Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Australian Culture

Today I'm making a bullroarer for the Lammas ritual, which has an Australian theme. Some resources I've turned up include:

Australian Foods:
http://fooddownunder.com/#4
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?q=australia
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/foodanddrink/

Culture & Spirituality:
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/austral.htm
http://www.crystalinks.com/ayersrock.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/dreamtime.html

Art:
http://www.jintaart.com.au/iconography/iconhmpg.htm
http://aboriginalart.com.au/gallery/iconography.html
http://www.cooinda-gallery.com.au/
http://aboriginalart.com.au/gallery/gallery_intro.html

Mythology:
http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ar-Be/Australian-Mythology.html
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/australian-mythology.php
http://www.mccsc.edu/~kmcglaun/mythology/australia.htm
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Stories-of-the-Dreaming

I'm working on an alternate history storyline in which the natives of Australia are anthropomorphic canids (variously called "Tingo" or "dogsbodies") who wind up enslaved by Europeans and Americans. To counterbalance the fact that this storyworld has no human Australians, I'm putting some extra energy into promoting Australian culture as we know it in our world.

My answer to cultural misappropriation is cultural investment; I figure that what I get out of a culture should be balanced by what I put into it. I'm also trying to spread this idea to other creative folks in hopes that we can find a sane and decent way to write/paint/etc. about the full diversity of human cultures so it's not all white-bread stuff ... without starting a brawl in the process and without contributing to the already scandalous amount of racism in the world.
Tags: ethnic studies, magic, networking, paganism, spirituality
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  • 22 comments
...go 8 levels up... Expand
katallen

katallen

August 2 2009, 00:39:56 UTC 11 years ago

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.


siege

siege

August 2 2009, 01:50:15 UTC 11 years ago

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.

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  • Fieldhaven as Habitat

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