CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION
HUMAN TRACES:
ETHIOPIA
HUMAN TRACES:
ETHIOPIA
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
DESTINATIONS
DESTINATIONS
The Dreamtime, or the Dreaming, portrays the Aboriginal beliefs in spiritual existence. According to the tribes that first settled down in the continent, the Dreaming's roots date all the way back to the very begging of the creation of the world. The meaning and ideology of the term is generally not so well-understood by non-indigenous people as it is referred to as part of the culture of one of the early nations, which differs from modern perceptions.
The Spirits were the creators of everything. They made the land and the seas, the rocks and the plants, the sky and the earth. They were the higher power and the Australian Aborigines spent their lifetimes honoring this power, which guided their path and shaped their way of thinking. Not only creators of everything, which could be seen as well as felt, the Spirits also gave the Aborigines the Dreaming.
The time when everything started existing according to the initial Australians, was called the Dreaming. This is the foundation of the continent's culture. The origin of the Dreaming goes way back - 65 000 years back in time to be exact. The Ancestors of the nation shaped the land, forming some parts of it as sacred. The Aborigines were very careful and overprotective of those places, strongly believing in their significance.
The Australian Aborigines are known to have believed that the world didn't have any shape and was therefore empty. Darkness dominated, and life was simply asleep, but this changed when the creation began happening. After the Dreaming and the influence of the Spirits, objects began taking shapes and came to be. They created the four elements: water, earth, air and fire, as well as all the planets, the Sun and the Moon. The Dreaming therefore is a continuous process, which never ended. It is a small cosmos on its own, unifying the past, present and the future into one.
The Australian Aborigines' home riches so many vivid areas of the continent, including Fraser Island, Tasmania, Palm Island, Groote Eylandt and Mornington Island. The Aborigines had very strong believes in relation to the powers of the land, claiming that they never owned it - it rather owned them. The only reason they were able to call it their home is because they were looking after it and the land was taking care of the people in return.
Equally important to the Dreaming was the tribes' understandings of the disappearance of the Spirits. There came a time, when the creators of everything vanished from sight. Some of them were thought to have started living in sacred places, which is why the Aborigines perceived their homeland to be so sacred. The ancestors of today's Australians used to believe that the creators started living in rocks, in water holes and some went up to the sky to guide the people from above and keep them safe. Others transformed completely, taking the forms of the rain, the lightnings and the thunderstorms so they could be part of peoples' life.
Among the hundred's different Aboriginal languages, there isn't a word to describe 'time', because to them this simply doesn't exist. Dreaming and Dreamtime are used to replace it and summarize the ideologies of the Aborigines about everything they knew, everything they could see, feel and experience. This is why the Dreaming has such a vivid, and overwhelming meaning and has survived the obstacles of time. For the past couple thousand years, the Dreaming has built a rich cultural heritage that can identify a whole nation.
Read more about the Land, its connection to people and the way it has been perceived from different generations in the very first print issue of ORIGIN. The Land Issue covers varied topics, most of which remain related to cultural aspects of the land and its importance.
A lot of people travel to explore places and learn about them which is the message that ORIGIN wants to spread. With traveling, however, comes certain responsibilities that we should all be aware of. Elephants riding has become a popular way to explore locations by land. People have been doing this as part of their trips, mostly to places such as Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia and other parts of Asia. It is a common thing to see in certain places in Africa as well. We investigated the activity to explain why it is wrong and riding elephants should be banned everywhere.
Our first print issue studies culture and traveling represented through the land. We explored various location around the globe and learned what makes the land so valuable, which nations cherish it and how it helps us establish an identity. Traveling is important to us but traveling responsibly and making an impact is what we feel proud to stand behind. This is why riding elephants as a way of amusement should be reconsidered.
Let’s talk about the details. Elephants are very caring and extremely intelligent animals. It is a well-known fact that they never forget anything. When kept in captivity instead of spending their life in the wild, elephants die younger. Unlike in other species, this is common for the gentle giants and is often a result for stress.
Many African cultures respect elephants, believing they symbolize strength, loyalty and power. However, power can be a very tender concept. Elephant used as a tourism tool suffer from great pain daily. Elephants can be hurt very severely from the weight of carrying people and a trainer on their backs. The reason for this is the design of their spines. They have sharp protrusions, extending upwards from their spine instead of having round spinal disks. The protrusions and the tissue that serves to protect them can be harmed easily from weight pressure. Once a damage to their spine has been made, there is no going back and sometimes the harm can be irreversible. While this can’t be physically seen, the harm that the chairs can do to the elephants’ skin is. It is often the case that the chairs and the weight on their back can damage the animal’s skin and cause pain to their body. The chair, called Howdah, that gets attached to their backs, rubs on their skin and can cause blisters, which can sometimes get infected.
The training that elephants are required to go through when in captivity sometimes adopts a traditional Thai ‘phajaan’ or ‘crush’ technique. Explaining the technique would compare it to the animals’ spirits constantly and continuously being broken by the means of torture and social isolation. This is done in order to tame them. Elephants are wild animals, this is their nature as they are born in such conditions. Making them safe and obedient around people requires them to go through such training. As horrible as it sounds, in some places young elephants are taken away from their mothers to be abused with nails, bull hooks and bamboo sticks to make them obey rules, given by people. The animals often lack sleep and are starved to become submissive.
