REFLECTION OF POST-COLONIALISM DISCRIMINATION IN OODGERU NOONUCCAL’S DREAMTIME
REFLECTION OF POST-COLONIALISM DISCRIMINATION IN OODGERU NOONUCCAL’S DREAMTIME
AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND
This poem is written by Oodgeru Noonuccal, an Australian Aboriginal descendant who became the first of Aboriginal Australian that published a book of verse. She also became well-known for writing several poems. One of her famous poem is Dreamtime that is going to be discussed here.
Oodgeru Noonuccal was born on November 3rd, 1920 in Minjerribah, Queensland, Australia. She was an important figure in Australia. She was involved in many political organizations during her lifetime. She is the key figure in a campaign to make Aboriginal people able to get full Australian citizenship. Her aboriginal background also influences her poems as in Dreamtime.
DREAMTIME
Here, at the invaders talk-talk place,
We, who are the strangers now,
Come with sorrow in our hearts.
The Bora Ring, the Corroborees,
The sacred ceremonies,
Have all gone, all gone,
Turned to dust on the land,
That once was ours.
Oh spirits from the unhappy past,
Hear us now.
We come, not to disturb your rest.
We come, to mourn your passing.
You, who paid the price,
When the invaders spilt our blood.
Your present generation comes,
Seeking strength and wisdom in your memory.
The legends tell us,
When our race dies,
So too, dies the land.
May your spirits go with us
From this place.
May the Mother of life,
Wake from her sleeping, and lead us on to the happy life,
That once was ours.
Oh mother of life,
Oh spirits from the unhappy past,
Hear the cries of your unhappy people,
And let it be so.
Oh spirits- Let it be so.
Dreamtime itself, in Australian Aboriginal mythology, is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings created the world. It is said that in that era, prosperity of land, nature balance, and spirituality were well maintained. This dreamtime was so important for the native Australian Aborigines, it was the source of many writings, story, or any other works.
AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND
This poem is written by Oodgeru Noonuccal, an Australian Aboriginal descendant who became the first of Aboriginal Australian that published a book of verse. She also became well-known for writing several poems. One of her famous poem is Dreamtime that is going to be discussed here.
Oodgeru Noonuccal was born on November 3rd, 1920 in Minjerribah, Queensland, Australia. She was an important figure in Australia. She was involved in many political organizations during her lifetime. She is the key figure in a campaign to make Aboriginal people able to get full Australian citizenship. Her aboriginal background also influences her poems as in Dreamtime.
DREAMTIME
Here, at the invaders talk-talk place,
We, who are the strangers now,
Come with sorrow in our hearts.
The Bora Ring, the Corroborees,
The sacred ceremonies,
Have all gone, all gone,
Turned to dust on the land,
That once was ours.
Oh spirits from the unhappy past,
Hear us now.
We come, not to disturb your rest.
We come, to mourn your passing.
You, who paid the price,
When the invaders spilt our blood.
Your present generation comes,
Seeking strength and wisdom in your memory.
The legends tell us,
When our race dies,
So too, dies the land.
May your spirits go with us
From this place.
May the Mother of life,
Wake from her sleeping, and lead us on to the happy life,
That once was ours.
Oh mother of life,
Oh spirits from the unhappy past,
Hear the cries of your unhappy people,
And let it be so.
Oh spirits- Let it be so.
Dreamtime itself, in Australian Aboriginal mythology, is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings created the world. It is said that in that era, prosperity of land, nature balance, and spirituality were well maintained. This dreamtime was so important for the native Australian Aborigines, it was the source of many writings, story, or any other works.