.
There was no court, but they were sent to gaol, one for
three months, one for two months and the other for one
month. It
was an injustice.
I always have a picture of an Aborigine on the ground.
One white person stepping on his neck with heavy boots
and another
telling him, 'My brother, God loves you. Jesus died
to save you.' What is going through his mind? Who would
believe such
a message under such conditions. Many of our people
were
conned into coming to church. If you're not in church,
there will be no rations, no tobacco or clothing. They
did not
come to hear the Good News. Yet under all this sort
of thing going on, the Holy Spirit still worked. There
were
many who
still came to accept the Gospel and believe that Jesus
Christ is Lord. We were all white-orientated Christians.
We understood
God and the Gospel from the white point of view.
Now at last we are looking at the Gospel from our point
of view and it has been helping our people a lot to
be fired
by the Spirit in sharing in the Good News.
I believe the Gospel has been with the Aborigines since
creation. When I read Genesis 3:15 it reminds me that
God did not send
Adam out of the garden, or away from his presence,
without hope. He gave Adam an insight into his great
Plan of
one day opening the gate or door into his Presence.
We believe
that we all come from the line of Adam. Then all should
know about that hope. Aborigines never read that passage
but in
their ceremonies they dramatized that this freedom
was going to come. In Genesis 12:1-3, God called Abram
to
be a blessing
to all people and we Aborigines are included in it.
In the Gospel or Good News there was hope for all people,
not just
for some. Paul writes in Romans 8:18-25, 'All of creation
waits with eager longing for God to reveal his sons.'
There was the hope that creation itself would one day
be set
free. The Aborigines knew that and in their ceremonies
they dramatized
it. It was Good News of freedom and hope, and encouragement.
Today we are trying to help the young to understand the
Gospel through their culture and teaching, using Aboriginal
stories to make the Gospel relevant for them. We've heard
so much this saying, 'It's the white man's Gospel'. lf we
say, 'God created us and we are from the line of Adam and
Noah and Abram, then God was with us always. He is the Creator
of our country and we are part of it. Even though our forefathers
did not know Him as we know Him today, they understood His
teaching and laws in their own way and they had faith in
Him.
The missionaries said Yiirrnbal, the Ancestor Spirit, was
an angry one. The old people could not accept that this
was true because Yiirrnbal gave life and cares for them.
How
could He destroy them when they looked to Him every day
for their daily food? One day my cousin and I went with
an old
man to get turtle. We got all our gear ready, pushed the
boat in and rowed to the place to hunt. The old man asked
us to row him ashore. We did so and he went and called
out to the god he believed in and asked him for turtle,
while
we in the boat sat laughing to ourselves. From the running
stream he picked up a stone and brought it and put it in
the boat. Then we went out to the reef again. Then there
were turtle everywhere and we got one and he made us take
the stone back and he thanked his Giver. I couldn't get
over it because the missionaries condemned the Aboriginal
understanding
of God. They destroyed the language and customs of their
culture and left many with nothing. But the old man believed,
and he received and was thankful. ABORIGINAL SPIRITUALITY OR THEOLOGY
Did Aborigines have a religion? Religion is something that
man believes in and it keeps him together and keeps him
going. Today football is a great religion. Aborigines had
a religion. They believed and had faith in their Ancestor
Spirit and relied on Him for all their needs. He was their
Protector, their Provider, their Carer and Saviour; His
name was honoured.
Our name for Him was Yiirmbal. Initiation was held every
year. This is where the people were taught the stories
and laws. It went for one month or two. If, according
to the
old men, some did not graduate they went through it again.
The missionaries said it was very devilish and heathen,
but initiation was like university, where the people
had to learn
the law, teaching and moral living. The basic teaching
was based on relationships and honour and respect. For
teaching
they use stories: stories about creation, stories about
caring and sharing and stories about moral living. They
had ceremonies
that were very sacred and special. There are two stories
I want to share with you. The first one I call the Ceremony
of Freedom. This ceremony they held after someone had died.
They would send word to all relatives and friends and tell
them that on such- and-such a day of a certain month this
ceremony would be on. They would have the place ready with
two humpies built opposite each other. They had two men
in control so that nobody would make any noise, no talking
or
laughing. Everyone would be so quiet, with only the sound of the singer
with clap sticks, the drummer and the didgeridoo player.
After a while two men would come out from one of the humpies,
one man all dressed and painted, and he had a snake tied
on his leg, and the other man had a fan
made of bird feathers. The one with the snake on his leg would be howling,
groaning, falling and moaning. The other would be running around fanning
and saying, 'It will not be long! You will be free! You
will be free!' While this is going on another chap comes from the other
humpy and follows them. He has a big stick; he keeps
coming closer. When he is close enough he
runs and hits the snake off the first man's leg. He sends out a call of being
free. He jumps and starts dancing. The other two join him and then the rest
of the people get into it and they will dance for some time. Feasting comes
after the dancing. This story is about setting free. 'So if the Son makes
you free, you will be free indeed' (John 8:36). 'Christ
has set us free' (Gal.
