Different mythology about the ancestors
For Australian Aboriginal people, Dreamtime represents the origin of everything that is on earth. In their culture Dreamtime was the time when the ancestor came from the crust of the world and created everything. According to them, before the ancestors came out, the earth was formless and had nothing. They also believed that the ancestors made sacred places in which the people conducted a ritual to please the spirts. Different tribes have different mythology about the ancestor; some thought that they were animal spirits while to others, they were giant snakes. One of the paintings that tell the story of the ancestors is Wandjina art. Wandjina is said to be a mighty rainmaker. The body is mainly drawn using dots to represent the rainfall. For the Mowanju people, they believe that Wandajina was the one who brought the culture and language of the people. They often tell of Wandajina called Adair. They thought he is the father of all Wandjina. His son wallugunder created the first human and everything on earth. As the story goes after the spirits had found a place to die, they then drew their images on the caves. These people repainted the walls of the cave as a way of bringing back life.
Traditionally most of the societies were divided according to age group with imitation ceremonies held at every stage. The group given the most important is the elders. In most of the communities, the elders had the governing power and had the role of being the protector of the rule of the land. However, in the Melanesian, the community often believed that everyone is equal, and thus there was almost no political structure. However, there was an evolution of power, and three groups emerged, the elder, the chief and the big men. Instead, there was an emergence of big men. These were people that aimed power not through inheritance but through having so many followers. The followers were not necessary from the same clan. They gained such following from distributing their wealth. One of the masks used in the Melanesian community is Kanak mask. It represented the evil spirit of the sea. It was worn during the funeral rituals. The eyes of the mask were closed, and so the wearer had to see through the mouth. It had a beak-like nose, and at the top, it had human hair which was also part of the beard. These masks were worn during the funeral rituals of a dead chief.
To understand the culture of the Polynesian, one has to understand the meaning of mana. Mana to the Polynesian power was the force that helped all the human being achieve anything in this world. In Polynesian, a perfect mark of man was in the effectiveness in the art or craft o an individual. The origin of mana is believed to be from the god. The Polynesian believed that all powers came from the gods. The relationship between the human and the gods is not a static one, and so powers and other things can be passed genealogically between the gods and the human. The force of manna was acquired through inheritance. It was inherited by the firstborns and was a gift from the gods. Just like the ancestor, gods are linked to the human though kinship and those closest in relation acquired the most mana. However, even ordinary people could also get it by performing rituals. It was not enough to acquire manna, but a person had to prove their worth throughout. Just like it was aired man auld be lost. The leaders had the responsivity to keep their manna. Any leader who lost any challenge, especially to protect themselves from threats were considered to have lost their power. The amount of mana in a person determined his power in authority thus, people in authority were considered to have great mana. The priest and the chiefs in the politician community posed more manna. Artisans demonstrated their mana by being effective in their art. Mana thus was a mark of authority to the physician community. It was not limited to men as women were thought to have it due to their ability to reproduce.
All the people in Polynesian venerated their ancestors, and they referred to them as Aumakua. They often went to seek help from these ancestors. While these ancestors were invisible to the human eye, artifacts were used to represent them. Each family would have their way of recognizing the presence of AuMakua. The spirits of the ancestors did not only possess natural objects but would also possess some living things like fish or even birds. It is important to note that while an animal would be revered as having the spirit of the ancestors, it did not mean the whole species rather that particular animal. Some goddesses like Laka were still regarded as spirits. People were supposed to live a life that often showed the virtue of the ancestors to please them. If the ancestors felt defied, they would come to the living world and punish those they thought were not following the correct path. At the same time, the ancestors would walk away from the living, and thus the living could not reach them. When offering prayers, one could mention the name of spirits to show respect. The spirit would protect the families for the danger, just like a parent would. In Polynesian communities the kinship was tied to the male decedent, people traced their ancestors through their father’s lineage. In other communities, unlike Polynesian, the ancestral line could be traced through the maternal route, especially if it presented the beneficiary with more benefits.
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