CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION
HUMAN TRACES:
ETHIOPIA
HUMAN TRACES:
ETHIOPIA
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
DESTINATIONS
DESTINATIONS
The Dreamtime, or the Dreaming, portrays the Aboriginal beliefs in spiritual existence. According to the tribes that first settled down in the continent, the Dreaming's roots date all the way back to the very begging of the creation of the world. The meaning and ideology of the term is generally not so well-understood by non-indigenous people as it is referred to as part of the culture of one of the early nations, which differs from modern perceptions.
The Spirits were the creators of everything. They made the land and the seas, the rocks and the plants, the sky and the earth. They were the higher power and the Australian Aborigines spent their lifetimes honoring this power, which guided their path and shaped their way of thinking. Not only creators of everything, which could be seen as well as felt, the Spirits also gave the Aborigines the Dreaming.
The time when everything started existing according to the initial Australians, was called the Dreaming. This is the foundation of the continent's culture. The origin of the Dreaming goes way back - 65 000 years back in time to be exact. The Ancestors of the nation shaped the land, forming some parts of it as sacred. The Aborigines were very careful and overprotective of those places, strongly believing in their significance.
The Australian Aborigines are known to have believed that the world didn't have any shape and was therefore empty. Darkness dominated, and life was simply asleep, but this changed when the creation began happening. After the Dreaming and the influence of the Spirits, objects began taking shapes and came to be. They created the four elements: water, earth, air and fire, as well as all the planets, the Sun and the Moon. The Dreaming therefore is a continuous process, which never ended. It is a small cosmos on its own, unifying the past, present and the future into one.
The Australian Aborigines' home riches so many vivid areas of the continent, including Fraser Island, Tasmania, Palm Island, Groote Eylandt and Mornington Island. The Aborigines had very strong believes in relation to the powers of the land, claiming that they never owned it - it rather owned them. The only reason they were able to call it their home is because they were looking after it and the land was taking care of the people in return.
Equally important to the Dreaming was the tribes' understandings of the disappearance of the Spirits. There came a time, when the creators of everything vanished from sight. Some of them were thought to have started living in sacred places, which is why the Aborigines perceived their homeland to be so sacred. The ancestors of today's Australians used to believe that the creators started living in rocks, in water holes and some went up to the sky to guide the people from above and keep them safe. Others transformed completely, taking the forms of the rain, the lightnings and the thunderstorms so they could be part of peoples' life.
Among the hundred's different Aboriginal languages, there isn't a word to describe 'time', because to them this simply doesn't exist. Dreaming and Dreamtime are used to replace it and summarize the ideologies of the Aborigines about everything they knew, everything they could see, feel and experience. This is why the Dreaming has such a vivid, and overwhelming meaning and has survived the obstacles of time. For the past couple thousand years, the Dreaming has built a rich cultural heritage that can identify a whole nation.
Read more about the Land, its connection to people and the way it has been perceived from different generations in the very first print issue of ORIGIN. The Land Issue covers varied topics, most of which remain related to cultural aspects of the land and its importance.
A lot of people travel to explore places and learn about them which is the message that ORIGIN wants to spread. With traveling, however, comes certain responsibilities that we should all be aware of. Elephants riding has become a popular way to explore locations by land. People have been doing this as part of their trips, mostly to places such as Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia and other parts of Asia. It is a common thing to see in certain places in Africa as well. We investigated the activity to explain why it is wrong and riding elephants should be banned everywhere.
Our first print issue studies culture and traveling represented through the land. We explored various location around the globe and learned what makes the land so valuable, which nations cherish it and how it helps us establish an identity. Traveling is important to us but traveling responsibly and making an impact is what we feel proud to stand behind. This is why riding elephants as a way of amusement should be reconsidered.
Let’s talk about the details. Elephants are very caring and extremely intelligent animals. It is a well-known fact that they never forget anything. When kept in captivity instead of spending their life in the wild, elephants die younger. Unlike in other species, this is common for the gentle giants and is often a result for stress.
