Australian Culture

Do you have any information on female-oriented rituals and spirituality in Austrialian Aboriginal cultures?

So what would you suggest?

Once upon a time I was standing at a jewellery counter and the late-teenage girl in front of me asked to see what the shop had in the way of cross shaped pendants. When shown the relevant tray she asked 'do you have any with the little man on?'.

What that young woman was doing was showing both her lack of respect for another persons religion, and her incredible ignorance -- by stealing an icon she didn't understand in the slightest. She had no idea of its symbolism or cultural significance.

My suggestion is that people avoid being that girl (or the guy who gets tatooed with kanji that do not mean what he thinks they mean).

(And why on earth would anyone want to worship in false colours? The universe isn't going to be impressed)

In other words, "You don't know what it's for, so just go away."

I repeat, what do you suggest in place of the described act, to provide substantive participation and honor given as is intended? Or do you have no suggestions, but intend to shun instead of educate? To hide the "crucifix" so the ignorant will never learn about it?

No, in other words respect other people's beliefs and cultures by not mindlessly aping the trimmings because they're cool or impressive (and make the effort to learn about the culture yourself rather than demanding other people save you the bother by providing shortcuts -- knowing that she was looking for a crucifix wouldn't have brought the girl any closer to enlightenment).

If I say 'hail Mary's, count a rosary, cross myself repeatedly, set up an altar and feed myself bread and wine... I'm not honouring the Catholic faith. Nor participating in it. Nor am I being educated. All I could possibly demonstrate is how much I don't understand, about Catholisism in particular and religious belief in general.

I have no interest in helping you imitate someone else's religion.

If I say 'hail Mary's, count a rosary, cross myself repeatedly, set up an altar and feed myself bread and wine... I'm not honouring the Catholic faith. Nor participating in it. Nor am I being educated. All I could possibly demonstrate is how much I don't understand, about Catholisism in particular and religious belief in general.

Funny thing -- I've met a lot of people like that. They go through the motions because that's what they've been taught. The catechism (or confirmation class in Protestant denominations) is supposed to teach the why behind the how, to explain what is sufficient. And yet, so many Catholics seek more than what they have. Mysticism arises where understanding is insufficient, where faith is not fed.

These people consider themselves Catholics in good faith, and yet they continue to seek outside their faith for the spiritual substance they aren't getting.

My point in bringing this up is that even people who have spent their whole lives within a given faith can still miss the substance of it. Why not let someone peer within and see what's there, and learn the substance behind the act?

You keep implying that somehow I'm keeping you from studying other religions, or searching for belief. But at the same time you have repeatedly asked that other people do the studying and hand you pre-digested chunks that you can use -- as if a single ritual taken in isolation could be in any way representative of a faith. These statements do not sit well together.

I see no sign that you're serious in a desire to go beyond brief mimicry, that you're searching for substance, and you're not talking about going through the motions of your birth religion, or having an imperfect understanding of your own cultural heritage, but acting out elements of a belief system where you haven't even the slightest grasp of what is or is not respectful or sacriligeous. To me there is a big difference between someone seeking beyond their birth religion and spiritual tourism/voyeurism.

Go right ahead with your 'act', but please don't insist that I have a duty to enable you -- that only applies to true seekers.

Actually, I'm only a side actor with a moderate interest in what the entities involved have to say about this (both incarnate and in spirit), replying to an observer who was not the original commenter in this thread, in the observational eye of the person who is actually planning and preparing the ritual against which so many now complain.