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.
WHAT'S IN THE WANDERLUST ISSUE
The WANDERLUST Issue #05
On a quest to explore the world of travel from a different perspective, we embarked on a journey that goes from off-the-beaten path to the most notorious destinations around the globe
Words by: The Editors
10 August 2022
In the past two years the world of travelling has changed, reshaped and rebirthed. Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, global restrictions about how we were allowed to travel took place in every country. We lived through unprecedent times and we came back on the other side stronger, humbler and more grounded about the opportunities we have as wanderers. In the past few years we also witnessed war outbreaks that happened on our doorstep and beyond in the borders of nearby countries. This made our team reflect on the importance of feeling secure and sharing a home with the people you love the most. As 2022 is a year of rebranding, rediscovering and reimagining how we could make a positive impact on our travels, we wanted to take our latest print as an opportunity to take you to some of the places that embody the idea of humbleness, tranquility and curiosity.
The WANDERLUST Issue is dedicated to exploring what it means to roam the world in a time when we were denied to do so for so long. Our adventures took us from the cobbled streets of colourful Cartagena to the dream-like Arabian deserts and the path lesser-known in remote Vietnamese villages. Whilst trekking the Lost City of Petra and seeing the glory of Turkey from a bird-eye point of view whilst experiencing a hot-air baloon ride, we learned to appreciate the culture of others. We were fortunate enough to travel to foreign lands and had the opportunity to advocate for a better and brighter future.
Our fifth print issue goes out to all the wanderers, the wildflowers and those who travel so that they could find a connection to their own homeland in little corners of the world. Here is a break-down of what you can expect to find in the fifth issue of the magazine.
Wanderlust Gene
There are travel lovers and then there are wanderers at heart. The science proved that having 'itchy feet' and a constant urge to pack your bags and head off to a new destination is in some people's DNA - it's called the 'wanderlust gene'. Can predisposition to travel really be genetic?
Behind the Lens
Breathtaking photographers of the perfect shot when a motorcyclist is caught mid-air whilst doing a full flip over a dune on a desert track or a pilot getting ready to land a paraglider in perfect alignment over a wave-free, crystal clear surface of an ocean - we have been left feeling in awe of athletes who chase after that danger thrill. Yet, those stunning shots wouldn't have inspired so many to do the same if it wasn't for the fearless creatives behind the lens. We follow a typical day in the life of extreme sport photographers to see what it's like to be in the middle of the action and what they risk to document athletes doing what they do best on film.
Solo Female Travellers
The future is female and this is especially true for the world of travel. When it comes to adventurers, men might dominate the history books, but we take a moment to celebrate record-breaking female explorers. Planning a trip as a female explorer comes with a set of different rules and we made a list of pro tips for the solo female travellers.
On the Brink of a New World
In this ever-changing world nomads are constantly trying to connect to others, to explore new destinations and to better understand how global conflicts shape the future of different nations and the way they affect the progress and culture of entire communities. The term ‘selective solidarity’ has recently been used by activists, culture advocates and journalists who put an emphasis on the current refugee state the world. To expand on the matter, we explore some of the crucial historical events that took place in recent months.
Getting Off-The-Beaten Path
On a quest to explore the path less-travelled, we went from fishermen hotspots on the bays of Turkey to a sun-soaked oasis in the deserts of Oman and rural villages in the jungles of Brazil. Get a little lost with is as we navigate what it means to have a wanderlust spirit and learn from our pro tips about what the best ways are to explore a new destination like a local.
Desert Nomads
A total of 23 deserts covers almost one-third of the Earth’s surface area. With their predominantly uninhabited arid lands, deserts are some of the most stunning landscapes in the world. Deserts hold a great deal of mysticism, serving as a home to some of Earth's most stunning landscapes. Join us on a journey of exploring the unique lifestyle of the courageous nomadic people who have adapted to the extreme conditions of the desert dunes.
Trekking Rainbow Mountain
The Peruvian Andes are home to a picturesque summit made of colourful minerals, which rises at an altitude equal to more than half of Mount Everest. From the ways to reach it to the essential travellers need on the hike and the cost of sustainability in Vinicunca, read our guide to the Rainbow Mountain.
Understanding Others
The world is rapidly becoming more culturally diverse and with that, the importance of gaining better understanding of different cultures grows too. Migration, expat living and the urge to chase nomadic lifestyles have shaped a bold and dynamic mosaic of individuals who communicate through cross-cultural exchanges and so the necessity of recognising multiculturalism is more important than ever before.
A nomad by heart and a journalist by calling, Mandy Sham is a multi-talented creative, whose travels across the globe have resulted in stunning photographic archives and poetic diary entries. The soft pastel hues in her photography are an unmistakable signature of her visual style, whilst the newsletter she releases, where she tells stories of how she met locals and explored places off the tourist grid, are beyond inspiring. As a food lover, Mandy's wanderlust has taken her to unique restaurants, local families' tables and street food stands on a quest to explore the gastronomic diversity of each place she visits. Our interview with Mandy is a sneak peek as to what her next adventures are and a tribute to her work.
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
Follow our week-long itinerary to Saudi Arabia designed to help you navigate your travels to the Kingdom and immerse yourself in a dreamlike expedition that has only recently become available to most travellers.
A Journey Back in Time
Jordan and its Lost City of Petra have been charming an increasing number of travellers in the past five decades, but there was a time when the sandy country was the desert’s best-kept secret. This is how to help explore the region sustainably and how the land of the Bedouins transformed from a deserted paradise to a bucket-list destination.
Creating seasonless pieces that can be combined and re-styled in multiple ways is what makes an ethical brand truly outstanding amid the endless array of corporate labels. Balm Wears does exactly that - the vintage clothing brand creates clothing, footwear, accessories and jewelry that, if taken care of, can last a lifetime. Love and attention to every detail goes into each piece to ensure that their philosophy of slow fashion is reflected in the designs. We caught up with the founder, Becs, to talk about what the future holds for the sustainable brand.
Mui Né: the fishing hotspot in Vietnam
From witnessing the sunrise at the White Sand Dues to tapping into the serenity of Vietnamese fishing harbours and tasting iguana meat, our editors welcome the new day in Mũi Né. Follow us on a journey to paradise.
The Misrepresented Majestic Land of Safaris
From the abundance of majestic wildlife gracing Tanzania’s safari lands to the country’s idyllic beaches, the diverse culture of its semi-nomadic people and the dreamlike landscapes, these parts of Sub-Saharan Africa have the seekers of wanderlust visiting times and times again.
Travel to: Cappadocia, Turkey
Nearly four million ago volcanic eruptions formed the fairy chimneys and tall earth pyramids which compose the surreal architecture in Cappadocia. This is our guide to everything you need to know before riding a hot air balloon over Cappadocia’s picturesque valleys and postcard-worthy volcanic landscape
This exclusive online boutique inspired by the island lifestyle is exactly what you need to browse if you are looking to add a hint of minimalistic chic to your wardrobe. Each collection is created with sustainability in mind to make sure that Castaway is staying committed to giving back to nature. In a conversation with the founder, Daisy Sophia, we talked about the tropical theme of the designs and what are the essentials to pack when you plan a beach getaway. In case you are looking for inspiration, the brand's journal is an online diary of places to visit and the stories of people who are born or feel in love with and moved to the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean.
