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Australia: The Land Where Time Began |
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Bora Ceremonial Grounds, Southeast Australia – Astronomical
Orientations
It is indicated by ethnographic evidence that bora (initiation)
ceremonial sites in southeast Australia, which are typically comprised
of a pair of circles connected by a pathway, are symbolically reflected
in the Milky Way by the ‘Sky Bora’. It is also indicated by this
evidence that the time of year when the initiation ceremonies are to be
held is signified by the ‘Sky Bora’. Archaeological data was used to
test the hypothesis that Bora grounds in southeast Australia have a
preferred orientation to the position of the Milky Way in the night sky
in August, when the plane of the galaxy from Crux to Sagittarius is
roughly vertical to the southwest in the evening sky. This was
accomplished by measuring the orientations of 68 bora grounds by the use
of data from the archaeological literature and site cards in the New
South Wales Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System database.
The study found that there is a preferred orientation to the south and
southwest, which is consistent with the Sky Bora hypothesis. It was
shown by Monte Carly statistics that these preferences did not arise by
chance alignments, but were deliberate.
Notice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Readers
In traditional Aboriginal cultures throughout Australia young males are
taught the laws, customs and traditions of the community, undergoing a
transition ceremony from boyhood to manhood. A ‘rite-of-passage’ event
is often included in this ceremony, in which the initiated males undergo
some form of body modification (Jacob, 1991), which in southeast
Australia typically involves tooth evulsion (e.g. Berndt, 1974: 27-30).
There are many names for this ceremony, but it has come to be generally
known as Bora’ in Queensland (Qld) and New South Wales (NSW), the name
used by the Kamilaroi whose country is in north-central New South Wales
(Ridley, 1873: 269). Bora grounds are generally comprised of 2 circles
of differing size, one large and the other small, that are connected by
a pathway. The larger circle is the public space, and the smaller circle
that is some distance from the larger circle is restricted to elders and
initiates. When colonists first settled the Sydney region Bora
ceremonies were one of the first Aboriginal cultural activities to be
described by the early colonists (Collins, 1798: 468-480; Hunter, 1793:
499-500). In this discussion information about Bora ceremonies will be
limited to the ceremony itself, because they are culturally sensitive
ceremonies.
A variety of evidence in the anthropological literature (e.g. Berndt,
1974; Love, 1988; Winterbotham, 1957) indicates a connection between
bora ceremonies and the Milky Way and that ceremonial grounds are
oriented to the position of the Milky Way in the night sky at particular
times of year.
In this paper Fuller et al.
used ethnographic and ethnohistoric literature to explore connections
between bora ceremonies and the Milky Way. They then used the
archaeological record to determine if bora grounds are oriented to the
position of the Milky Way at particular times of year. Monte Carlo
statistics were used to find if these orientations were deliberate or
resulted by chance.
Bora Ceremonial Ground
Across southeast Australia the layout of bora grounds are similar, with
only minor variations from region to region (Bowdler, 2001: 3; Mathews,
1894: 99). The grounds have been described as consisting of 2 rings of
different sizes which are connected by a pathway in several reports
(e.g. Black, 1944; Collins, 1798: 391; Fraser, 1883; Howitt, 1904;
Mathews, 1897a). There are some places where bora sites where they have
3 or more rings (Steele, 1984; Bowdler, 2001). Each ring is bordered by
raised earth or stone, and the area within these rings is cleared of
debris and the earth is stamped until firm. The larger, public ring has
a typical diameter of 20-30 m. The smaller, sacred ring, where body
modifications take place, is generally 10-15 m across, and this is
restricted to the initiates and elders. A pathway that ranges from a few
10s of metres to a few 100s of metres in length connected the 2 rings.
An Aboriginal man from Marulan, New South Wales, stated in 2004 that the
parts of many such sites were destroyed immediately after the ceremony
to conceal their location (Hardie, 2004). This would explain why some of
the reports of bora sites that were reported in the Archaeological
literature feature only a single ring, the smaller one having been
destroyed.
It has been found that bora grounds are distributed throughout Southeast
Australia, covering most of New South Wales and southern Queensland, and
may extend into South Australia (Howitt, 1904: 501-508) and northern
Queensland (Roth, 1909). Near Sunbury, Victoria (Vic), ceremonial rings
have been found which may be bora grounds, though there are no
ethnographic records attesting to their use for ceremonies (Frankel,
1982). A western boundary for bora which runs from the mouth of the
Murray River to the Gulf of Carpentaria has been cited (Howitt, 1904:
512). It was noted by Mathews (1897b: 114) that the bora can be found
across ¾ of New South Wales and for some distance into western
Queensland, with a boundary that extended from Twofold Bay near Eden,
NSW in the south, to Moulamein, NSW in the west, and Barringun,
Queensland, to the north. The geographical area covered by this paper
includes distinct language groups, each of whom may have a separate
culture and traditions, and to aggregate the data from such a wide area
may be misleading. However:
(a)
Some commonality in culture is implied by the existence of similarly
constructed bora rings, and
(b)
Any preferred orientations arising from a single group will be diluted
by aggregating orientations from a large geographic area, rather than
forming a correlation of spurious significance.
