Aboriginal Icons and their history through meaning
The history of Aboriginal Icons
Cultural history brings to life a past time and place. However, unlike many other cultures it is known that Australian Aboriginal people do not have their own written language and for over 60,000 years Elders have passed down knowledge and traditions by word of mouth and the use of commonly understood icons. Due to the rich history of Aboriginal culture these icons are used to tell stories which vary from region to region.
Indigenous art has been shaped by common factors such as the environment and historical events, shared between different tribes. The history behind Aboriginal icons looks further back into the symbolism in Aboriginal art which is deeply focused on the Dreamtime. This period of time was believed to be when the world was created according to Aboriginal culture.
Throughout history these icons were created to express Dreamtime, they were created on cave walls, carved into timber, desert floors and on bodies through the hopes of keeping their art preserved with culture and tradition. Communities across Australia continue to use traditional storytelling as a way to map Australia’s entire landmass, water resources and sea country. There is a strong and rich history behind Aboriginal icons and with this there have been many forms of Aboriginal art since that time, but a few traditional meanings remain constant.
What is the meaning behind Aboriginal Icons?
Aboriginal icons are unique to each tribe. Each icon correlates with that tribe’s own specific culture, region and Country; representing their own meaning and language group. These meanings dive deeper through using alternative ways to write down stories of cultural significance, teaching survival and use of the land. Although some Aboriginal painting symbols may look similar from group to group, the meaning may be quite different. Aboriginal icons cover a range of indigenous experiences, places and practices. Therefore, this is a way art is used to communicate which is fundamental to cultural strengthening, allowing customs and beliefs to continue and evolve over time. As an aboringinal person written language was not used, however, icons, or iconography, were used as a means of storytelling.
Aboriginal icons connection with IMW
In 2019 the Indigenous Mapping Workshop (IMW) Australia was held in Perth for the first time. The event was centred around upskilling and knowledge sharing; with learners invited to access three days of training in mapping and geospatial software’s, as well as opportunities to chat candidly with peers in ranger programs and land management about ongoing and future mapping projects.
Part of the 2019 IMW event was re-imagining mapping icons to give them a meaningful Aboriginal identity that all Indigenous people could understand, relate to and utilise in practical mapping settings. With the purpose of creating relevant and culturally appropriate sets of indigenous mapping iconography. This activity ran alongside the formal mapping training that took place over three days, with contributions from any of the participants who wanted to have a say on what an icon should look like and what icons should be created to be used in mapping applications. Artist and designer Dennis Golding, a descendant of the Kamilaroi/Gamillaraay people from the North West of New South Wales, was on-site, expressing this knowledge and contributions into icons. After the event wrapped up, Dennis digitised the icons taking into account the discussions, feedback and input of the IMW cohort.
The first phase of icons pictured below were designed to further the knowledge and understanding of Indigenous culture, as previously mapping icons had been too generic to capture the rich Aboriginal culture. This project of redesigning mapping iconography provided attendees from all over Australia with new perspectives, through seeking knowledge and understanding of all the different cultural sites and animals around the country. Phase one icons illustrated examples of traditional flora and fauna such as bush tomatoes or berries, emus, turtles and more.
IMW was established with the vision to demarcate the map and reclaim the space to develop maps that have Indigenous identity. Before these customised icons Dennis produced through the collaborative process, people were able to access only generic icons, some of which weren’t culturally appropriate for symbolising important areas of the map, nor culturally significant sites. Since the introduction of these icons, participants of the IMW and the public are able to download the icons for use in their own maps, with icons that truly reflect what certain areas represent.
The change to these icons was necessary to assist in safeguarding the knowledge of our Aboriginal ancestors to correctly manage their legacy in a sustainable, Indigenous way that ensures a healthy future for our people and culture.
IMW is an ongoing learning journey that helps Indigenous communities develop and improve the digital skills necessary to safeguard the knowledge of ancestors. This is done through correctly managing their legacy in a sustainable, Indigenous way that carries on through to future generations.
Do you see a use case for our custom icons? Click here to download.