aboriginal australia21st February 2014

By Steven Strong

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

Until this article, everything written in our books, contributions to Wake up World and other publications always made a clear distinction between solid archaeology, science, history, Original stories, varying opinions and our personal interpretations. Not this time. This time, we must breach the divide between fact and opinion.

Undeniably, the guidance and wisdom offered by our two Original Elders – one man and one woman – is often based on their assurances and recollections alone. We know these people and trust their integrity implicitly. We know as an absolute fact that, when speaking on culture, lore and Old Ways, our Elders would rather die than misrepresent or betray Original truths and secrets.

With that in mind, any information we offer relating to cultural matters is the absolute truth and will remain our truth throughout this and every other article. After all, this is their story and their history. Our job is simply to understand it and pass it on as accurately we can.

Besides, it would be an error of limited thinking to assume the stories of the Original people are not genuine because they are not told in the “white fella” modes of paperwork, photographs and history books. These stories were passed down over millennia through the sacred practices of words, song, painting and carving, so it would be grossly ignorant to expect such formal ‘validation’.

Furthermore, you can’t exactly learn this stuff just by Googling the words “lyrics to ancient aboriginal ceremonial song” or taking a quick YouTube tutorial on the wisdom of the ancient Dreaming. So when Elders and custodians from different tribal regions and languages reveal the same or complimentary information, totally separately of each other, the lack of white-fella style mass-publication only serves to validate the authenticity of their initiated word.

The ‘Old Ways’ Forward

Normally when talking about Original Elders and Custodians of Lore, it is right and proper to begin with the women’s account then lead on to what the men know and believe. But to strictly follow protocol will confuse the chronology of the story and the manner in which our introduction into the Original ‘Old ways’ came about. So for this article, I will reverse the Original order to maintain order.

The first time I met Ramindjeri Elder Karno Walker was soon after Evan and I wrote our third book, Forgotten Origin. Karno and others had read some of our work and invited me down to talk. After some time together it was decided I was to be given ceremony, this was a privilege and honour of the highest degree. 

There were other Original men with Karno when he gave me ceremony, but he was in control and it was his song and words upon which everything else revolved. Karno gave me his special sacred stick to hold for some time before the ceremony began, and it was Karno who took my clipboard and tossed it aside when calling on me to stand in the centre. Peter and Bluey sang in the Ramindjeri language with clap-sticks in hand while Karno orchestrated events in accord with the Old Ways.

During and after the ceremony, it was made clear my role was to speak under the banner of Wirritjin (Black-fella White-fella Dreaming) and find evidence and archaeology in support of what the Original Elders and Custodians shared and advised.

Wirritjin is dedicated to enabling the renaissance of the Old Ways through sharing the ancient truths with all peoples, irrespective of race, colour or allegiances. Many Original men and women steeped in the Old Ways feel a change is upon us, and Karno is preparing the way ahead. Our role is to facilitate this transformation in any we can while always working within Original guidelines. Some other members of the Forgotten Origin tribe have also undergone ceremony, formalizing their roles as teachers of Wirritjin.

As an initiate, I am directly accountable to Karno regarding any Original business. Undeniably, when on non-Ramindjeri country, the local Elders and keepers of Original lore must be consulted and included in every stage of whatever takes place on their country, but there in the background, I am always aware that it was Karno who set us on this course, and in many ways is four steps ahead, patiently waiting for us to catch up.

We believe the roles of men like Karno and women like ‘Auntie’ Beve should be formalized as part of a Council of Elders, who could act not just as guides to our tribe, but to the Australian government and everyone who occupies the land of this ancient people. Edlers of that ilk, fully connected to the Land and Guardian Spirits and utterly in tune with the Creator’s desires, stand far above the cesspit of politicians and entrepreneurs who see everything in terms of profit, loss and perpetual economic growth. Their wisdom and perception comes from their communion with the land and the stories of their ancestors. In contrast, our elected ‘leaders’ represent competitive industrial structures and philosophies that threaten the welfare of the planet.