5: 1). The man with the snake on his leg played out the life of
the one who had passed away. The man with the fan symbolises
the hope that Yiirnbal gave when he promised
to be with him in the happy place. The man with the stick reminds us that
man was set free by Jesus through his death on a wooden
cross. The snake on the
leg symbolises the snake that caused man's death. It was interesting to see
the man who knocked the snake continually hit the snake on the head.
The second ceremony is about the Burn Time. It is usually held around July
or August. When the Elders decided on the day they let everyone know where
they will be having it. When the people get together the Elders will have
a meeting with the women and children and they will tell them not to go out
of
the camp at night. Three nights the Elders will go out and speak with their
Ancestor Spirit. After the three nights they get the men to go and hunt for
kangaroo. They will kill only one. They get it ready for cooking. They collect
all the blood and cook the meat in a ground oven. While the meat is cooking
they take the blood and get everyone to take a sip; what's left over they
put on the forehead of the sick and the elderly. When the meat is cooked
they make
special cuts for the old men and women. Another part is for the fathers and
mothers, another section for the young people, and a special cut for children.
They see that everyone gets a bite.
Then they have a closing ceremony. The Elders will announce that they can
hunt; there will be food for them. It is a time of new life and growth. In
this second
story the kangaroo becomes a sacrificial animal. It's like a Jewish Passover.
It is a new start for them spiritually and physically. St Paul talks about new life in Christ and I believe the
Aborigines believed it was coming. When the Gospel did
come it came after guns and damage was already
done. It made it difficult to accept and believe the message. There is another story, one about moral living, about how
we should care for others. It is about the Emu, Brolga
and Jabaru. The Emu was a cousin to the
Brolga and Jabaru. She lived in the highland and forest, and the other two
lived in the wetlands and saltpans. One day the Emu decided to visit the
cousins. So she went and collected yams and berries,
filled her dilly bag, and started
walking to the wetlands. When she got to the last ridge she rested, looking toward
the saltpan. She saw dust. She had another look and she
noticed two figures-it was the Brolga
and Jabaru fighting. She grabbed her bag and started running towards them.
When she got close enough she started calling out for them to stop. But they
kept going. She ran in between them to stop them. But one of the sisters
hit her on the back accidentally. The blood of the Emu
got on the legs of the Jabaru
and on the neck of the Brolga. To this day they still have the stains of
blood on them and the Emu has the hump on the back. Granpa
often said, 'You are to
be like the Emu peace-maker'.This story makes me think of the great Peace-maker
who also carries the scars on his hands, feet and side. Then there is the story of the black and white cockatoos.
They were brothers. One day the white cockatoo found
the black cockatoo sitting under a shady tree
looking angry and upset. 'What is wrong, brother?' 'I'm angry with dad because
he made me black. Why didn't he make me like you? I'm going to change myself'.
He went to his uncle's country and asked him for honey and clay. 'Get as
much as you want, there's plenty there'. He got the clay
and honey and went back
home. He powdered the clay and rubbed honey all over himself and put the
powdered clay on. He looked at himself and said, 'Now
I look like my brother'. His grandpa
got so angry with him that he called on the monsoon to bring rain. It washed
all the clay off him. Later his brother came and spoke to him. He reminded him
about his father's love for him. He took him to the father
and made things right again. Today
the black cockatoo is happy. He's singing when flying and feeding. Jesus
our Big Brother has made things right for us. He has
broken the barrier that kept
us away from our Father and each other. (Eph. 2:1 1 - 22; Rom. 5: 1 - 1 I.)
This story is to help people to understand the importance of reconciliation. Our people have done this for years. My mother told us
her story, how her parents and all her clan were shot
by troopers and she did not know what happened to
her brothers and sister. She found out about the two brothers after the war,
and we found her little sister in 1991 after mother had passed on. It was
sad for her and hurtful. But since coming to know Jesus
all of her pain and anger
has been taken away. Her message to us was, 'I have forgiven them in my heart
and I want all of you children to do the same'. That
little sermon I will never forget. I'll
die with it. When I discovered all of my people's teaching and laws I used
it for my work in preaching and teaching and I found I had good results. There was one man from one of the tribes I worked with.
He was a little man but he was a law to himself. The
police often said to me, 'Pastor, do something
for the man'. I told them that when he came to receive the Gospel he will
change. He came to my place one day and said, 'Pastor,
I want to read that book', and
pointed to the New Testament. Within three months I had him reading the Gospel
for me. He became a leader in the community and my congregation grew. He
had been hearing the Good News through his culture. He
had to work out his own
salvation. God did not call us as Holy Spirit, but as helpers in saving
souls. He did not say to me as an Aborigine, 'Preach
as a white minister'. All He says is
go and tell the Good News about Christ Jesus, his life, death, resurrection
and his judgment. It is a privilege He has given to everyone, to be part
of his plan of saving humankind.
Rev George Rosendale of North Queensland is a highly
respected Lutheran Pastor who lectures at Wontulp Bi
Binya College
in Cairns, and has
also lectured at Nungalinya College Darwin.
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