Cultural Symbols: Australian Aborigines

The definition of art is notoriously difficult and is a field of philosophical inquiry as such. The meaning of the word "art" are multiple, sediment and cross each other in the language. Missing uses of the word are present in expressions and help to make the subject more that difficult. However, according to my studies, art is an expression, a symbolic way to communicate. Its key is to make something subject or scientific, for instance: an object that went through certain modification would be consider an art. We have a different type of arts but I will only be focusing on this tree types: prehistoric art, art of the ancient near east and art of ancient Egypt.

Totems hold great significance as they represent connections with the land, the Dreamtime and ancestors.

All aboriginals are linked to the Dreamtime through their totemic creation ancestors, whose stories are passed on through generations. Just as they would care for their family or tribe, they are obliged to care for their ancestral spirits existing in their land. It is important to remember that ancestral spirits are not necessarily ‘Gods’, but instead they are natural features of the land. As the Ancestor Spirits travelled the land, they taught the Law. When Aboriginals say they have a spiritual connection to the land, this relationship exists through the Law developed at the period of formation that includes a system of totemism. A totemic being represents the original form of an animal, plant or other object as it was in the Creation Period. The Kumbumerri Yugambeh people’s totem is the Eagle. ‘What is meant by totemism in Aboriginal Australia is always a mystical connection, expressed by symbolic devices and maintained by rules, between living persons, whether as individuals or as groups or as stocks, and other existents—their ‘totems’ —within an ontology of life that in Aboriginal understanding depends for order and continuity on maintaining the identities and associations which exemplify the connection.’ (5.3) Totems not only create a sense of belonging and spiritual connectedness to the land and others in the tribe, but they also offer hints to the person's

Artists try to portray their views of human ideas, cultures, and lifestyles through their art. Art is defined as “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” Each artist has their own style due to the fact each person sees everything in their own way.

For Aboriginal Australians, the land has a special significance that is rarely understood by those of European descent. The land, or country, does not only sustain Aborigines in material ways, such as providing food and shelter, it also plays a major role in their spiritual lives. As Rose put it, "Land provides for my physical needs and spiritual needs." (1992, p.106). To use Rose 's own term, to Aboriginals the land is a 'nourishing terrain '. (1996, p.7).

Hearing, seeing and visualizing the future and our present is frustrating. Believing in what is called “reality” and “society” based off decisions that weren’t made by us, but by the past to protect the outcome of what should happen later. People search for clues to help stabilize and move forward in life in myths and many other sources. Myths are traditional stories that deal with a historical explanation of some natural or social event, usually associating with supernatural appearances. The ancient Greeks told their cosmos through teachings and tales concerning their gods and heroes, and the importance of the culture and ritual practices to show their natural state. The myth of the Amazons and the great story of Hercules explain the

Mythology is the study of the language used to express experiences with and understandings of the “absolute reality.” There are four main functions that make up and are the foundation of mythology: Each of these functions plays a major role in categorizing the ideas and characters in their respective groups or section. To name these four functions there is the Mystical function which is also known as the sacred or universal function. The next function is the cosmological function or metaphor (character) function. Then comes the social or profane (personal function) which is one of the main functions that is involved in the idea of mythology. The last of the four functions is the pedagogical function or the moral function of

Often times we hear the word Myth and don’t have a complete understanding of what the word means. Mythology can vary greatly but it is one thing that countries, cultures, and religions have in common. While beliefs, knowledge, mythology and religion may intersect they also can differ greatly from each other. Like other countries myths have come to help sculpt and shape American cultural values and behaviors.

Inyuwa Nampitjinpa in 1996 created the artwork Women’s Dreaming at Punkilpirri. The painting is a vibrant dynamic piece, which immediately grabs and captures the person who is viewing the artwork pulling them in with its bright earthly naturalistic colors, and tones such as white, yellow and brown which are the only colors displayed throughout the artwork. The saturation of the background being bright, luminous and optimistic. Which enlightens the artwork adding a soft vibrant touch. Which is daring but delicate creating a naturalistic earthly spiritual ambience allowing the person viewing the artwork to develop a spiritual connection due to its vibrant earthly and naturalistic tones. The texture of the artwork is rough because it includes

While from two vastly different regions and cultures of the world, Australian and Native American mythologies have more in common than people initially realize. Both span thousands of years of traditional lifestyles, having developed unique folklore in order to preserve their cultures. Australian mythology has a slightly less severe tone, having written their myths in order to record them in the aftermath of colonization, while Native Americans feel a religious reverence for the tales because they view their stories as true accounts. However, while their tones are different, their thematic similarities stretch from their long histories and creation myths to the importance of animals and astronomy.

Myths serve an important purpose in today’s world and modern society due to the way they teach morals and life lessons. Myths have an impact on the way we live our lives and the actions we take. Myths have a significant sociological function, helping us to understand ourselves as part of a wider human story, and where we fit within it.

These flaked tools are used to shape wooden weapons and implements. The manufacture and use of ground edge axes, still occasionally made today, date back over 20,000 years on the northern mainland, and back to 40,000 years in Papua New Guinea, once attached to present day Australia. Aboriginal Australians have a very unique culture and way of life. They love their culture and carry on most of the same traditions that their ancestors did for thousands of years. They do this by expressing their culture through ceremonies, music, dances, and by carrying on the social structures of their ancestors. To this day, Aboriginal Australians are a very diverse community and have overcome many contemporary challenges.

In many of tradition, a myth carries within it a sense of sacred tradition and primordial relation. These myths are also serving as model for chosen tradition. Myths are extremely complex cultural reality that can be approached and interpreted from various viewpoints. These viewpoints are often related to the whole of

When trying to define art, humankind runs in to many difficulties. Traditional concepts of art include painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography. Art can also be one

Art is a form of human expression. Art can be seen as the artist sleight of hand on his mood. Art is in various media from posters to public wall of which we call “graffiti”. Art is elusive as the use of colors shapes and the surface used adds a new dimension. Art portrays various ideas, feelings such as triumph, love, happiness, sorrow and boredom in loss to mention a few. Art is beauty and creativity. During man’s evolution art has progressed over in its most primitive state up to its most modernized versions today.