Aborigines believe that there are moments in a person’s life when they symbolically die to one phase in order to make way for a new one. This transition is accompanied by special initiation ceremonies that every boy must go through in order to be accepted into adult society. We are only familiar with the formal, external aspects of the ceremony, and despite all the records, we will probably never know what a boy goes through internally, on a psychological level, in order to completely change his perception of the world and essentially become a responsible man in a relatively short period of time.
In the Mardudjara language, the initiate is called murdilya, meaning “uninitiated boy,” and after undergoing initiation, he is called bugundi, meaning “one who is reborn.” Bugundi comes from the words bugu (death) and yudirini (to be born, to return). The Aborigines say, “We are all born from women – but also as women.” And also: “A woman is born, a man becomes.”
There are several levels of initiation among the Aborigines, and the first
One of them is the one through which a boy is introduced into the world of men. For Aboriginal people, this is one of the most important events, which is long prepared for and given great attention, and it involves all boys of a certain age from a certain territory. It all starts when an older man, who has himself undergone initiation, observes the boys approaching the onset of sexual maturity. When it is seen that the boy is ready, the child’s mother or closest relative makes the final decision whether the boy will go through the trials or not. The ceremony itself varies from tribe to tribe, but can generally be divided into several phases:
Abduction:
The boys are dramatically separated from their mothers. They are convinced that they will encounter the power of the Dreamtime that will kill them, but also bring them back to life. According to myth, Daramulun, a divine being unknown to women and the uninitiated, used to kill boys in the olden days, bury them, burn them and finally bring them back to life, but with one tooth missing. Mothers and relatives Nuns beg men not to take boys away, crying, pulling their hair, and lamenting, “The Great Spirit will devour our children.” In many tribes, they are genuinely convinced that their boys will die. In this stage, it is crucial for boys to confront the fear of death.
The ceremony takes place far from the main dwelling place of the tribe, at a specially prepared location that becomes a sacred space through the ceremony. The boys are painted with blood given by older initiates, symbolically marking their rebirth. Those leading this part of the ceremony are covered in clay and colors, and adorned with feathers; they represent those who are dead to the world in which the boys live. During this phase, the boys do not eat, as they are considered ritually dead. They are kept in a state between sleep and wakefulness to be maximally receptive to what is being told to them. Hour after hour, from evening until dawn, the boys are informed through song and verses that they will experience a reality they must not speak of to anyone else at any cost. you have been initiated. From that day on, they will exclusively participate in the lives of men.
Journey
The path that the initiates and their guardians traverse is the one their mythical ancestors walked according to beliefs. On this journey, the initiates discover sacred places, while the guardians transmit tribal myths and legends to them, acquaint them with the powers possessed by shamans, teach them dances, and instruct them on their duties towards the tribe. This initiation phase, which can last several weeks, also has a practical side – the reestablishment of old connections with other tribes. New connections are established, old disputes are resolved, and exchanges are arranged. In this way, boys become acquainted with their extended family and the area they will travel throughout their lives. At each meeting with the wider relatives, someone else joins the group.
An elder member of the Yirkala tribe, initiation ceremony involving tooth extraction.
Circumcision ritual
The circumcision ritual holds a special place in the initiation ceremony. The preparations are complex and lengthy because A large number of people from all genders come – besides the ceremony participants, there are also a large number of visitors. Relatives meet again, food and ceremonial gifts are exchanged, dancing and celebrating is done. The bodies of the participants and the clothes they wear are decorated differently every day.