The bora ceremonies were, according to Love (1988), held predominantly
in August each year, though a variety of dates have been reported by
other authors including March-May (Winterbotham, 1957), April-June
(Mathews, 1894: 99), May-July (Mathews, 1894), August (Needham, 1891:
70), September-November (Winterbotham, 1957), and October-December
(Mathews, 1894). It is indicated by this that in some cases, the date of
the bora ceremony is influenced by a number of variables, including the
availability of food and water or having a sufficient number of boys to
be initiated (e.g. Mathews, 1910). Though these factors vary across the
region, in this study the hypothesis proposed by Love (1988) has been
tested, Love having presented evidence that the association of the bora
ceremony with the night sky and the orientation of the Milky Way,
suggesting that most initiation ceremonies occur around August.
Anthropological Support for an Astronomical Connection
It has been well established that the night sky plays a significant role
in several Aboriginal cultures (e.g. Cairns & Harney, 2004; Johnson,
1998; Norris & Hamacher, 2009; Hamacher, 2012). Dark spaces within the
Milky Way are as significant as bright objects in the Aboriginal
astronomical traditions. There are 2 animals that symbolically link bora
ceremonies with the dark spaces of the Milky Way. A spiritual serpent,
the ‘Rainbow Serpent’ that was known across Australia was one of them,
that was traced out by the curving dust lanes of the Milky Way. It has
been explained (Needham, 19981: 69) that in the Hunter Valley among
Aboriginal communities motifs of this spiritual serpent were represented
in the bora ceremonies and during the ceremony information about the
serpent was recounted. The emu was the other animal, which is also
traced out in the dust lanes in the Milky Way (Norris & Norris, 2009).
It has been argued (Love, 1988: 129-138) that in southeast Australia the
emu was an important part of the bora ceremony, as did Berndt (1974:
27-30), as male emus brood and hatch the emu chicks and rear the young
(Love, 1987). This is symbolic of the initiation of young boys by the
male elders.
An illustration of the night sky and the associated stars in local
Aboriginal astronomical traditions was provided (Needham, 1981). Altair,
as the ‘All Father’, is cited in this illustration, which provides the
positions of the celestial objects in August, the month during which the
Aboriginal initiation ceremonies were held (Needham, 1981: 70). In
August the Milky Way stretches across the sky from northeast to
northwest in the early part of the night sky. An Aboriginal religion
that was based on a deity that was variously described as Baiame, Bunjil
or Mungan-ngaua (Henderson, 1832: 147; Howitt, 1904: 490-491; Ridley,
1873: 268) was referred to in many early reports. These names translate
roughly as ‘father’ or ‘father of all of us’ (Howitt, 1904: 268). Baiame
gave his son, Daramulan, to the people and it is through Daramulan that
Baiame sees all, according to Frazer (1883: 208) and (Howitt, 1884:458).
At the bora ceremony Daramulan is worshipped (Ridley, 1873:269) and
Daramulan is believed to come back to Earth by a pathway from the sky
(Fraser, 1883:212). It was reported (Eliade (1996:41) that Baiame
‘dwells in the sky, beside a great stream of water’ (i.e. the Milky
Way), and there are various
reports (e.g. Berndt, 1974; Hartland, 1898; Howitt, 1884) that Baiame’s
wife, or in some cases Daramulan) is an emu. There are reports from
various cultures across southeast Australia of Daramulan, Bunjil and
Baiame, which result in variations of these reports. They share some
features, however, such a close connection between bora ceremonies and
the Milky Way.
Hypothesis testing
In order to focus the discussion, the study was concentrated
specifically on the hypothesis that had been advanced by Love (1987,
1988), his argument being that bora ceremonies were held in the Milky
Way, referred to as the ‘Sky Bora’, by the ancestral spirits in the
heavens. The work of Love was based, in part, on another author
(Winterbotham, 1957), who obtained information from a Jinibara man from
southeast Queensland. Bora circles, according to Winterbotham (1857:38),
were always oriented towards points on the compass, with the larger
circle to the north and the smaller one to the south. In this rule they
conformed to the position of 2 dark (black) spaces (circles) – the Coal
Sacks in the sky.
According to Love (1988:130-131), the Sky Bora was identified by the
Jinibara account with the Emu in the Sky (Gaiarbau et
al., 1982:77; Winterbotham
1957:46). The ‘Coal Sacks’ or
Mimburi, which were referred to, are a dark absorption nebula that
borders the western constellations Crux (Southern Cross), Centaurus and
Musca, which represents the head of the emu, with the eye being
represented by the star BZ Crucis. The neck is represented by the dust
lanes running through the stars Alpha and Beta Centauri, and the
galactic bulge, which is near the intersection of Sagittarius, Scorpius
and Ophiuchus, represents the body. This area is the centre of the Milky
Way galaxy. The legs are traced out by the dust lanes along the Milky
Way through Sagittarius. The motif of the celestial emu is present
across Australia (e.g. Cairns & Harney, 2004; Norris & Hamacher,
2009:13; Stanbridge, 1861:302; Wellard, 1983:51).
