Songlines – Southwest

John Sara

Traditionally the journeys of the Aboriginal Spirit Ancestors are recorded in Song Lines. Instead of maps these tracks are imaginary lines that trace the paths taken by the Spirit Ancestors and the mythical snake as they moved through the land forming its features and creating its plants and animals. When the ancestral beings and the mythical snake had completed their creation, they told the Aboriginal People they were charged with caring for the land and waterways and all living things.

The Dream Journey is the name given to the return of Aboriginal People to a sacred place. A sacred place to an Aboriginal person could be a geographic feature like a hill or a waterhole or it could be a place where ceremonies and lore business take place, or it could be a place where rock art or etchings are.

Long before European arrival these places had traditional names that reflected the timeless relationship between the Aboriginal people and these sacred places. Traditionally Aboriginal people would leave their camps and go walkabout. Walkabout is a journey for ceremonial purposes and each stage of the journey to a sacred place is filled with significance. Aboriginal people follow the same ancient paths and sing the same songs as their ancestors on these ritual journeys.