Now, it may appear I have strayed a long way from my oft-stated principle of presenting facts and science, by endorsing people my team personally respect and view as prospective leaders and mentors of the future nation. But this is not about what pleases me or sits well with the tribe’s ideology – it is about what is respectful of humanity’s past, and essential for the future of the Earth and its multitude of inhabitants.

The Unseen and Unheard

Let me now share some facts, witnessed by my team and I, which leave us no option but to state the truth.

Karno was invited to join us in examining the site of the “185 Standing Stones”, which I have written about in previous articles. Before taking our team of volunteers onto site, the Original Elders and Custodians present went ahead to make sure that we were welcome on such a sacred and important site, and that the proper protocol was observed. And so it was.

Karno put out a call to the Spirits who protect this sacred place, and four hawks came from the surrounding bush and began circling directly above. Karno was appreciative from the beginning, but asked for more…. five, six, seven, and each time they came on request. Finally, just as Karno asked, eight hawks circled above the men, where only a minute before there were none. Karno is truly versed in the Old Ways. But this is not the only time my team has experienced the unseen and unheard.

Very recently we went back to the Cave of the Owl and Orbs. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we were unable to undergo the traditional smoking ceremony before we went onto country, so we had to replace the customary smoking with something that was respectful, but as it turns out, not entirely appropriate. I spoke with Karno later that night, and without prompting or prior knowledge of our activities that day, Karno began by stating that we had gone on site today without being smoked. I was floored.

Karno continued, relaying what the Spirits had told him. He then made note of the appearance of a big kangaroo which stood in the yard looking directly at him. I immediately understood what this sign meant – the kangaroo, whenever engraved or painted, nearly always represents the law, the proper way of doing things…. which we did not. Karno was communicating the spirit’s displeasure, the kangaroo was acting as the interlocutor between the realms of here and there. I tried to absorb the fact that our team’s reluctant transgression in remote bushland earlier that day was known of by both human and animal thousands of kilometres away. There was no accepted science at play here.

While Karno told us our entry was accepted this time, he reminded us that next time there must be smoke. But where there is smoke there is fire, and the fire Karno was stoking is just one part of the Old Ways in action and at the ready.

Everything in Balance

Karno is not perfect, his wife Christine will attest to that. No soul cast onto this earth is close to perfection. But I will openly and proudly admit, any person who can call eight birds renowned for their solitary nature to circle in unison above, and who can know of our spiritual faux pas from half a continent away, has my ear and attention. He is a man of immense Original power and knowledge of things that would astound. This is why Karno is my male ‘boss’ in all things Original.

But he isn’t my only Original ‘boss’. With everything in balance, I must also have a female ‘boss’ or nothing is as it should be. Original Old Way is both ways, female and male in step and in agreement – there is no other sensible way. And since many traditions and stories are passed down within gender groups (eg. the women’s fertility rites), we would only get half the story without the guidance of Elders of both genders.

The first time I spoke to Darkinjung Elder Auntie Beve, I was totally on the defensive. Evan and I had just found out that we had been on her tribal land walking near sacred sites without first seeking her permission. I was mortified by the depth of the cultural affront. Although we had been taken on site by others who we had assumed had already make the proper arrangements, we still walked into country the wrong way.

She was given a proper women’s ceremony under the supervision of three fully initiated women Elders, and danced for three days and nights before satisfying the ancient requirements known by men and women steeped in knowledge and lore of the Old Ways. Like all Elders faithful to the Old Ways, Auntie Beve takes her time. Nothing is ever rushed.

To begin with, any articles written or archaeology conducted in the area had to be sanctioned by Auntie Beve. For some considerable time there was no mention made by Auntie Beve about any Egyptian hieroglyphs at Bambara, or of the older Original hieroglyphs, while talk of “carriers from up there” and “star people” was a long way off. To begin with she spoke solely of pressing Original issues that related to the proposed sale of a large amount of acreage in the surrounding area.

This was fine by us. We agreed to speak against the sale of this land because an extremely sacred and mystifying engraving of Durumullan (the first son the Creation Spirit Biaime) was very close to its borders, and being on the market it would be open to all manner of development and destruction. In that pursuit, whenever going on to a site of known Original significance, Auntie Beve would smoke us, and on one very auspicious occasion gave us the “Song of the Four Winds” so nothing ill would befall us while on her country.

