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.
THE 3 BEST PLACES TO SEE JAPAN'S CHERRY BLOSSOMS
Originally limited to the elite, cherry-blossom viewing is now a symbol of Japanese culture. Join us in the practice of hanami and learn the best spots across the country for a scenic picnic under the sakura trees
Words: Aleksandra Georgieva
Photography: Yu Kato
02 April 2022
Springtime is the season of rebirth and nature is perhaps at its most romantic in Japan. For the fleeting period of merely a week or two the first sakura (cherry) trees bloom, representing a season of fresh start. For over a millennium hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) has been a tradition in the country. Originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, the custom of having lunch and drinking sake in cheerful feasts under the sakura trees, quickly spread to the samurai society and not long after to the common people as well.
The beginning of spring carries out the poetic symbolism of the delicate blooms, which relates to the transience of beauty. The people of Japan eagerly follow the flower blossoming throughout the country’s different regions and every year gather with friends and family to the local squares, temples and parks to witness the dreamy, yet fleeting event. Hanami is a practice that dates to the Nara period (710–794). The cherry trees are often regarded as sacred and over the centuries have transformed into a landmark that symbolises new beginnings, Buddhist temples and numerous local areas in Japan.
In January the blossoming begins is Okinawa and typically doesn’t reach Tokyo and Kyoto until the end of March or the beginning of April. In the following few weeks, it moves through areas of higher altitude until it arrives in Hokkaido. The Japanese Meteorological Agency issues nightly forecasts to inform the public of the progress of the sakura zensen ("cherry blossom front") as it moves northward up the archipelago with the approach of the warmer weather. English language speakers can monitor the cherry-blossom forecast at Kyuhoshi.com. Japanese pay close attention to these forecasts, eager to hold flower-viewing parties and to enjoy the postcard-like view.
These are 3 of the best spots across Japan to catch the advance of the sakura zensen (cherry-tree blossom line):
Yoshino, Kansai (the most famous cherry-blossom destination)
From early to mid-April Yoshino in Kansai is Japan's most famous cherry-blossom destination. Many Japanese long to see the floral carpets tenderly ascending to the mountainsides. The spectacle attracts locals among numerous tourists, jamming the narrow streets of the village so make sure to either book accommodation well in advance or prepare to witness the cherry-blossom petals fall among a dense crowd during a day trip (typically from Nara or Osaka).
Hirosaki-kōen, Tōhoku in Northern Honshū (to avoid the crowds)
With over 50 hectares of green space, Hirosaki-kōen is a park stretched upon the grounds of what used to be the castle Hirosaki-jō. The park is decorated with marble moats and scenic arching bridges among over 2500 sakura trees. Hirosaki is also much less crowded than population centres such as Tokyo and Kyoto, which gives you more room to move around and you can even rent paddle boats to take out to the pink-petals-covered moats.
Maruyama-kōen in Kyoto (to enjoy a beautiful picnic)
There are many stunning places across Kyoto to watch the blossoms but perhaps the most iconic hanami spot is Maruyama Park. From dusk until midnight the over-10m-tall tree, whose branches arch gracefully nearly to the petal-covered ground, is illuminated every night much like the canal lined with cherry trees. The Gion Shidare-zakura, the "Weeping Cherry of Gion," is positioned in the middle of the park, named after the nearby entertainment district, Gion, where geiko (Kyoto's geisha) still perform. Rest assured that many picnics take place among the 680 sakura trees in Maruyama-kōen.
DID YOU KNOW:
The custom of hanami is a centuries-old tradition in Japan. The 8th century chronicle Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) records hanami festivals being held during the 3rd century AD.
Cherry blossoms are a prevalent symbol in the traditional art of Japanese tattoos where they are often combined with other classic Japanese symbols like tigers, dragons and koi fish.
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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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