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.
FILM MAGIC INSPIRES OUR EUROPEAN TRIPS
Get the popcorn ready and make your way through this list of films that will inspire you to book your next European trip
Words: Aleksandra Georgieva
Photography: Lukas Geck
18 April 2020
While we don’t need much inspiration to get that travelling wanderlust, the cinematic industry offers plenty of reasons for wishing to book a trip to Europe. Whether you have just returned home or you are planning a future visit, these are some of the best Hollywood productions that bring an insight into some of the top European travel destinations.
FRANCE
Midnight in Paris is set in modern times when Owen Wilson’s character is somehow transported back to the 1920s at each midnight. Explore modern and ancient Paris as the nostalgic screenwriter travels back and forth between the everyday life of Hemingway and the trip he took with his fiancée's family.
Moulin Rouge tells the story of a poet, who falls for a beautiful courtesan (Nikole Kidman). While you may have already seen the story, the plot never gets old, and the setting brings back that wishful thinking of visiting Paris.
The Da Vinci Code sends Tom Hanks on a haunt to uncover the truth about the Holy Grail and potentially shake modern society. Follow his journey as he makes a stop at some of the world’s locations with greatest cultural significance.
GERMANY
Inglorious Basterds brings Brat Pitt’s looks to the big screen as a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers plots to assassinate Nazi leaders. While the plot is set in war times, it inspires our travels to Germany in search of how culture and humanity evolves over time.
GREECE
Mamma Mia! is set on Greece’s colourful islands telling the story of a young woman, about to get married and trying to find her real father.
Troy is a classic tale set in Ancient Greece, an adaptation of Homer’s great epic.
IRELAND
P.S. I Love You will not only make you fall in love with those endlessly green Irish fields and hills. It will make you cry and rediscover romance as a young widow learns to move past the pain of her loss and starts a new life with the help of 10 messages left by her husband.
ITALY
Under the Tuscan Sun immerses the audience with scenic views of one of Italy’s most beautiful spots as a writer impulsively buys a villa in Tuscany in an attempt to change her life.
Letters to Juliet takes you across Verona’s courtyards, where an American girl’s trip to Italy turns into a pursuit of romance and love.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade takes us on an adventure in pursuit of the Holy Grail alongside Professor Henry "Indiana" Jones as he embarks on a dangerous archaeological journey.
Eat Pray Love is a cinematic classic, taking us on a round-the-world journey alongside Julia Roberts in search of love and happiness.
The Godfather brings young Al Pacino to the big screen in this multi-generational saga of a Sicilian mob family at the centre of organised crime.
Roman Holiday brings us Audrey Hepburn, who portrays a bored princess that escapes her guardians to fall in love with an American newsman in Rome.
POLAND
Schindler’s List is based on true events, telling the story of a greed German businessman-turned-humanitarian, who transforms his factory into a refuge for Jews amid the Nazi reign, saving the lives of about 1100 Jews.
The Pianist is an autobiographical adaptation of the heart breaking story of a Polish Jewish musician forced to live among the Warsaw ghetto, whose struggles to survive WWII let him to observe the city’s destruction.
SPAIN
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a true dive into the art, music and cultural scene of Barcelona, as two friends set on a vacation to fall in love with the same seductive painter, whose eccentric artistic ex-wife is about to enter the picture.
Volver is another Penelope Cruz film that indulges viewers into the story of three generations of women going through difficult times and helping each other.
THE NETHERLANDS
The Dairy of Anne Frank is the film adaptation of one of the greatest autobiographical pieces of literature in history. Learn the story of one of the best-known teenage Jewish girls – Anne Frank, who was forced into hiding alongside her family in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.
Girl with a Pearl Earring brings Scarlett Johansson to the big screen as she portrays Johannes Vermeer’s maid, who became his talented assistant and the model of one of the most famous works of art in history.
Ocean’s Twelve is set in a few picturesque locations, but an emphasis is set on the beautiful Amsterdam, as Daniel Ocean recruits one more team member to pull off three European heists in the sequel to Ocean's 11.
UNITED KINGDOM
James Bond is a series of films – and you will make no mistake whichever one you choose to watch – focusing on the complex missions of a secret agent, licensed to kill.
The Imitation Game tells the story of the English mathematical genius Alan Turing. In the middle of World War II he tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.
Notting Hill is the 90’s classic that brings together Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts as the plot tells the life story of a simple bookshop owner, whose world changes when he meets a famous film star.
Love Actually became a worldwide sensation following the lives of eight different couples who deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
RELATED STORIES
NOMADSofORIGIN is an independent annual publication with a focus on sustainable travelling and global cultural values. Each issue features interviews, engaging articles and photo guides, which take our nomadic readers through different destinations and introduce them to local people's perspectives.
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