Whether making a Dream Journey in search of his ancestral roots or painting his body in order to recreate his culture heroes, the Aborigine participates in an intense spiritual reality that can only be expressed and experienced in the Dreaming-an event of luminous beauty that has given his life purpose and meaning for over 50000 years. James Cowan brings the tradition to life in this exploration of the Dreaming Country where the Aborigine is always close to his ancestors his Sky Heroes and his totemic birthplace.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Making sense of Aboriginal culture and religion,
By David G Mudge (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mysteries of the Dream-Time: The Spiritual Life of Australian Aborigines (Paperback)
As a white Australian I have known Aboriginal people, seen Aboriginal dances and gained a vague recognition that there was something quite spiritual about their culture, however primitive it seemed. Counterbalancing this, in my culture, are many negative stereotypes about the Aboriginal people. Mr Cowan tells a compelling and very different story and therefore I highly recommend this book to all non-Aboriginal Australians, and indeed others from monotheistic and westernised cultures, as a starting point for making sense of Aboriginal culture.James Cowan's book provides an eye-opening description of the intertwined nature of Aboriginal culture, religion, habitat and personal identity. Reading this you will understand why Land Rights is such a significant issue for the Aboriginal. The Aboriginal concept of religion and spirituality is so different from the major world religions that the concepts presented are necessarily complex (to my mind anyway) and so this book is not an easy read. However, the author gives numerous examples and provides much testimony from Aboriginals, as well as reiterating important points as the book progresses. By the end of the book, the important values and beliefs have been communicated well. The one issue probably not covered sufficiently is the woman's role in Aboriginal spirituality, leaving half of the race under-represented. Mr Cowan also makes an attempt to talk about ways to reconcile the mainstream Australian culture with the Aboriginal one, however I think these ideas could do with much more development - perhaps a topic for a whole other book. For the Australian reader, this book will help cut through and explain some of the common stereotypes of the Aboriginal. Mostly it will rebutt the myth of Aboriginal culture as something primitive and paganistic, instead revealing a highly mature and, until recently, highly successful approach to spiritual wellbeing.
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