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 ESCAPISM ISSUE
The ECSAPISM Issue #04
From interviews with travel photographers to tips on the best places to dive sustainably, we take you through what you can expect to find when you flip the pages of our latest print issue.
Words by: The Editors
12 March 2021
This past year has been incredibly challenging for all of us. We lived through unprecedent times when the global pandemic required us to adapt to a lifestyle we never would have had to embrace in different circumstances. The self isolation made our team crave travelling more than ever before and from our urge to connect to our nomadic community, we wanted to bring the feel of travelling to your doorstep. We dedicated our fourth print issue to the topic of escapism. When our readers hold the magazine in their hands and flip through its pages, they can gather inspiration of how to sustainably escape in the world of adventure once travelling is safe again.
The Escapism Issue is dedicated to adventure seeking and roaming the world from a more grounded point of view. We go back to the roots of abstract tourism and under-the-radar travelling to discover how we can identify as escapists and to learn how we can become better ethical travellers. Our team believes that adventure lovers should never take an opportunity to connect to a different culture or a destination for granted. Through our forth print issue we pay a tribute to traveling as escapists, preserving a sense of creativity in stillness and acknowledging the beauty of tapping into the world of different cultures.
In The ESCAPISM Issue, we collaborate with journalists, photographers and storytellers to bring you one step closer to the wonderful experience of roaming the destinations in a curious, sustainable and adventurous way.
Abstract Escapism
The search for adventure travel is on the rise and we fully embrace it. From destinations where you will be surrounded by shooting geysers to lava lakes, we travel to the most inhospitable places on the planet. Get ready to explore Earth's dramatic landscape like you have never seen it before.
In this exclusive interview,Sophia Harding, founder of one of the cleanest skincare brands on the market right now, shares her favourite self-care routines and the benefits to using Palm of Feronia’s eco products. The brand is dedicated to exploring nature-inspired ways of taking care of ourselves as they incorporate earth-derived ingredients in their products. Their slogan, "Natural Skincare for the Soul" perfectly sums up what the brand stands for.
Call of the Wild
Waking up to the sound of exotic birds flying nearby and the roar of lions embarking on their hunt in the distance - a safari trip is a great preposition to get to know a place as complex as Africa, but is it truly the best way to connect to the land and the wildlife? We taka a look at how the boom of the safari industry influences problems such as animal poaching as we take you to the borders of Botswana, Kenya and Namibia to learn what we can do as travellers to help resolve some of these countries' most pressing safari issues.
Bangkok: City of Contrasts
From street food stalls that master a single dish for decades to Michelin star fine dining, follow us on a gastronomic trip to Bangkok. The modern city is world-renowned for the traditional local cuisine and the unique way of preparing dishes be it at a restaurant or in a tiny food vendour. We explore the best dishes that will make any foodie include Thailand's capital city at the top of their travel list.
Underwater Escapism
Did anyone say underwater caves - count us in! We are all about exploring diving from a sustainable perspective. Modern day travellers are always on the lookout for the next cool destination to explore the ocean floor. The world of travelling never stops evolving and we decided to dive into a more abstract side of it. Underwater escapism calls out the bravest and most adventurous of travellers. Read our tips and suggestions on the best places to dive sustainably.
Have you ever wondered how you can change your shopping habits to give a little back to nature? You can start by turning to brands that are dedicated to helping fight climate change and restoring ecosystems. Leilani Shells is a brand like that. The team partners with marine preservation organisations to plant a coral for each purchased handmade jewellery. Founder, Jenny Melia, speaks to our editor-in-chief about provoking change towards sustainability, growing up in Hawaii and empowering women to ‘wear the ocean’.
Travel to: Pig Island, Bahamas
Azure waters, pristine beaches and swimming with Exuma pigs. We take you to this incredible island located on Big Major Cay in the Bahamas. It is a renowned tropical place that gets its charm from the postcard-worthy appeal. The fact that the island is uninhabitable, except for the cute pigs that roam the beaches and the distinctive iguanas that leave tail traces in the sands, make the place a must-visit destinations for the seekers of intriguing holidays.
An Open Letter to our Nomadic Community
We feel it is important to acknowledge what we have been through as a consequence of the global pandemic and to provide our readers with some inspiration on how to deal with the social restrictions in creative ways. The imposed self isolation restrictions and the closing of borders were necessary measures, yet they had a distinctive impact on the travelling industry and on our nomadic community. Our editors take a minute to connect with readers, acknowledge the combined efforts of getting to the other side of the pandemic as more empathetic people and building a better society with a future where ethical travelling is the escapist's norm.
Travel to: Little Sahara Recreation Area
Little Sahara Recreation Area is the place to be, if you want to rent an ATV and explore the challenging sand dune terrain. The sorbet-coloured landscape will make you feel like the area belongs to a different world. Formed 11,000 years ago, the area is now a state park that nomads love to visit when planning a trip to Utah. We take our readers to the recreation area to showcase an alternative side of visiting the state.
How to become a more ethical traveller
As modern-day travellers, we have a responsibility to embark on adventures in a conscious manner. This doesn't have to be intimidating. Although it sounds like a huge responsibility, there are plenty little things you can include in your travel lifestyle to make sure your are being mindful of the local people and the culture of the destinations you visit. From exploring the lesser-known areas of a destination to shopping from smaller markets and sustainable business, and making sure you steer clear of tourists activities that exploit animals, read our tips that you can easily incorporate in your travel philosophy.
Introducing our exclusive interview with the woman behind the lens of @fieldnotes__. We caught up with Rachel Claire to discuss her photography style, how she stays inspired to create and what advice she has for the modern generation of sustainable travellers. She shared with us who are the creatives that inspire her and how the global pandemic made her reflect on her travel ideologies.
Can There be a No-Fly Future
The boom of tourism required the airline industry to take it up a notch, but have you ever considered what this means for our planet? The emissions that planes leave in the atmosphere from a single flight can shock you. We wanted to take this opportunity and explore the possibility of a no-fly future where we travel in an eco-conscious way that doesn't harm the environment as much as the transport industry does at the moment. The future might be brighter. In the meantime we give you suggestions on what you can do to contribute to leaving a greener footprint.
In our travel guide we head to Turkey to see first-hand how the locals manage to escape the repetitiveness of an every-day routine. From area recommendations to details on fishing season and bans, this is our ultimate guide to a fishing holiday in Turkey. Come along to one of the best places in the world for fishing some of the tastiest catch.
Astronomy Meets Travelling
You can't go wrong by planning a night spent under the night sky. The sound of a place falling asleep, the calming feel of a young night and the darkness that comfortably falls like a curtain to let the moon and the stars show off their shine - this is nature at its finest. We take you to the best locations around the globe for an ultimate stargazing experience. France, Jordan, Nepal and Namibia are among some of the destinations on the list. Get ready to enjoy astrotourism first-hand.
Creativity in Stillness
Can solitude inspire creativity? We reflect on how world-renowned artists such as Van Gogh, Franz Kafka and Frida Kahlo created some of their masterpieces in isolation to debate on how solitude can help artists with their creative process. This past year has challenged us to embark on a journey of social isolation. We pay a tribute to all those who have paved the way for artists to find the strength in knowing that when balanced with creativity, self isolation can be a powerful tool in artistic expression and finding one's identity.