According to Winterbotham the dark nebulae were also known by other
Aboriginal groups, such as the Badjala people of Fraser Island and the
adjacent mainland, who knew them as Wurubilum, and the Wakka Wakka
people near Murgon, Queensland. This concept was not restricted to
southeast Australia. It has been explained (e.g. Smith, 1913) that the
initiate is left tied to the ground until the Milky Way is visible
during an initiation ceremony in Western Australia. When the Milky Way
is visible the initiate is asked if he can see the 2 dark spots, and he
is released when he can see them. Fuller et
al. suggest that though this
account is not from the area where the study was carried out it may be
similar to the example that Gaiarbau described.
According to Gaiarbau the bora ceremonies were only held when the
celestial bora rings returned to their ‘proper points of the compass’
(Winterbotham, 1957:38). In southeast Australia the Milky Way is visible
in the clear winter sky about an hour after sunset. As seen from
southeast Australia an hour after sunset, the orientation of the plane
of the Milky Way changes from near vertical in the south-southeast in
March to horizontal across the southern sky from east-southeast to west
in June and back to vertical (but inverted) in the southwest in
September. The Galactic bulge and the Coalsack (celestial emu) cannot be
seen together in the sky (perpendicular to the horizon), but stretches
from south to east.
In August an hour after sunset is the only time the Sky Bora can be seen
in the sky together vertically aligned to the horizon, or later in the
night as the year progresses. The Galactic plane, stretching straight
through the celestial emu, is vertical 1 or 2 hours after sunset in
August, and later in the month this occurs later in the evening. The
azimuth is about 213o (south-southwest) at this time.
It is expected that the orientation of each bora site, from the larger
circle to the smaller circle, would be oriented to about 213o,
if the hypothesis of Love is correct, which corresponds to the time the
ceremonies are held in August. It was claimed (Needham, 1981:70) that in
the Hunter Valley (NSW) the bora ceremonies were held in August, which
is a time when the Milky Way was vertical in the south-southwest, which
agrees with the expectation.
It has been reported by other researchers that bora ceremonies in
Queensland and New South Wales are held at various times of the year, as
noted previously (Winterbotham, 1957; Mathews, 1824:99). According to
Fuller et al. bora ceremonies
could be held at times of the year that have little or no connection
with the position in the sky of the Milky Way, even if the ceremonies
are linked symbolically to the Milky Way. It has been claimed (e.g.
Mathews, 1894:128) that the direction of one bora ring to the other
depends entirely on the conformation of the country in which the
ceremony is being held. It is expected that there would be a roughly
uniform distribution of the orientations if the bora grounds are not
oriented to any particular object or direction. If at least some bora
grounds are oriented to the position of the Sky Bora it would be
expected that a preference would be found for south-southwest
orientations when overall distribution of bora grounds examined at.
Conclusion
It was shown by this study that there is a preferred orientation to
southerly directions for the bora grounds that were studied, and these
orientations are not the result of chance, but were deliberate. It is
not known for sure why this is so, though it is consistent with the Love
hypothesis that there is a preferred orientation for bora ceremonial
grounds in southeast Australia to the celestial emu in the Milky Way in
the south-southwesterly sky. During the month of August the celestial
emu is in this position in the sky in the evening, the time during which
it has been claimed (Winterbotham, 1957; Needham, 1981) that the bora
ceremonies were held. It has been shown (Hamacher et
al., 2012) that linear stone
arrangements in New South Wales also have a preferred orientation to the
cardinal points, especially north-south orientations. Many stone
arrangements are ceremonial sites, which lends support to the claim that
orientation is an important factor to Aboriginal people when they were
laying out ceremonial sites.
Though the Love hypothesis is supported by the analysis by Fuller et
al. it is not definitive
evidence of the bora grounds being oriented to the Sky Bora. It has been
stated by some researchers, such as (Winterbotham, 1957; Mathews, 1894)
that across Queensland and New South Wales many bora ceremonies were
held at various times throughout the year, which do not correspond to
any particular orientation of the Milky Way. There is, however, strong
evidence from ethnography that the Milky Way is associated with the bora
ceremony and it is considered likely by Fuller et
al. that some ceremonies were
timed, and the sites of bora grounds oriented, so that the vertical
Milky Way was visible above the path connecting the 2 circles during
bora ceremonies. Fuller et al.
say that to understand these links additional research is necessary and
they are engaged in such research projects exploring this.
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Author: M.H.Monroe Email: admin@austhrutime.com Sources & Further reading |