Ancient Aboriginal Purpose

Purpose was once our Aboriginal every day. We lived with such unquestioning purpose. We trusted in our Ancestors that they knew better, we had complete faith that Biame would deliver and care for us. Our purpose was to care for the living landscapes of our Ancestors – above and below ground. This was achieved by collective first laws enforced and taught through stories, songs, rituals, and ceremony. How incredible it must have been to know what your purpose every day is for every living thing in your Ancestors homelands.

To live honouring your Ancestors just by living this way.

I grew up in western NSW in a small country town isolated from the world. Me and my sisters and brothers spent our youth roaming around this region, playing sport, working and socialising. I thought I knew this region like the back of my hand. I knew where the best fishing and swimming spots, I knew where we escape parents and I knew where not to go.

I realised recently that I understood nothing and how naive and ignorant I was to this areas truth and story. Just up the road to where I lived for many years is a place called Dandaloo. There is a lake there - a cowal or swamp in the old days. On an old map I see that it says Swan lake where Dandaloo is located. I ask myself why is that? I looked up the Wiradjuri meaning of Swan - Dhundu - lake is Lei - Dhundu Lei - Dandaloo - Swan lake was near me and I never knew. It saddens me I did not know its story as I do now. Buddah Lake up the road and I found on an old parish map it was a burial ground. How blind many of us are to the amazing story and history around us. I am going to change that!

About three years ago I read an article by an ANU Linguist that stated he believed that Aboriginal languages were made up of codes or patterns that if solved could help restore our culture and knowledge. As a person who adored patterns more than anything this appealed to me deeply. Every Aboriginal person is on a path to help restore their people's knowledge and society.

As you may have read previously I have an area of around 200 million acres in NSW to cover that was traditionally in the care of my people.

After exploring and reading hundreds and hundreds of ancient maps, I am now certain my path has always been to understand that each of these connected acres, these important place names, hold the secret codes for how we once lived, loved and survived. These riddles that are held at these places hold the teachings of how to honour the very reason for your existence. Your Ancestors (family)

You are the product of thousands of years of humanity – your Ancestors. Your thoughts are their whispers.

When I think of where I have come from in my own knowledge gaining journey, I wince at how these Ancestors must have shook their collective heads and thought this one was like a blank shield, an uncarved skin needing an incredible amount of patience and wisdom (many resewing) to fill in my lack of knowing. I also realise that I was put on this journey fifty years ago (I told you I was a little slow).

Why I started looking at the place names in Wiradjuri language I could not say. I thought accidentally, but I should have known better. I have always loved finding patterns and then figuring out why those patterns were strategically used. I have always been weird like that.

Maybe those wise women thought our people needed to have a pattern translator to help restore our society. Saying that out loud it sounds highly unlikely even to me. But I can only tell you my superpower or skill is seeing patterns and adding context to why that pattern exists. I think this is a very Aboriginal trait and maybe my Ancestors saw this as a useful skill to help in some way. Maybe when they spoke to five year old me they amped up my abilities. I do not know the answer. This journey changed my life and could possibly change yours.

 So why is it important to learn how to live to honour your Ancestors?

 Your Ancestors hold the secrets and codes to unlocking your story. The story of why you are you.  They even reveal the subconscious framework your brain works from – either Individual or Collective.

Science will tell you, for at least six generations we are genetically the same. This unbroken record keeps playing over and over.

 I believe a million things but in relation to this area of Spirit (Genetic) Memory, I believe knowing and understanding your story – the story of you is critical to knowing your purpose in life. Purpose cannot be known without knowledge and connection to your Ancestors story.

 I hear all the time that many Individual or Western people are envious of my peoples connection to country.  I marvel at why they too do not feel or know that same deep connection. I can see now how critical it is for everyone to be shown how to feel that way. To learn from the Ancient Cultures about connection and story.

 Knowing where you came from helps bridge the gulf that divides your past from your future.

 Each of us is a piece of a larger relationship puzzle. We are all born into the unique and complex network of individuals, settings, circumstances and living landscapes that constitute our heritage. Whether or not you are aware of your ancestors, your family's country of origin, the cultural history of your people, or the trials faced by the people responsible for bringing you into the world, these forces have had a hand in shaping your values and behaviours. Knowing your family history and reflecting often upon your own personal history as it relates to your heritage empowers you to look at your life in a larger historical context and to understand that you are a vital part of an ongoing drama far greater than yourself.  

For thousands of years we all lived to honour our family and Kinship.  Learning how to honour your Ancestors homelands and territories will give you a restored purpose for living. The traits of your ancestors can give your insight into how your character has developed and the beliefs that form the foundation of your worldview. The knowledge you gain can help you appreciate your values and your character, giving you the confidence to be more expressive where both are concerned. At a cellular level, you carry a genetic code from your family determining things like how you age, your blood type, and personality traits. But as a spiritual being you bring in what you choose to do with that genetic coding.

 However, unearthing your Spirit Memory is not simply about uncovering who did what when or reconnecting with long-lost relatives. Rather, it is a method of building self-awareness and a feeling of inner joy. An understanding of why you do the things you do. It connects you with a cultural anchor to places and allows you to live knowing you have endured with honour and compassion for those who are responsible for you being alive.

Knowing your story is about loving who you are, understanding where you've come from, and living for the right reasons at all times. 

 I know how to do that now…..

 It is up to me to walk this path

 I can’t stress enough what a huge statement that is for a mixed heritage Aboriginal women who tries to fit into a society that is not aligned with her story for how to live with honour. A person who has like many other Aboriginal people and some rare Colonial people ,spent her life trying to find the answer to what is my purpose as an Aboriginal person. How can I even begin to restore my peoples destroyed society so we can feel whole again?

Restoration of place names and a decoding of these liguistic patterns that my genius Ancestors strategically designed and developed thousands of years ago is critical. I am decoding these names and it is amazing work. I will continue to look for funds so I can do this full time and develop this for our people to enjoy and expand upon. It is going to be an amazing ride.

[email protected] - Lead researcher on the Wiradjuri Toponomy project.