We always reported back to Auntie Beve, and more often than not had plenty of questions to ask and rarely came away without an answer. To her eternal credit, there have been (few) times when she wasn’t sure or didn’t know the answer to one of our questions – and that’s exactly what she told us, she didn’t know. So when she did speak, we have no reason to doubt that she faithfully and truthfully told us only what the Old Ones told her, and what she knows to be true.

As our inner group took form and Auntie Beve spent time with each of us, more was revealed, but never in large segments; it was always a bit at a time, which is very much in keeping with the style in which the Old Ways were taught. She spoke of Original women going up to the Bambara hieroglyphs and coating the engravings in women’s urine, of a much older engraved script created by the Original people, of the “carriers from up there” crashing in the “still waters of Bambara”, and of many of their Sky Heroes engraved on rock platforms wear “hats” (which we take to be helmets)…. and her revelations detailing ancient Original Lore and ancestry have continued at a slow and steady pace.

A Line in the Sand

It is very difficult to find the words to describe Auntie Beve’s connection to her tribal estate. Nothing will come close. The best I can do is make reference Auntie Beve’s reaction to finding out that mining company Rocla is planning to trash an extremely sacred women’s site. I was was struck not just by her resolve in going to Bunnings to purchase chains that will enable her to secure herself to the site, if push comes to shove, nor her impassioned pleas for justice and plans of next steps she outlined to sundry callers on the phone…. but more a comment she made more than once:

Aunty Beve said she felt like the mining company were gouging flesh out of her arm, so deep was the offence. The thought of desecrating this sacred women’s site is as devastating and painful to Auntie Beve as it is disrespectful to the Original peoples’ sense of being and place.

In taking on the government and developers over this disastrous mining proposal, Auntie Beve played by their rules. She spoke at the public meeting convened by the company to supposedly canvas the public reaction to the idea of mining and destroying this precious site. But it made no difference; their decision was already made by CEO’s, officials and shareholders well before Auntie Beve even entered the hall that evening. That meeting was nothing short of a farce.

Auntie Beve’s pain is as deep as it was unnecessary. The entire Central Coast community know this development proposal is wrong at every conceivable level – environmental, cultural, political – but there is potential profit lurking in the margins, so Rocla and the NSW government continue to resist the will of the community they supposedly represent.

All Auntie Beve wants is that the very few sacred sites not already destroyed or developed be left alone. After all the theft and destruction that has already been perpetrated against the Original people, Auntie Beve had a reasonable expectation that the very little still intact (and therefore with an unbroken connection with the Spirits) was surely safe. Unfortunately, the NSW state government prefers to favour corporate greed and short term employment opportunities at the expense of the ancient Original culture and the future of the Central Coast waterways.

Arrogance and an utter disregard for the Old Ways has been a staple diet in Australian politics for so long, and it would seem that even in these supposed ‘enlightened’ days nothing has changed. Yet.

Karno is demanding change. Aunty Beve has been dragged into a dispute with agents of greed, where mud is thrown all over the place in an attempt to protect profits. Tribes around Australia are resisting government attempts to strip them their traditional lands and rights. And this story is echoed by other indigenous cultures around the world. Governments today have drawn a line in the soil – corporate profits on one side, respectful and sustainable practices on the other – and each person has to decide on which side they will stand.

Today’s ways are no good. Whether the Old Ways are better is not the issue; what cannot be disputed is that more of the same is a totally inadequate response. ‘More of the same’ is an offence to our eco-system and to all life-forms who dwell upon her. And regardless of your preference, ‘more of the same’ is unsustainable. Either we change, or change will be forced upon us.

No-Brainer

There are two possible narratives going forward, and two ways of doing this. That’s what this all comes down to.

The ‘Old Way’ the Elders speak of costs nothing. It places priority on the welfare of the Spirit world, the environment, local plant and animal species, and the tribe. It recognizes that the survival of humanity depends on its ability to maintain a state of balance between spiritual, social and environmental concerns. Those who practice the ‘Old Way’ employ their time, collectively and individually, in activities which help their society to sustain that necessary balance.

