Australia

It is widely believed that Australia’s first settlers, the Aborigines, arrived on the shores of this continent at about 38,000 BC. They are said to have traveled to the island by now-extinct land bridges that extended from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. A large number of Aborigines are said to have originated from southern Asia, according to evidence found along the Upper Swan region of western Australia.

In roughly 2,000 years, the Aborigines had successfully spread themselves throughout the island continent, mainly because their lifestyle was centered on hunting, gathering, and mobilizing towards food and water sources. This nomadic lifestyle was useful not only in supporting their children and their tribes, but also established many important ceremonial, marital, and political relationships between various groups scattered all over the land. The alliances formed were categorized into male and female descent. These categories served as the basis for fulfilling crucial religious functions and ceremonies, such as who should be initiated into the hierarchy of the tribe or who should be worthy of acquiring the secret religious knowledge of the tribe. This nomadic and deeply hierarchical system persisted even after the first Europeans arrived in 1788.

On the other hand, another group of nomads, the Maoris of New Zealand arrived on the continent much later than the Australian Aborigines. Maori ancestry is considered to be deeply rooted in their Polynesian roots, and their arrival in the Australasian region was largely attributed to their exceptional seafaring and navigational skills.

Throughout Australia, most indigenous myths are mainly concerned with the actions and the spectacular journeys of their tribes’ ancestral beings. Their ancestors are said to have created the mountains, the rock formations, and all living creatures into existence. Their creators also named the places they have visited, as well as all the species they have placed there to inhabit them. It is said that the tracks made by these ancestors extended from the sea and all across the Australian island, making sure that no singular tribe knows a complete myth, but only a part of it. No local tribe, clan, or language group can ever make the claim to know the complete creation myth of his or her people or of the island itself. This is the main reason why Aborigines have to come together every now and then in order that the ritual retelling of the entire myth can be recreated.

Aborigines refer to the time when ancestral creator beings made the world as the “Dreamtime” or “the Dreaming.” The Aborigines believe that the creation act still continues until today and even influences the actions of humans who live in the present. It is called “Dreamtime” because of the belief that only through dreams can one be given the access to the significance of creation as it is today. The Ayres Rock, which is a famous 335-meter pink rock located in Northern Australia, is considered one of the many sacred sites of the Aborigines who visit it in order to be taken back into the Dreamtime.

The Maoris, on the other hand, maintained their belief in the popular religion of Polynesia. This religion recognizes the many gods present in nature. Maori priests and chiefs however, have an extra dimension to their faith—they also venerate a supreme god called “Io”. Io is conjured up in many significant ceremonies, such as birth and marriage in the Maori aristocracy while the ordinary people did not. Maoris also believe that there exists evil beings that were motivated by black magic and who made sure that proper behavior was always followed in daily life. Like the Aborigines, Maoris also place a high importance to the dreaming process. Humans are said to possess a spirit that only wanders in dreams. These dreams are said to spring from the peaceful haven in the Underworld, beneath the Polynesian sea.