I have just remebered that while I lived in Queensland they discovered
that some rocks only found on Mount Warning (on the Queensland, New South
Wales border, can also only be found on a certain Mountain
range (which I have forgotten) in the USA and that the aboriginals of that
area have a myth about the yellow people before the great floods.
Hope you enjoy the article which is long, but worth reading to the end.
Printed in the Golden Age one of the best IMO New Age mags in Australia.
Mutant Message
Interview with Loraine Mafi Williams
written by Bonnie McLean
Marlo Morgan, in her best selling book Mutant Message Down Under, told an
incredible story about her mystical journey undertaken with an Aboriginal
tribe, in the Australian outback. Was the journey authentic, and how has
the Aboriginal community reacted to her account?
Bonnie McLean spoke to Lorraine Mafi Williams, a traditional teacher and
custodian of Aboriginal culture and wisdom, who tells it like it is.
Bonnie I hear there is a lot of controversy in the Aboriginal community
over __Mutant Message__. When I read it I thought it was pretty sympathetic to
the Aboriginal community. What is this all about?
Lorraine Well, Ive read both the American and Australian versions. The
Australian version is watered down quite a bit. I honestly don't think this
woman ever took a walk with anyone except perhaps as a tourist on a tour
into the outback. A lot of the information I think she got from books,
especially a book called Voices of the First Day. There is a lot of
erroneous information in Mutant Message. I think she used the Aboriginal
people to espouse some kind of mixture of American Indian, Buddhist and New
Age philosophy. She's made a lot of money and gotten a lot of attention at
our expense, and a lot of us are quite angry. This is why I have decided
to
speak up.
I'll give you an example. They supposed walked in the desert for
four months. They never saw a fence or came accross another Aboriginal
clan (our groups are not called tribes, by the way). In four months they
would have to have gone through several terrfitories, for which they would
have to have received permission from either the people living there (white
or Aboriginal) or the government. Since 1985, any white person has to get
permission from the Central land council to enter Aboriginal land. This
may
take three months. None of this was spoken of in the book. Our people do
not usually travel in large groups such as 60 people. Traditionally, groups
of men go on walkabout for initiation ceremonies or to gatherings in
certain
spots.
Women don't go on walkabouts. In our tradtion men and woman do not
mix like she describes in the book. They would not have slept together,
and
certainly not with feet touching. (This stuff with circles is American
Indian). She had a male translator. We have many languages that are spoken
by different clans, but we all speak English. We were all forced to learn
English when we were put in mission schools. A translator would not have
been necessary, and a male would not have been translating for a female.
Bonnie Well, this brings up a lot of questions then. Do you mind if I ask some
specific ones about things mentioned in the book?
Lorraine Not at all. We might as well get this stuff straightened out. Think
about it. What women in her right mind would strip, like that in front of
strangers and allow her valuables like an heirloom ring be thrown in the
fire? And depicting us as people who would be insensitive to her bleeding
feet until we stopped walking at night, makes us look pretty uncivilised.
Bonnie Lets go with the American version then. In the beginning Morgan
describes
how the "tribe" measured distance by singing songs in very specific detail
and rhythm, that they actually sing from one location to another.
Lorraine This is a misinterpretation of how our people work with the energy grids
and passage paths. These paths are described through songs, because
information is traditionally passed on through words, not writing. An old
man will sing these "song lines" to a young boy, and old woman will sing
them to a young girl for their initiation journeys. It would not be usual
for a group of people to just be singing while walking. Also, about the
group ritual in the morning asking for food. That kind of stuff isn’t
necessary. You dont have to ask for what is already there.
Bonnie Is it true that groups of people used to travel with dingoes, and used
them for companionship and warmth at night?
Lorraine Well, it could be if the dingoes made the choice. Our relationship with
animals is different from yours. We don't believe that we are superior to
any one living thing. They were here before humans, as were the plants and
rocks. We honour them because of that. A dingo would not be kept around
to serve us, like keeping us warm at night.
Bonnie She speaks of telepathic communication among members of the tribe. A
scout would run ahead and communicate back to the "tribe" this way. They
travelled in silence because this was how they were communicating.
Lorraine There is telepathic communication among our people, but it occurs
between
individuals, not in groups. Not everyone is good at it. The elders,
medicine people, teachers have been trained in telepathy, but it is a skill
that does require training and takes time to learn. A runner ("scout" is
an
Indian word, isn't it?) may indeed communicate back to certain individuals
in a clan.
Bonnie She mentions how children are taught to have non-attachment to
objects.
If a child took something without permission, the adults would avert their
eyes. What else and how else are children taught about values?
Lorraine Our adults don't discipline our children by averting their eyes. Other
adults may do so out of politeness when a child is being corrected by the
parents. In our society the children come first. They stand in front of
the mirror and say "I am precious". This is the only way a person can
really love others. When someone feels badly about themselves, they tend
to
make others wrong. Children learn that everything belongs to everyone. If
a
child wants to play with something for a while, he is usually allowed to do
so. Eventually everyone gets a turn.
Bonnie She said that bush flies were allowed to climb all over the people,
because they cleaned out the ears and noses and entire body. Is this true?
Lorraine These flies can be very clinging and hard to get rid of, but why would
anyone
want them climbing into their noses, eyes and ears? They lay eggs! Horses
know to brush them off with their tails. Why would we be different.
Bonnie She talks about carrying a firestick and using dung for fuel. Why would
this be necessary if fires can be made easily by rubbing sticks?
Lorraine Why would you even rub sticks when there are matches and cigarette
lighters? No, even before the modern ways, our people didn't carry fire
sticks. It s too easy to make it rubbing sticks together.
