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The sovereign time of Country

Living in the pulse and heartbeat of an infinite clock
by
October 2023, no. 458

The sovereign time of Country

Living in the pulse and heartbeat of an infinite clock
by
October 2023, no. 458

I have often spoken of trying to write in some meaningful way about what it means to belong to all times in this place that we call our traditional homeland. Aboriginal people know that we have been here since time immemorial. We have never lost track of the wisdom and knowledge that generations of our ancestors had developed over thousands of years about the powerful nature of this country. It was their knowledge that ensured the survival of our culture to this day.

We know that their wisdom, handed down through the ages, was essentially about keeping our interconnected and interrelated world strong. We continue to understand the power held within Country, and we know that the ancient laws governing our land are important for ensuring our continual survival on our traditional lands. We say that we belong to this place, and we say that we are Country, that Country is alive, that Country is within us, that if we care for Country, then Country will care for us. We belong to the all times on this oldest continent on Earth, and this means that all times will remain important for our survival, because no time has ever been resolved.

This was how we learnt about Country and how the powerful creative spiritual world must be looked after and kept strong. This enormous responsibility was always undertaken by our interrelated families through their spiritual connections to the story lines of Country. Aboriginal people have continued to work hard to hold their connections to the deep knowledge embedded in these powerful story lines of Aboriginal Law that, in total, essentially encompass all parts of the country. This enormous cultural responsibility has continued over sixty thousand years. In recent years, scientific research has demonstrated time and again that many of the ancient stories contain truths about events that had once occurred on this land, shaping it into what it is today.