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Meera Atkinson  Religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism are acknowledged spiritual paths, frameworks in which people can explore the spiritual meaning of life and engage in practices to heighten spiritual awareness. But less familiar spiritual teachings challenge the dominant culture.
The spirituality of Indigenous Australians is a case in point. Most Australians have at least heard about the Dreamtime, but many are vague as to what it is and what it means. Aboriginal art is feted and collected both here and internationally, but many who admire it are oblivious to its spiritual significance. And many Indigenous Australians, raised in Christian institutions of one kind or another with varying degrees of connection with their own culture, face the challenge of defining their own spirituality in a culture that has denied or downplayed recognition of their spiritual heritage. How, then, should we think about this notion of Aboriginal spirituality?  Vince Ross, national chairperson of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and chief executive officer of Narana Creations, says that Indigenous people have practiced spiritual relationships with the land, in ceremony and teachings, for hundreds of thousands of years.
“Some Aboriginal people say we have our own religion — that means we may do ceremony differently to the mainstream of the church but we’re talking about the same thing: attending to that inner part of who we are.” Graeme Mundine, executive secretary of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) at the National Council of Churches in Australia, explains it a different way. “In my home country in the north coast of NSW, there’s a mountain. A clan group on one side of the mountain will look at the mountain and see a story connected with it, a vision of the Creator Being,” Graeme says. “Those on the other side of the mountain will see a different story. Same thing, but a different way of looking at it.” Indigenous spirituality centres on the Dreamtime — the Aboriginal understanding of the world, creation, law; and the telling of stories that are represented in ceremony, art and reverence for animals and sacred sites. Modern Aboriginal art often tells these stories using symbolism that is largely lost on non-Indigenous people. Indigenous spirituality involves a close relationship between Aboriginal people, the land and animals. NATSIEC is currently co-ordinating a theological project exploring Indigenous spirituality. “There hasn’t been a lot written by Aboriginal people about their own experience, so we decided to bring together some prominent church people to reflect on particular topics,” says Graeme.
The group reflects and writes, later workshopping the material, with a focus on what they want to say to the wider community about their spirituality. It has already resulted in the publication of one book, Kerker, and a second book is planned for late 2008. Graeme says it is imperative that a relationship between Christianity and traditional Indigenous spirituality be fostered. “The training of Indigenous people in the area of theology has been very western,” he says, citing animism (the belief that a spirit can inhabit animals or other non-human objects) as an example of where misunderstandings occur. “Almost 20 years ago when I first got involved with ecumenical work, some groups were still talking of anything Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander as devil worship. I think we’ve come along way since then, but there are still people who have a problem with symbolism.” For example, Aboriginal artist Matthew Gill’s representation of Jesus as a bush turkey caused uproar. “How dare the Aboriginal people call Jesus a turkey,” fumed righteous Christians. However, Graeme says there is a certain short-sightedness to this reaction. “Mainstream Australia and Christians describe Jesus as the Lamb of God. How dare you call Jesus a lamb?” he asks. “These images help describe who God is, because God is such a big thing we can only see glimpses of it. So for us, as Aboriginal people, we use things we see, like Jesus did in his day.” Graeme says we have an opportunity to strengthen Australian spirituality by learning about traditional Indigenous spirituality. “The Aboriginal people have a distinctive way of looking at things here in Australia which is unique compared to anything else in the world. Mainstream Australia has to take that on if it’s to be truly the Church Jesus wants it to be. It’s not an Asian or Pacific church or a European church — it’s a uniquely Australian church.” As Vince says, whatever package it comes in, spirituality is about remembering that there’s something else going on inside us; that is not about what car we drive or what clothes we wear or how much money we make. “It’s about life,” he says. “I think Indigenous people could teach the rest of the world and the churches about connecting.”
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