The Songlines: Bruce Chatwin

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A similar dilemma arises with respect to the representation of indigenous peoples, which is the basis of the Voice Referendum (to be held on Saturday, October 14, 2023). Phenomenal! But what will happen if the knowledge isn’t passed on? If there’s nobody left to sing the country, will the land die? I’ll end with something from Chatwin’s notebooks displayed in the book. It is a quote from an 1847 letter by Søren Kierkegaard (the Danish philosopher) and it is good to remember in today’s world: It may be impossible because of the restrictions on which people are allowed to hold which knowledge (which tribe, which age group, male or female), and how this information is allowed to be shared between tribes. [I use the term “tribe” because Chatwin does. There are many words used to describe different Aboriginal groups, but each has a different emphasis on who belongs to it. And there are even more language groups.] If they obtain a Voice, should there be any conditions on its exercise? Should whites have to listen to their message? Should we have to agree with it? (Do you only have freedom of speech, if we agree with what you say?)

Indigenous songlines: a beautiful way to think about the Indigenous songlines: a beautiful way to think about the

Each totemic ancestor, while travelling through the country, was thought to have scattered a trail of words and musical notes along the line of his footprints...By analogy, Aboriginal creation myths suggest that a mob or totemic species is born at "one particular point on the map, and then spreads out in lines across the country." It’s a practical thing for me. It’s in the little closet next to my mosquito net and my canteen. Just the essential things that I would need. The term ‘Songlines’ was became popularised by author Bruce Chatwin in the 1980s, in his book Songlines. There was controversy over this name, as it implied that First Nations people would sing their way across the country like some kind of ancient GPS or map. Songlines do chart the landscape of Australia, but they are complex and don't always follow a linear direction.

The Songlines - Bruce Chatwin - Google Books

She was a critical force behind the Ngintaka project – an exhibition at the South Australian Museum and an associated book about a songline stretching across Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands told by Anangu Traditional Owners. The exhibition and the book became mired in controversy and legal action after a small group of APY traditional owners, including the well-known blind Indigenous activist Yami Lester, claimed they were not properly consulted and that cultural confidences were breached. One of the anthroplogists Chatwin meets defines a true naturalist as "a man who is in love with the world".That English teacher was me, and such was my introduction to two of the 20th century’s most original storytellers. Ever since, Chatwin’s books and Herzog’s films have been absorbed into the deep folds of my imagination, spurring my own travels, and informing my own writing. To this day, a dog-eared copy of Chatwin’s The Songlines (his exploration of sacred Aboriginal storytelling) is never far from my desk. And the mere mention of brown bears conjures Herzog’s haunting Grizzly Man (a documentary about a man’s fatal obsession with Alaskan bears). Even as I reread the opening paragraphs of this article, I’m slightly embarrassed to note the echoes of a Chatwin story or a Herzog screenplay. But that’s the power of great storytellers—their distinctive voices embed themselves in their audiences. As a book, this is a rather strange concoction, but that is to be expected from Chatwin. I had no expectations and found a clear account of Australian travels. He adapts to his environment by plundering his accumulated notebooks when trapped by rains, setting down what is effectively his own Walkabout, the episodic meditations that become the real form and focus of the book. Lawlor, Robert (1991), Voices of the First Day: Awakening in the Aboriginal Dreamtime, Inner Traditions/Bear, ISBN 978-0-89281-355-1

Songlines and stolen children: lessons from Indigenous Songlines and stolen children: lessons from Indigenous

For its 25th anniversary, a new edition of Bruce Chatwin's classic work with a new introduction by Rory StewartWhat is the Connection Between the Dreamtime and Songlines?". Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery. 26 October 2017 . Retrieved 16 January 2020.