Question
Aboriginal music (which includes song, dance and design) is uniquely connected to the creative life-force of the dreaming and according to Magowan (2011, p.43) ‘stories are often told in song as a means of making sense of the world and everything in it. Consider the role of music, story, art and ceremony and discuss their significance for social knowledge’s and education within Aboriginal communities.
Aboriginal people have a deep spiritual connection to their country and to the creative life force of the Dreaming. Aboriginal people maintain their system of beliefs, law and culture through a variety of forms including music, stories, art and ceremony. Each of these forms enables Aboriginal people to make sense of the world and everything in it. Throughout this essay the role of music, story, art and ceremony will be discussed with reference to their significance for social knowledge and education for aboriginal communities. However, to understand the variety of forms that Aboriginal people engage in it is vital to have an understanding of the Dreaming which permeates through song, dance, stories, panting and social systems and is central to the existence of Aboriginal people, their lifestyle and culture.
The Dreaming
The Dreaming is a creative time in which spirit beings emerged from a pre-existent but lifeless substance for example water or land and travelled across the earth in a variety of forms including animals, plants and humans (Edwards 1998, p.17). As these spirit beings travelled across the earth and engaged in various activities they formed significant geographical features including waterholes, mountains and rocks. The activities of the spirit beings known as ancestors are believed to have provided a way of life for Aboriginals. One of the main characteristics of the Dreaming is that the land, people and natural world are one. Due to this deep spiritual relationship, Aboriginal people are obliged to continue and maintain the Dreaming to ensure that the spirit of the land and life forms are protected. Music, Stories, art and ceremony are a few ways in which Aboriginal people communicate with and maintain oneness with the Dreaming. When Aboriginal people engage in these activities they are maintaining sacred sites and the spirits of the creator ancestors are renewed (Ngala 2007, p.1). Therefore, when Aboriginal people engage in music, stories, art and ceremony they are not only learning and understanding the Dreaming they are keeping in touch with ancestors, preserving their culture and expressing their spirituality.

Music
Music is a powerful and vital aspect of the Aboriginal culture. Music is used to express individual spirituality and unite with ancestral beings and to educate future generations. Music is a very intimate expression. Music intimately links hearing, seeing and feeling. “When people sing, they see in sound and touch the landscape in their minds eye, reflecting these images back to the listener” (Magowan 2007, p.3). These sensory habits allow the individual to unite with the land and the spirits of the ancestral beings which maintains a spiritual relationship for the Aboriginal people. Music in the form of songs is a way of educating people. There are songs for every occasion including hunting and gathering, life and death, seasons, myths and dreamtime legends (Ngala 2007, p.1). Since aboriginal people did not have a form of writing they have sung for and about the land transmitting knowledge to future generations about how they belong to the land and their responsibility to care for it (Reed 2002, p.2). Each song is expected to be memorised to ensure that others learn and pass on the songs or life’s teachings. Songs are structured with a number of short verses which tell a story and important parts are repeated regularly, tone fluctuates to emphasis meaning and particular rhythms are used to differentiate individual songs. A variety of instruments are used by different tribes to create music including boomerangs, club sticks, hollow logs, drums, seeds and of course the didgeridoo. Hand and thigh clapping were also common (Central 2010 p.12). Since Aboriginal music is a vital part of the Aboriginal culture many Aboriginal musicians are creating music with a modern twist in order to incorporate into modern society. Aboriginal rock music sometimes still contains traditional sounds and songs has provided a “contemporary medium through which indigenous performers around the country proclaim customary and continuing connection to the land” (Reed 2002, p.3). Emotive lyrics and powerful imagery is a way of expressing the importance of the land to Aboriginal people and even non aboriginal people. Integrating these songs gives them strength, culture and identity to any community Aboriginal or not and youth can learn and understand about the Aboriginal culture.