Karno, Aunty Beve and many other Original Elders, custodians and keepers of Lore speak for common-sense, respect and the Spirits of the land. Their agenda is to re-establish a connection to the land that is as old and mystical as the Dreaming, and to teach of a culture that existed successfully and sustainably for tens of thousands of years before European intervention. If you ask a question of an Original Elder, they will tell you the truth. 

‘Today’s Way’ is all about profits, money, endless growth, and inequity, with a few getting plenty and others virtually nothing. It attributes value to the concepts of profit and celebrity. Those who practice ‘Today’s Way’ employ their time, collectively and individually, in activities that are competitive, short sighted and destructive to our natural environments. The agenda of government is to protect the (unsustainable) commercial interests of their financial backers today, at all costs, with no regard for tomorrow.

If you ask a question of the ‘elders’ of modern society, you will be showered with meaningless rhetoric designed to dodge the question and save face. And you will probably accept it! We are so used to politics being a forum for self-serving liars that we expect them to “dodge the question” and “save face”, and often forget it is just another way of saying they “suppress information that is important to the public” in order to “sustain political control”. Despicable.

So it’s a ‘no-brainer’…. we choose to listen to Auntie Beve and Karno. We give no credence to those who deny the Spirits, disparage our past, and threaten our natural relationship with the Earth for selfish gains.

The Forgotten Origins tribe is proud to be guided by people who can communicate with (and influence) hawks, and who can spot a cultural and spiritual affront from a distance of over 2,000 kilometres away. Their connection to the land is such that they suffer great anguish when sacred places are disturbed. They know of our real Original history, our ancestry and our “Old Ways”, and they will share freely with any willing to stop, ask and listen.

Forgotten Origin

From the Editor….

Forgotten Origin book coverSteven Strong is a researcher and author with a background in archaeology and education. Evan Strong has a background in sociology and psychology. They have spent many years learning and living with the traditional Bundjalung and Gumilaroi people of Northern New South Wales.

Forgotten Origin is the third in their series of books dedicated to the first Homo sapiens: the Australian Original people. Through Forgotten Origin, Steven and Evan investigate the global impact of Aboriginal people sailing from, not to, Australia no less than 50,000 years ago, paying particular attention to the shared principles and details found within Gnostic scriptures and the Dreaming.

As radical as their theory may appear at first, the rigor they apply – through mtDNA, Y Chromosomes, skull morphology, historical accounts, and the ‘religious’ ancestry upon which this hidden history is founded – demands serious consideration, and challenges commonly accepted beliefs of humanity’s history.

This is not their story. Steven and Evan make no claim to speak on behalf of anyone. They do, however, have the right to relay that which Aboriginal culture-custodians insist is true.

The Original Australians are unique, and in no way descended from Africans or any other race. Forgotten Origin is a detailed examination of this hidden truth.

Check out Forgotten Origin on Amazon.com

Previous articles by Steven Strong:

About the author:

Steve & Evan StrongSteven Strong is an Australian-based researcher, author and former high-school teacher with a background in archaeology. He was involved in the formation of a Graduate Diploma of Aboriginal Education for the NSW Department of Education, writing units on Traditional Law and Contemporary History. He also co-authored the highly successful “Aboriginal Australia: A Language and Cultural kit”.

Together with his son Evan, Steve has co-written 4 books: Constructing a New World Map, Mary Magdalene’s Dreaming and Forgotten Origin (published by University Press of America) and their latest publication Shunned, which refutes the Out-of-Africa theory of human history and examines the archaeological and DNA evidence that suggests Australia is where modern human beings derived.

Steve has written over a dozen articles on Original history and lore for the National Indigenous Times, with four articles also appearing in New Dawn magazine. With close to 30 years of contact with original Gumilaroi people and tribes of the Bundjalung Language Confederation, and the benefit of extensive consultation with many Original Elders, Steve and Evan’s work is to reveal the story of the Original people, a narrative that was almost lost to aggressive European colonisation.

For more information visit ForgottenOrigin.com and check out how you can get involved with the Forgotten Origins tribe.

 
 


 

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