InAustralian Aboriginal art, aDreaming is atotemistic design or artwork, which can be owned by a tribal group or individual. This usage of anthropologistW. E. H. Stanner's term was popularised byGeoffrey Bardon in the context of thePapunya Tula artist collective he established in the 1970s.
"The Dreaming" or "Dreamtime" is commonly used as a term for theanimist creation narrative ofAboriginal Australians for a personal, or group,creation and for what may be understood as the "timeless time" of formative creation and perpetual creating. In addition, the term applies to places and localities on indigenous Australian traditional land (and throughout non-traditional Australia) where the uncreated creation spirits andtotemic ancestors, orgenii loci, reside.[1]
The term was coined by W. E. H. Stanner in 1956, and popularized from the 1960s.[2] based on the description of indigenous Australian mythology by Lucien Levy-Bruhl (La Mythologie Primitive, 1935).[3]
The term "Dreaming" is based on the root of the termaltjira (alcheringa) used by theAranda people, although it has since been pointed out that the rendition is based on a mistranslation.[4]Stanner introduced the derived term of "dreamtime" in the 1970s.
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"A Dreaming" is a story owned by different tribes and their members that explains the creation of life, people and animals. A Dreaming story is passed on protectively as it is owned and is a form ofintellectual property. In the modern context, an Aboriginal person cannot relate or paint someone else's dreaming or creation story without prior permission of the Dreaming's owner.[citation needed] Someone's dreaming story must be respected, as the individual holds the knowledge to that Dreaming story. Certain behavioural constraints are associated with dreaming ownership; for instance, if a Dreaming is painted without authorisation, such action can meet with accusations of "stealing" someone else's Dreaming.Geoffrey Bardon's three books onPapunya (1971, 1976, 1978) specifically mention conflict related to possession of a dreaming story. He uses as an example theHoney Ant Dreaming painted in contemporary times on the school walls of Papunya. Before themural could be painted, all tribes in Papunya: thePintupi,Warlpiri,Arrernte, andAnmatyerre, had to agree that the honey ant was an acceptable mural, since Papunya is the meeting place for all tribes. After the mural was painted, one of the seniorelders, Long Tom Onion, reminded Bardon that he, the elder, had suggested the mural be painted. Later, Bardon realised Long Tom Onion owned that Dreaming. He comprehended the importance of Dreaming ownership among Aboriginal Australians, especially those who retain tribal and traditional connections.
Among theCentral Desert tribes of Australia, the passing on of the Dreaming story is for the most partgender-related. For example, the late artist from the Papunya movement,Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, painted ceremonial dreamings relating tocircumcision and love stories, and lessons for "naughty boys". His daughters Gabriella Possum and Michelle Possum have tended to paint the"Seven Sisters" Dreaming or thePleiades, as they inherited that Dreaming through the maternal line. Consequently, they have painted their "Grandmother's Country", which is an expression of their inherited ownership of the land through knowledge of the dreamings. Clifford and his daughters have not painted the same subjects; Clifford has never painted the "Seven Sisters Dreaming". By tribal law, his daughters are not allowed to see male tribal ceremonies, let alone paint them.
Dreamings as "property" have also been used by a few Aboriginal tribes to argue before theHigh Court of Australia their title over traditional tribal land. Paintings of Dreamings, travelling journeys, and ceremonies tend to depict the locations where they occur.