Stories
Like Christians who turn to their Bible and read stories of how to live, Aboriginal people share stories to each other to educate one another about the time of creation, their obligations and way of life. Aboriginal stories vary from region to region however they all express the connection between the land and the people and way of life. Stories are vital for the continuity of the Aboriginal belief system that is passed down from generation. According to Magowan (2007 p.5), storytelling is “an energy, a power, a life force and it has gendered restrictions around who may perform and who may tell”. Like music, storytelling is a way of uniting with ancestral beings and an understanding of moral and social obligations. Story telling provides an opportunity for listeners to not only hear what is being said but to also unite with the land and spirit beings. The ancestral beings are the ones who created these stories and great emphasis is placed on those who tell stories. According to Magowan (2007 p.5) a good story not only refers to the content but more importantly the way it is communicated. Emphasis is placed on the power of imagery rather than words. Women story tellers tend to narrate the events of everyday life, stories of creation and the relationship between people and the natural world, while the men tell stories that are long with intricate details of clans, law, and ritual elements (Magowan 2007 p.5). Levels of depth and knowledge depending on the audience vary however each story uses a variety of vocal and repetitious techniques to impact emotion and convey the meaning. Stories can be sung and chanted during ceremonies or be casually sung while doing day to day activities. Story telling is so important for Aboriginal people especially younger generations. These stories of life and death right and wrong and of the natural world are vital for Aboriginal people to have in order to remain a strong cultural identity.
Art
Traditional art with Australian Aboriginal societies is extremely diverse and reflects the depth and richness of the oldest living culture on earth. Aboriginal art plays a vital role for expressing spirituality and is expressed in a variety of forms including rock paintings and engravings, body painting and bark painting. According to Aboriginal artist Djon Mundine, “For aboriginal people, art is a cultural expression…a statement through a series of life experiences of self – definition, a recounting of an untold story and the bringing to life of truth in history – a statement possibly unable to be made in any other way” (Korff 2010, p.13). Art to aboriginal people is more than just a pretty picture. It is a compilation of significant symbols and designs that give meaning about the origin and purpose of life, ancestral beings, maps and sacred sites. Overall “art should primarily be seen as maps of conceptual relationships that influence the way the landscape is seen and understood” (Horton 2000, p.1). Aboriginal art is a vital component to social knowledge and cultural preservation of Aboriginal communities.
Rock Art
Aboriginal people who lived thousands of years ago have left their individual marks on rocks and in caves. Today, paintings and engraving’s are still exist on rocks all over Australia especially in Central Australia, Western Australia and NSW. As mentioned before, traditionally, Aboriginal people painted or engraved to reveal maps of places tell stories or mark sacred sites. Aboriginal people used a variety of natural materials to pain and engrave with. Ochre was the most important painting material. It is a crumbly hard rock that is heavily coloured by iron oxide. This would be ground down and mixed with water, blood or sweat to form a paste to paint with. Ochre comes in a variety of colours ranging from pale yellow to dark brown (Horton 2000, p.2). These materials were applied in a variety of ways including blowing a fine spray from the mouth to form stencils, brushing the pain ton using fine hair or sticks and the use of hands and fingers. Rock surfaces were engraved by using smaller sharper rocks to create patterns and symbols. Rock engravings and paintings are visual representations detailing the social, economic and spiritual activities of Aboriginal life. Figures of men and women, animals and weapons are used to illustrate stories and symbols are also commonly used. Aboriginal symbols are used to retain and record significant information. They may indicate a scared site and the location of water and the means to get there. Generally symbols are a variation of lines, circles, dots all which have simple and sometime complex meaning. Below is a painting by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri that is rich in Aboriginal symbols.
Figure 1

(Central 2010, P.20)
Tjapaltjarri has used a series of circles to represent either a campsite, waterhole or meeting place and the parallel lines represent the journey path over sand hills and creek. The use of symbols indicates the journey taken by ancestor spirits as they travelled and stopped to create ceremonial sites. (Central 2010, p.20). This artwork is not only an example of the use of symbols but also the use layered meaning within art. Artists often refer to this as ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ meaning. For the general public they may see an outside story, but for those with the appropriate depth of knowledge they can understand the true meaning of what the art is trying to convey (Horton 2000, p.5). Whether the art work is rock painting or and engraving or even a form of body painting and decoration, Aboriginal people engage in a spiritual ritual of recounting the dreaming or passing on vital information which keeps the dreaming alive when creating art or interpreting the art. Today, Contemporary Aboriginal art is displayed in galleries all over the world. The variety of painting materials has increased and the painting and designs are often more elaborated. However, whether the art is tradition or contemporary art, the art work always tells a story or gives meaning of the link between people and the land. Art work is a way of visually representing the culture of Aboriginal people. Art is a form of education and continuation of the sacred belief system for Aboriginal people. Ceremony
“Aboriginal ceremonies are dramatic representations, in mime and song, of the mythical history of the tribe” (Ngala 2007, p.2). Ceremonies differ in content, style and reason. Some are extremely sensitive and serious while others are celebrations of life and love of the land. There are group ceremonies, male ceremonies and women ceremonies. During non - secret ceremonies, tribes chant and dance to songs while they are decorated with paint and plant and animal materials including feathers. Certain people are selected to act out creation stories and short dramatized acts what we would call skits to teach and warn people. Ceremonies are carried out in honour of the ancestral beings. It is an obligation for the preservation of Aboriginal culture that ceremonies occur. During dance, story telly and song people unite with ancestral beings and this is a way of maintaining their relationship with them and the land. Ceremonies are a significant part of Aboriginal culture. They incorporate the power of music, stories and art and dance to each member of the tribe to unite with ancestral beings and orally transmit vital information to educate younger generations and preserve the aboriginal culture.
Therefore, the roles of music, stories, art and ceremony within Aboriginal communities are extremely significant for the preservation of social knowledge and education of Aboriginal communities. Engaging in these activities allows Aboriginal people to gain understanding of the origin of life, the natural world and the relationship between people and the land, but more importantly, Aboriginal people can unite with ancestral beings during music, story, art and ceremony to maintain the relationship that Aboriginal people have with the ancestral beings and the ancestral powers can renew and regenerate the land for future generations.

Reference List
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