Actions from such nature are cruel and harmful as the technique is used to crash the animals’ spirit. Once wild and free, elephants become a source of tourism and entertainment. Nobody, who cared about sustainable tourism should ever ride an elephant.
In a sense, elephants have a human soul. They socialise and feel everything – pain, happiness, grief, sadness etc. They spend their life building families and finding friends. The largest land animals are a gift from nature and it is our responsibility to take special care of them and make sure they live according to their nature. Many animals, who are kept in captivity, are forced to live in isolation and carry heavy loads all day long, which is a wrong way to treat them. Their strength and power shouldn’t be abused but treated gently and celebrated by people. Elephants require minimal care to stay happy and healthy, which comes from giving them freedom to behave naturally and socialise. It is our responsibility to be culturally aware while traveling and make sure to spread awareness about the problem.
You can read the rest of the article as published in the LAND issue.
A TRIP TO THE ATACAMA DESERT
Some travelers rank the world’s driest desert as one of the most interesting extreme places to visit. Read our guide about this sandy spot in Chile
Words: Emily Georgieva
Photography: Keith Hardy
05 August 2019
A gift from nature, the Atacama Desert should be your next travel destination. Being there feels as if you’ve been transported to a place out of this world. On a clear night, you can see the sky from a god-like perspective because of the low pollution levels. Constellation lovers can enjoy nights under the star-filled sky that seemingly allows travellers to gaze into the cosmos almost as far as the Milky Way goes.
The desert texture feels alienated as well, and we mean this in the best way possible. The way nature has shaped the sand dunes of the Atacama Desert makes the landscape appear almost Moon-like. This sense of belonging to the universe is best experienced at The Valle de La Luna, otherwise known as the Valley of the Moon. We recommend that you plan an early trip to the rocky valley. Not only will you avoid the crowds of tourists, but will also witness a majestic view of the game of colours taking place on the desert horizon. The early birds should get ready to welcome the rising sun as the dunes will transform under the soft embrace of the daylight.
As any other typical desert, the Atacama Desert is hot and sticky during the day, while heavy darkness and coldness rule the area at nightfall. However, the minimal light pollution we mentioned earlier, guarantees stunning view of the night sky, while enhancing the darkness simultaneously. The lovers of the great outdoors will particularly enjoy the Atacama trip. The desert terrain is great for hiking, which is an irresistible opportunity to see of Chile’s solace caves, the salt flats and you could even encounter pink Andean flamingos in their natural habitat.
If you want to experience the desert to the fullest, know that you are in for an adventure. The Atacama is one of the few locations on Earth that hosts exceptional sunsets and sunrises, illuminating the landscape in soft, warm colours. Whatever you put in your travel itinerary, make sure that you are prepared – carry enough food with you, apply sunscreen regularly and sip on water often. The Atacama is proclaimed as the world’s driest desert because of the minimal rainfalls in the area. The nature of the place is naturally drier so consider this before starting your journey.
As you enter the desert, you will quite possibly stumble across a few tiny villages. Locals have previously given tourists some advice not to go searching for food and travel supplies in the smaller populated areas of those villages because it won’t be much useful. Part of getting to know the Atacama is being prepared to play by its rules.
The heat, the sand and the dust – those are the challenges that will complicate your journey. The altitude and the dusty roads have a distinctive influence over many tourists, but those are also part of the unique experience of visiting the desert. The Atacama indulges pastel colours not only through sunlight, but also with the water tones of the pools in the area. If you make your way to Laguna Tebinquinche, you will be able to enjoy the incredibly reflective surface of the lake that mirrors its surroundings in complete harmony. Near the Atacama salt flats lie the Cejars de Ojos. Both round pools seem to be identical in their proportional shape, making them a satisfying nature form to admire. The water pools are a great addition to the desert, making this Chile destination highly irresistible.
To best experience the culture of the Atacama’s indigenous people, you must plan a visit to the El Tatio geysers. Known to be sacred, they stun visitors with their natural beauty and the way they behave. The warmer the weather, the more inactive the geysers become so you need to plan your visit in advance.
The local culture follows the history and traditions of the Atacama’s indigenous people since around 12 000 years. Generations of locals have been inhabiting the Andes mountains, worshipping the nature’s forms. The Spanish Conquerors may have given the name ‘Atacama’ to the area, but the indigenous people defined the desert. Although living in very challenging conditions, the locals have managed to preserve their ancestral culture. The Lickan-Antay Culture started coming into shape in 300 and 900 A.D., some time before the Spanish arrived at the Atacama. This was when communities were formed for the first time, rules were established, and craftsmanship started defining the place.
Today people roam all the way to the Atacama Desert to get in touch with the cultural values of Chile and to see what nature is capable of at its widest. Hiking dusty trails, passing by geysers, solace caves and salt flats will pile up to an unforgettable journey through the untamed area. Equally Earth-and-Moon-like, the Atacama Desert is pure representation of the way humanity, nature and space come together as one whole.