Bonnie She says that everyone is multitalented and that they spend their lives
exploring themselves as musician, healer, cook, storyteller etc. I thought
each person had a speciality that they began training for as small
children.
How is it?
Lorraine You're correct. I'M a writer and film maker and do that well. But I
cannot draw to save me.
Bonnie She says that birthdays are not celebrated.. not getting older, but
getting better. And when someone knows they are wiser, they tell the
others
it is time to have a celebration. Is this how it works?
Lorraine Actually this is pretty accurate. For example, a hunter may do a
really good job. The singer will make up a song. Dancers will mime the story
of the hunter's experience. The artist will draw the story. This is
storytelling.
Bonnie Morgan says the spirit enters the foetus when it
tells the world of it's presence by movement. A stillborn child is a body
that housed no spirit. Is this true?
Lorraine Think this is a Buddhist concept. We believe the baby’s spirit enters
the body three nights after birth. It comes in through the top of the
head,
which closes by the time it is a year old. When a person dies, it goes
back
out the top of the head three nights after the persons death. During the
persons life, it goes in and out through the navel, such as in sleep and
astral travel.
Bonnie Is it true that poisonous plants have traditionally been used against
human enemies?
Lorraine No, this is not true. We are not allowed to shed blood of another human
being. By the way, this includes ourselves. We are not allowed to commit
suicide. The so-called suicide deaths in custody of Aboriginal cannot be
suicides.
Bonnie There had been Aboriginal tribes with Kings, with females rulers, some
who stole people away from another group, and some who ate human flesh,
including babies. What would you say to that?
Lorraine Again we are not called tribes. We never had kings. We dont steal
people
from other's groups . And we are certainly have never been cannibals! We
have a very intricate system of family groups that has been allowed us to
prevent inbreeding, and that worked for 50,000 years. We don't believe in
abortion, and have our own methods of birth control that have prevented
overpopulation. I think some of the stories of cannibalism came from the
cannibals of New Guinea who brought their captives to the northern shores
of
Australia. They were black, too, and probably couldnt be differentiated
from the local inhabitants in the eyes of the explorers. There was also a
woman in Australian history named Daisy Bates. She was a bush nurse in the
Northern Territory in the 1920's. She lived in the desert and apparently
went mad. In this state she reported a lot of wild stories, including
women
eating babies.
Bonnie A healing is described in which a man with a compound fracture in his
leg was healed and walked the following day. Does this really happen?
Lorraine Our healings only support nature, which is the healer. This healing
couldn't have happened, because women's menstrual blood would never be
used
on a man. This would be considered taboo.
Bonnie In talking about totems, Morgan says that people choose their totem and
may choose the kangaroo because it cannot step backward and it is balanced
by its tail. Is this accurate?
Lorraine We each have a fish, animal, and bird totem. These are passed down
through the families. The women's totems are passed down through the
women's line. The men's totems are passed down through the men's line. They are
not chosen. An artist will paint his totem. This is how you can know
where
the artist comes from. We are allowed to eat our totems. A lot of us eat
kangaroos, so they cannot be our main totem. Individuals may have a
certain
kind of kangaroo or wallaby as their totem. The eagle is amore universal
totem than a kangaroo.
Bonnie She describes dreaming as follows: The word "Dreaming" means "levels
of
awareness." There is ancestor dreaming when thought created the world;
there is out-of-body dreaming, such as deep meditation there is sleep
dreaming, etc. She also talks about the use of a dream catcher. She says
"tribal" people do not dream at night unless they call in a dream. Sleep
for them is a time for important rest and recovery of the body. It is not
meant to be a time of splitting energy between projects. They believe the
reason Mutants dream at night is because they are not allowed to dream in
the day. They make dream catcher with spider webs, and dance with them to
remember their dreams. How accurate is this?
Lorraine You have to remember that "dreaming" is an English word. It really is
difficult to try and define it in this language. No, we don't use dream
catchers. Again those are used by American Indians. We do use sleep to
receive information from our guides and ancestors. They come to us between
7:00pm and 11:00pm and between 4:00am and 6:00am, When someone is out in a
disco until midnight, they miss the chance to receive information.
Bonnie She talks about honouring the four elements - earth, water. Fire and
air.
Also the seven directions. This is American Indian spirituality. Is this
also Aboriginal?
Lorraine No
Bonnie She talks about being taken to a sacred site. She said it was not a
place of worship but a place to collect things and seek refuge. Would this
be a sacred site?
Lorraine Sacred sites are visited by shamans. Groups of people do not go to
them.
Men have their sacred sites, and women have theirs. There are different
levels of sacredness. They are not places to collect things and are not
refuges.
Bonnie How about the head-dresses she describes?
Lorraine Yes, head-dresses are used in traditional wear.
Bonnie She says that the Aborigines were the first beings on the planet. Is
this
true?
Lorraine According to our beliefs, the first race to embody on the planet was the
Black race. The second was the Red. The third was the Aboriginal. We are
separate from the black race. Then came the Yellow ace. And finally the
White race.
Bonnie She says Ayers Rock was at one time a burial site. Is that true? Why is
Uluru (Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock) considered sacred?
Lorraine Uluru has been a birthing site, not a burial one. How can you bury
someone in rock? During the time of the great flood, Aboriginal climbed on
Uluru and were able to survive. Some New Age people say it is made of
crystal. This is not true. All these people climbing all over it is really
not good for it.
Bonnie In a celebration, she describes dancing with regal black men in the
desert?
Lorraine No, men and women dance separately.
Bonnie Well, Lorraine, this was quite an eye opener. Thank you for setting the
record straight here.
