Let me first note that I am slightly behind on these blog entries and as such have some ground to make up. The following encounter occurred last week on Friday the 3rd.
The group shuffled onto the 8:30 to Lithgow and plopped into rows of soft leather seats on the upper deck. Some of us slept, others read, but none of us were in the same mindset that we would be later that day. An hour and a half later, coats were zipped up and hands shoved in pockets as the warmth of the train was traded for the nippy mountain air at Faulconbridge Station. Escaping the confines of the station, our Aboriginal tour guide, Evan, met us and sat us down for a talk. He was quick to explain one of the first questions entering our minds, his skin color.
Up to this point we had viewed historical pictures and read literature of dark skinned Aboriginals, but before us sat a man with skin as fair as an average caucasian. Apparently, the last dark skinned Aboriginals in the Sydney area passed away about 30 years ago, the remaining members of the local Darug Aboriginal community are of mixed blood, but the cultural traditions continue.
Evan instructed us to be weary of our footsteps, to 'tread lightly' as the earth is a living thing to. Jumping on another persons back may break their ribs, so too do the Aborigines feel you may harm the earth if you don't regard it as a living breathing entity. He warned us that the practices that he would ask us to entertain may seem odd or make us uncomfortable, but this all comes with understanding cultural differences. To get the most out of our Aboriginal walk we were to open our minds and ensconce ourselves in the environment and atmosphere of the Aboriginal song line that we would be hiking.
Climbing to our feet, we followed Evan into the bush under a shroud of silence. In line, one-by-one we snaked along the thin footpath that led us to our first stopping point. Crowding into a shallow cave Evan instructed us to take the eucalyptus leaves that we had plucked from a tree along the way and 'crush them up' to release their fragrance. Then we were to split the leaf in twain and roll the two halves up so that they fit up our nostrils. Obviously not something we were used to, but an act we all followed without question anyways. Evan explained that the oils from the eucalyptus leaves were a natural antioxidant and had been used by Aborigines for generations as a form of simple bush medicine. I have to say, the practice grew on me and I found myself showing eucalyptus leaves up my nose on my following hiking journeys.
After we had all breathed in the healing oils of the eucalyptus, Evan explained to us the way in which his people experienced the world around them. He mentioned the turn of phrase 'come to your senses' and explained that his people embodied this saying in the original, more literal meaning of it. To actually come to, or be with, your senses; completely alert and attentive to our environment through all of our 5 senses. To this end, Evan encouraged us to participate in what he termed a 'touching ritual' in which while walking in the bush one runs their hand along a plant and imagines the plant coursing through their body. This act is meant to only start as imagination and as practiced, be realized as a true feeling. It may not be culturally correct to say this, but I liken it to the placebo effect. If one believes something to be true, then it becomes a reality for the individual. Through this ritual, the mind and body are to be filled with the good energy of the rainbow serpent spirit and an elevated state achieved. In a way, it's as if the plants are sharing their life force with you.
We were told to continually practice this throughout the days hike making sure to concentrate on imagining the the plants passing through us and cleansing us in doing so. I did as I was instructed, and I can't tell for sure, but by the end I was feeling as if touching the plants was inducing a sensation of light heartedness. I wasn't sure if this was the feeling I was meant to be experiencing, but Evan assured me that i was headed in the right direction and prompted me to keep on practicing the ritual.
The path that we hiked was, in the words of the Aborigines, "the song [story] of the place." destinations along the way helped elaborate on the story with carvings in the rock faces of native animals and Aboriginal heros. Each step is meant to be part of this story and each obstacle passed has meaning for being there. Along the way we were taught of various other bush medicines and 'bush tucka' - naturally growing edible plants and berries. Very little is left of ancient Aboriginal culture because their entire relationship to the land was one of symbiotic harmony in which they were provided for by nature and in so doing had no reason to leave any permanent imprints upon it. Nature replenished itself, and as part of nature so to were they kept alive an in good spirits.
The sites were incredible, the lessons were priceless, and the journey was unforgettable. If all we had experienced up to this point was not enough to demand our fascination with Australia, this trip to the Blue Mountains sealed the deal. It's quite easy to understand why many people travel down here and never end up returning home . . . I hope this doesn't scare any of the parents of students on this trip. We love Australia, but then again we still have much to accomplish before we can think about settling down anywhere, much less a foreign country.
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