Voices of the First Day. Awakening in the Aboriginal Dreamtime

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Australian aboriginal people have lived in harmony with the earth for perhaps 100,000 years, known as the First Day. This absorbing work delves into the essence of their culture, offering a guide to transforming our worldview. It does not romanticize the past or advocate a return to hunter/gatherer life but invites readers to understand the mentality of the oldest continuous culture on earth, providing insights into our relationship with the earth and each other. The book encourages us to suspend our values and Eurocentrism, stepping into the Dreaming to discover: a people who rejected agriculture, architecture, writing, clothing, and the subjugation of animals; a hunting and gathering lifestyle that offered abundant, nutritious food; initiatic and ritual practices that underpin esoteric, yogic, magical, and shamanistic traditions; a diverse and fluid sexual and emotional life that maintained marital and social stability; a strong emphasis on kinship, community, and the law of the Dreamtime; and a rich language that reveals new perceptions. The aboriginal people are depicted as balanced between the Dreaming and the perceivable world, living each day as the First Day. The work is illustrated with over 100 extraordinary photographs, bark paintings, and engravings, many of which are among the earliest images of Aboriginal people, presented here for the first time.