The ritual is important because it represents the symbolic death of the boy. The men hold the initiate on a shield, and the boy’s grandfather circulates around this living altar and talks to the boy, encouraging him and monitoring his condition. Before the actual circumcision, the grandfather puts a boomerang in the boy’s mouth to help him endure the pain. Throughout the ritual, a deep reverberating sound of the bullroarer, a ceremonial instrument whose sound is identified with the voice of a divine being, is heard. After the circumcision, which is performed with a sharp quartz knife, the boy is placed in a kneeling position, and the participants start dancing. The mythical origin of the bullroarer is explained to the boy, and then the grandfather gives him two bullroarers so that he can communicate with the spirits in the future. He explains to him that Childhood is now behind him, and if he finds himself in danger, he can no longer call on his parents but must seek help from spirits. The connection with parents is formally severed – the boy has died in order to be born as a man.
Warrior – initiation.
Solitude
During the following days, while various ceremonies are still taking place, the boys are alone and can only communicate with each other using gestures. Their wounds heal, and relatives who symbolically killed them now come to the boy’s family to reconcile.
Return
After a few days, the temporary camp where the ceremony took place is dismantled. Every trace must be removed so that women, children, and other non-initiated individuals do not learn anything about the ceremony. The night before returning to the main tribe camp, the boys stay awake, watching a dance in which they eventually participate themselves. Their heads are above purifying smoke, and boomerangs are thrown at the invisible evil spirits above their heads.
The next day, the boys appear in the main tribe camp. , koje omogućavaju muškarcu da postane punopravni član zajednice i da preuzme ulogu vođe i zaštitnika. Ove inicijacije uključuju iskušavanje fizičke snage, mentalnu disciplinu i duhovno putovanje.
Tijekom ovih inicijacija, muškarac će se suočiti s različitim izazovima i testovima, kao što su dugotrajne periode izolacije u prirodi, post i meditacija. On će također morati pokazati da je spreman podnijeti fizičku bol i neugodu kako bi dokazao svoju hrabrost i odlučnost.
Sam proces inicijacije može trajati godinama, a svaka faza ima svoju svrhu i pouku. Kroz ove inicijacije, muškarac će se razviti i transformirati, postajući mudrija i duhovno osviještena osoba.
Na kraju svog putovanja inicijacije, muškarac će biti primljen kao ravnopravni član svoje zajednice. Bit će priznat kao vođa i nositelj tradicije i mudrosti svog naroda.
He then accepts a higher and more subtle part of the responsibility for maintaining the harmony of Dreamtime. These initiations are accompanied by various rituals: subincision, self-tattooing (usually on the thigh), tooth extraction, removal of facial hair, and others. During these rituals, the initiate is in a state of some kind of trance, practically not feeling any pain.
After these rituals, a period of isolation and introspection follows, during which the initiate needs to find inspiration and express themselves through art, such as painting.
One of the stories related to Aboriginal shamans tells of how a shaman, in order to find a new song or dance, needs to leave the camp when it starts raining and search for a lake or well struck by lightning. They must dive in and stay underwater until they find a new song or dance. Unlike some other archaic cultures, with Aboriginals, everyone communicates with spirits, not just shamans. In the morning, immediately after waking up, an Aboriginal goes into nature to find the song they will sing. and her dream from the previous night.
A woman from the Aranda tribe, Alice Springs, 1896.
INITIATION AMONG WOMEN
Initiations among women are related to biological changes in the body (the beginning of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and childbirth). These initiations are simpler than those of men. Girls do not have lengthy preparations and exhausting rituals like boys, because Aborigines believe that women are naturally much closer to the mysteries of life. They differ from boys in that their initiations are individual: with the onset of the first menstruation, a girl leaves the main dwelling of the tribe for a place prepared for her by her mother and grandmother. She spends there from a few days to several months, receiving instructions related to sexuality and marriage. They are taught to recognize and use medicinal and edible plants. Furthermore, they are taught to enter a special state in which they can listen to nature in a special way. Aborigines, namely, believe that spirits, or mythical ancestors who created the world in the Dreamtime, still reside in nature and can impart their wisdom to those who listen closely. The new message is conveyed through birds and other creatures of nature.
