 Dreamkeepers - Harvey Arden [message #5978] |
Sun, 18 September 2011 09:13  |
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"Dreamkeepers - A Spirit-Journey into Aboriginal Australia"
by Harvey Arden
At first blush, this book appears to be an attempt by a western author to tap into Aboriginal spiritualism. After all... the name "Dreamkeepers" conjures images of sitting at the feet of hoary old Aboriginal men and hearing Dreamtime tales, and the cover art features just such an image.
But this is a book by Harvey Arden, whose previous book "Wisdomkeepers," was more of a portrait of the current state of affairs in Native American cultural anthropology. And so it is with "Dreamkeepers."
The book starts out with the author's somewhat rude awakening to the fact that the Aboriginals he is introduced to range from uninterested in his quest to downright hostile. The phrase "Get your own Dreamtime - don't try to steal ours" becomes an oft-heard refrain. The moment most of his subjects hear that he is an "Awtha" (author) there is an immediate assumption that he is here to add to the long list of exploitation by westerners. So the author is told that he will hear no dreamtime stories (and, thus, neither will the reader be told them by extension) but that he should, instead, learn about what the state of the Aboriginal people is now.
And so it goes. The author is introduced to many Aboriginals across the continent, and each one has their own angle on what is currently happening to the Aboriginals in Australia. Sure, he is taken to cave paintings and told about sacred sites and even has a brush with some Lawmen, but the story seems to be one of poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, and anger.
Then a strange thing happens. The reader slowly becomes aware that the tales the author is relating are carrying an undertone of meaning: of something deeper than simply "these are the problems we face today." There is a growing sense that, by learning who these individuals are today, we can get a tantalizing glimpse of their connection to the land. By hearing stories about what they have lost, we can start to appreciate what it is they still possess and how it relates to what we might as well, for lack of a better word, call "The Dreamtime."
By the end of the book, the reader is left understanding something about not only the current state of Aboriginal affairs, but also of how they continue to struggle to maintain their history... their identity... and their all-important connection to the land.
I strongly recommend the book.
Douglas Bischoff
Modern Dreamtime
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