Narratives, Now and Then

Over the last few hundred years the idea of place and space in relation to narrative and language have changed dramatically, along with the meanings of certain things. Back before Australia was colonized it was occupied by the indigenous, Aboriginals. ‘’The Aboriginals, he went on, were a people who trod lightly over the earth; and the less they took from the earth, the less they had to give in return.” (Chatwin, 1987) This was not their space, even though they lived in this place, they knew they had to respect the land, and in return it would do the same for them, but after white colonials invaded all of their native ideals changed. They could not communicate with these foreign people, because they did not communicate in the same ways. Yes they had language but they also used song and dance to tell stories and interact with one another. This immediately reminded me of one of the definitions that we had learnt in the lecture, ontology, and that is exactly what they had before they were invaded.

After being invaded a lot of things changed in relation to their language, place and space. Thankfully they have been able to hold onto parts of their ontology, but in modern Australia the way that we use language and describe things have changed. Currently, if we need to make contact with a friend we send them a message, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. This is a perfect example of how the ideal of space and place has evolved over time in relation to narratives. We used to talk, dance and interact, now however, if we want to talk to someone we send them a message saying ‘Hey lol”.

Bibliography

Chatwin, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathan Cape Ltd.

Image From: http://blog.apollocamper.com/all-posts/apollo-attends-the-laura-aboriginal-dance-festival/