Walkabout. Going walkabout was something that Australian Aboriginals did as part of their initiation ceremonies as they grew up in order to be able to marry or be considered “men” and “women” and no longer children. Part of my Indigenous Cultures class here was that we got to go on a walkabout in the Blue Mountains for the day. We had a trail guide named Evan who was an Aboriginal Australian himself so we were very privileged to get this very unique learning experience that put everything we had been learning in a classroom setting out into its original setting. Taking forty people on a hike in areas where there were not trails may have been a daunting task but Evan didn’t seem to mind.
When we first began our hike the area was the typical dry Australian bush but as we went further into the mountain we got to experience the beautiful rainforest atmosphere of the Blue Mountains. Our first stop was at a sacred site where the initiation ceremonies began. Evan told us dreaming stories, which are stories about how the people live, their customs, and their creation story. There was a small pond in the rock where we stopped that they called the Rainbow Serpent and there were carvings in the rock that would help tell the dreaming stories to the young men. By pouring water on them from the pond, the Rainbow Serpent was said to have helped them be able to focus for hours while they were being told the dreaming stories. The point was to focus on the feeling of water running down their outside physical bodies until they felt the same sensation inside and were able to center themselves. One of the dreaming stories Evan told us was illustrated by carvings in the rock. There was a wallaby mother on one side of the rock and a baby wallaby with a snake on the other side. The story was that the mother was not focusing and her mind had wandered until she was not paying attention to her baby who was in grave danger from the snake. The point of the story was to not let your thoughts wander but to remain connected with your senses from help from the Rainbow Serpent.
We hiked some more to a large sandstone cave where we stopped for lunch and Evan taught us how to paint with ocher as the Aboriginals would have. Ocher is natural paint made from charcoal and other natural mineral stones that you grind and mix with water until it makes a paint. He showed us some symbols for water, kangaroos, the rainbow serpent, emu, meeting places, men, women, and how the Aboriginals use these symbols to paint their dreaming stories. We painted our own dreaming stories on rocks, bark, and leaves and at the end we all painted our faces. It was a lot of fun to get to learn in a creative way in the middle of the beautiful Blue Mountains.
Our last stop was at another cave where Evan told us some more about the Aboriginal people’s ceremonies and initiation. He told us about the final stages the men would have to go through in order to be allowed to marry and that men usually didn’t complete their ritual until they were at least 25. Women would finish as early as 14 and would be allowed to marry a lot younger. Throughout the hike Evan had us try different leaves and smell different barks which he explained to us were Bush medicines. Some of the leaves tasted minty and one even tasted a bit like licorice. We also tested out a natural nasal decongestant...
Hiking through the Blue Mountains on a “walkabout” made me notice thing that I would probably not have noticed on my own. I would certainly have not realized that the first sacred site we went to was a site important to the oldest living culture in the world! It was an intense hike but it was really invigorating and I really enjoyed being out in the middle of nowhere without cell phones or iPods and people worrying about schedules. It’s no surprise to me that the Aboriginal peoples of Australia used the Blue Mountains as part of their ceremonies.
Walkabout. Going walkabout was something that Australian Aboriginals did as part of their initiation ceremonies as they grew up in order to be able to marry or be considered “men” and “women” and no longer children. Part of my Indigenous Cultures class here was that we got to go on a walkabout in the Blue Mountains for the day. We had a trail guide named Evan who was an Aboriginal Australian himself so we were very privileged to get this very unique learning experience that put everything we had been learning in a classroom setting out into its original setting. Taking forty people on a hike in areas where there were not trails may have been a daunting task but Evan didn’t seem to mind. 
When we first began our hike the area was the typical dry Australian bush but as we went further into the mountain we got to experience the beautiful rainforest atmosphere of the Blue Mountains. Our first stop was at a sacred site where the initiation ceremonies began. Evan told us dreaming stories, which are stories about how the people live, their customs, and their creation story. There was a small pond in the rock where we stopped that they called the Rainbow Serpent and there were carvings in the rock that would help tell the dreaming stories to the young men. By pouring water on them from the pond, the Rainbow Serpent was said to have helped them be able to focus for hours while they were being told the dreaming stories. The point was to focus on the feeling of water running down their outside physical bodies until they felt the same sensation inside and were able to center themselves. One of the dreaming stories Evan told us was illustrated by carvings in the rock. There was a wallaby mother on one side of the rock and a baby wallaby with a snake on the other side. The story was that the mother was not focusing and her mind had wandered until she was not paying attention to her baby who was in grave danger from the snake. The point of the story was to not let your thoughts wander but to remain connected with your senses from help from the Rainbow Serpent. 
We hiked some more to a large sandstone cave where we stopped for lunch and Evan taught us how to paint with ocher as the Aboriginals would have. Ocher is natural paint made from charcoal and other natural mineral stones that you grind and mix with water until it makes a paint. He showed us some symbols for water, kangaroos, the rainbow serpent, emu, meeting places, men, women, and how the Aboriginals use these symbols to paint their dreaming stories. We painted our own dreaming stories on rocks, bark, and leaves and at the end we all painted our faces. It was a lot of fun to get to learn in a creative way in the middle of the beautiful Blue Mountains. 
Our last stop was at another cave where Evan told us some more about the Aboriginal people’s ceremonies and initiation. He told us about the final stages the men would have to go through in order to be allowed to marry and that men usually didn’t complete their ritual until they were at least 25. Women would finish as early as 14 and would be allowed to marry a lot younger. Throughout the hike Evan had us try different leaves and smell different barks which he explained to us were Bush medicines. Some of the leaves tasted minty and one even tasted a bit like licorice. We also tested out a natural nasal decongestant...
Hiking through the Blue Mountains on a “walkabout” made me notice thing that I would probably not have noticed on my own. I would certainly have not realized that the first sacred site we went to was a site important to the oldest living culture in the world! It was an intense hike but it was really invigorating and I really enjoyed being out in the middle of nowhere without cell phones or iPods and people worrying about schedules. It’s no surprise to me that the Aboriginal peoples of Australia used the Blue Mountains as part of their ceremonies.
No comments:
Post a Comment