An Aboriginal person's soul or spirit is believed to "continue on after our physical form has passed through death", explains Eddie Kneebone. After the death of an Aboriginal person their spirit returns to the Dreamtime from where it will return through birth as a human, an animal, a plant or a rock.
Many traditional aboriginal cultures consider death to be very natural. For many aboriginal people, a “good death” is one where they meet death with dignity and composure. Dying this way implies a further experience of an afterlife.
Aboriginal people honoured and disposed of their dead in many different ways. The dead were usually buried in the ground, sometimes accompanied by possessions such as stone tools or personal ornaments. In some areas, special clothes were made for the deceased.
At the point of death, it is said that our original mother, Mother Earth, who nourished our bodies, reclaims our physical forms. Our original father, the Creator, takes our spirits, to return them to their place of origin. Afterlife The spirit can be seen and felt leaving the body.
The Aboriginals believed that the entire world was made by their Ancestors way back in the very beginning of time, the Dreamtime. The Ancestors made everything. The Ancestors made particular sites to show the Aboriginal people which places were to be sacred.
Many Aboriginal tribal groups share the belief that this life is only part of a longer journey. When a person passes away, the spirit leaves the body. The spirit must be sent along its journey; otherwise it will stay and disturb the family.
To make direct eye contact can be viewed as being rude, disrespectful or even aggressive.To convey polite respect, the appropriate approach would be to avert or lower your eyes in conversation.
The sacred texts in Christianity, Judaism and Islam talk of an afterlife - so for followers of these faiths life after death has been promised by God. For Buddhists, belief in reincarnation is based on the tradition that the Buddha remembered his past lives when he reached enlightenment.
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death.
The belief in some form of rebirth or reincarnation is widespread among indigenous people throughout the world,1 so it is not surprising to find it in native American cultures.
Why is this so? The tradition not to depict dead people or voice their (first) names is very old. Traditional law across Australia said that a dead person's name could not be said because you would recall and disturb their spirit. After the invasion this law was adapted to images as well.
Indigenous communities have always had specific ways to grieve deaths in their community. For some, it's lighting a fire in honour of that person. For others, it's using specific medicines that help ease the transition between death and the spirit world.
As Indigenous people regain knowledge of their culture and reconnect to their home communities, they often choose traditional services and burial.
An Aboriginal person's soul or spirit is believed to "continue on after our physical form has passed through death", explains Eddie Kneebone. After the death of an Aboriginal person their spirit returns to the Dreamtime from where it will return through birth as a human, an animal, a plant or a rock.
Many Aboriginal people believe in a place called the "Land of the Dead". This place was also commonly known as the "sky-world", which is really just the sky.
In the past and in modern day Australia, Aboriginal communities have used both burial and cremation to lay their dead to rest. Traditionally, some Aboriginal groups buried their loved ones in two stages.
Atheists believe that there is no God and no life after death and that death is the cessation of the existence of the individual.
Ancient Egyptian religion. The afterlife played an important role in Ancient Egyptian religion, and its belief system is one of the earliest known in recorded history.
We enter heaven immediately upon our death, or our souls sleep until the second coming of Christ and the accompanying resurrection.
Generally, Buddhist teaching views life and death as a continuum, believing that consciousness (the spirit) continues after death and may be reborn. Death can be an opportunity for liberation from the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
Of all world religions, Islam is probably the most strongly opposed to cremation. Unlike Judaism and Christianity, there is little diversity of opinion about it. Cremation is considered by Islam to be an unclean practice.
Unlike our previous examples, Judaism traditionally doesn't allow cremation.
Assimilationist terms such as 'full-blood,' 'half-caste' and 'quarter-caste' are extremely offensive and should never be used when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aborigines • native/native Australians • lost (e.g. Lost language, cultures).
Offensive names
However many may not be aware that shortening the term 'Aboriginal' to 'Abo' is highly offensive to Indigenous people due to historical usage and is considered a derogatory term, as 'Koon' or 'Boong' are. It's best to avoid these slurs in general.