Sacred Mountains in Australia

MARÍA CONSTANZA CERUTI

Mundo Gráfico

Lugar: Salta; Año: 2016 p. 189

978-987-698-149-1

The mountains ofAustralia are not so important for their shape or size, as they are for thelayers of meaning that have been recreated around them. Australian aborigines hadto concentrate on the few soaring landmarks protruding out of their flat geography,thus, the mountains and rock formations of Australia have fattened in traditionalsymbolism. According to the aboriginal world view, during the mythic periodknown as the Dreaming, the spirits of the ancestors shaped mountains, rocks andrivers and taught the traditional codes of conduct and laws to regulate thelife of the aborigines. Their presence is associated to the most distinctivefeatures of the landscape, such as waterfalls and mountains. This book exploresthe sacredness of mountains in Australia and Tasmania, based on fieldexperiences undertaken by the author, covering the Australian Alps (nearCanberra), the Blue Mountains (near Sidney), the Cathedral Ranges (nearMelbourne), the Grampians, the volcanoes on the limestone coast; Uluru and KataTjuta in the Red Center, the Stirling Ranges and the Porongurup (near Albany), CradleMountain in Tasmania and some of the more emblematic escarpments in theNorthern Territory.