The second part of the ceremony is the ritual bathing, which symbolizes purification. The young girl, now a woman, arrives at the place where older girls are waiting for her, with whom she spends the day bathing and enjoying themselves. The third part of the ceremony is the wedding. The ceremony itself is not particularly spectacular, and it will take some time before the young couple begin their life together. In the final stage of the ceremony, the girl is given a stick with which she can freely strike anyone who offends her – without fear of consequences.
There are no further details about initiations among girls because anthropologists, who were mostly men at first, were not allowed access to such ceremonies. Generally, women were initiated in the arts of healing and divination. Men never questioned their authority in this area.
BULLROARER
Tundun, churinga, tjurunga, burliwarni, ngurrarngay, muypak,… these are the names of various Aboriginal tribes in Australia. There is a tool called a bullroarer, which the English have named it. It is a wooden instrument with rounded ends, measuring 30-40 cm in length, resembling a fish in shape. A thin rope is threaded through a hole at one end of the instrument. When it is spun at a high speed, it creates a unique sound resembling a humming. Aboriginals call this sound “the call.”
For Aboriginals, it is a sacred object used in men’s initiations, funerals, for summoning rain and wind. It is also used in hunting and for long-distance communication. Its sound serves as a warning to women that a ceremony is taking place nearby, which they are not allowed to attend. Women, children, uninitiated boys, and strangers are not allowed to see it. Only men handle it for ceremonial purposes, and only the wisest among them can understand the messages conveyed by the “voice” from the Dreamtime through the bullroarer.
Some tribes believe that the sound of the bullroarer represents the voice of the Rainbow Snake, the most important of the divine ancestors and a symbol of connection. Some believe that this sound is a connection between the spiritual and material world. Others, however, believe that it is the voice of the mythical being Daramulun and that a true bullroarer can only be made from wood that contains its spirit, which is usually wood struck by lightning. Although it is mostly associated with Aborigines today, it has been found all over the world – in both northern and southern hemispheres, on all five continents, in archaic cultures of Europe, Asia, Polynesia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, America, Egypt, and even among the Inuit of northern Canada. The age of the bullroarers found in Anatolia is estimated at 6500 years. Its use is always ceremonial. In Greece, this instrument was called rhombus and was used in Dionysian mysteries. The Navajo tribe calls it tsin di’ni and used it to ward off evil spirits and illnesses. For the Dogon people, the sound of this instrument, which they call “po”, is the voice of their ancestors. Scientists have discovered that these instruments, in addition to the known buzzing sound, also create infrasound – a sound that is low in frequency. Whose barely audible to the human ear. Natural sources of infrasound are earthquakes, thunderstorms, waterfalls, and others, while artificial sources include wind turbines, machines like cars, airplanes, etc. Infrasound travels over long distances – especially through wind – so some animals, such as whales and elephants, communicate with each other using infrasound.
Interestingly, the frequency range of infrasound coincides with the frequency range of brain (electromagnetic) theta and alpha waves. Theta waves (5-8 Hz) are associated with meditative states, while alpha waves (8-13 Hz) are associated with deep relaxation. Research shows that infrasounds specifically stimulate a wide range of euphoric and hallucinogenic states.
The question arises whether the effect of the bullroarer is more than symbolic, especially considering the incredible consistency in shape and ceremonial role of this simple and unusual instrument among spatially and temporally distant cultures.
The fundamental motive of every initiation is the experience of death and symbolic resur Contemplation. According to a Brahmanic saying: “Man is actually unborn. He is born through sacrifice.” A true man does not become born through birth, he must be born again, but this time in the world of spirit, the world rich in meaning.
Our modern society no longer recognizes initiation as a cultural institution. Today, the existence of man is almost completely reduced to linear increase in material prosperity, yet such prosperity is often just a facade for real spiritual poverty. However, the need for initiatory experience, although hidden, is present in modern man. The planetary popularity of films and books about heroes who face tests of their own bravery reveals this subconscious need for life to acquire another dimension.