Many African cultures respect elephants, believing they symbolize strength, loyalty and power. However, power can be a very tender concept. Elephant used as a tourism tool suffer from great pain daily. Elephants can be hurt very severely from the weight of carrying people and a trainer on their backs. The reason for this is the design of their spines. They have sharp protrusions, extending upwards from their spine instead of having round spinal disks. The protrusions and the tissue that serves to protect them can be harmed easily from weight pressure. Once a damage to their spine has been made, there is no going back and sometimes the harm can be irreversible. While this can’t be physically seen, the harm that the chairs can do to the elephants’ skin is. It is often the case that the chairs and the weight on their back can damage the animal’s skin and cause pain to their body. The chair, called Howdah, that gets attached to their backs, rubs on their skin and can cause blisters, which can sometimes get infected.
The training that elephants are required to go through when in captivity sometimes adopts a traditional Thai ‘phajaan’ or ‘crush’ technique. Explaining the technique would compare it to the animals’ spirits constantly and continuously being broken by the means of torture and social isolation. This is done in order to tame them. Elephants are wild animals, this is their nature as they are born in such conditions. Making them safe and obedient around people requires them to go through such training. As horrible as it sounds, in some places young elephants are taken away from their mothers to be abused with nails, bull hooks and bamboo sticks to make them obey rules, given by people. The animals often lack sleep and are starved to become submissive.
Actions from such nature are cruel and harmful as the technique is used to crash the animals’ spirit. Once wild and free, elephants become a source of tourism and entertainment. Nobody, who cared about sustainable tourism should ever ride an elephant.
In a sense, elephants have a human soul. They socialise and feel everything – pain, happiness, grief, sadness etc. They spend their life building families and finding friends. The largest land animals are a gift from nature and it is our responsibility to take special care of them and make sure they live according to their nature. Many animals, who are kept in captivity, are forced to live in isolation and carry heavy loads all day long, which is a wrong way to treat them. Their strength and power shouldn’t be abused but treated gently and celebrated by people. Elephants require minimal care to stay happy and healthy, which comes from giving them freedom to behave naturally and socialise. It is our responsibility to be culturally aware while traveling and make sure to spread awareness about the problem.
You can read the rest of the article as published in the LAND issue.
A TRIP TO HAWA MAHAL
Learn about Jaipur’s most distinctive landmark. From the purpose of its honeycomb shape to the consistency of the pink sandstone and the intent behind its 953 windows, we dive into the architectural history of one of India’s symbols
Words: Aleksandra Georgieva
Photography: Annie Spratt
04 November 2020
We welcome you to "The Palace of Winds", Jaipur’s most notable landmark and a bucket list stop for adventurers from across the world. Hawa Mahal, also known as "The Palace of Breeze", is a honeycombed hive, built from pink and red sandstone that overlooks Sireh Deori Bazaar from one side while displaying stunning scenery of Jantar Mantar and the City Palace on the other. Located around 300 km from the capital city of Delhi, the historical palace was constructed in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, grandson of Jaipur’s founder, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh.
The structure is designed to delicately resemble honeycomb, with its five-floor exterior of soft pink sandstone glimpsing around with its 953 small windows called Jharokhas. Hawa Mahal was built with the idea of enabling ladies of the royal household to enjoy the stunning view across the City Palace while overlooking the life of Jaipur’s citizens. As the ladies had to obey the rules of "purdah", they were forbidden to appear in public without a face covering, but the architecture of “The Palace of Winds” allowed them to witness the festive celebrations in the streets of Jaipur without being seen from the city. Another benefit of the building’s design was the so-called Venturi effect, which generates cool air and brings down the high temperatures in the area in the summer months.
Jaipur’s fame of "Pink City" translates delicately into the décor of the pyramidal shaped monument. The honeycomb appearance of Hawa Mahal combines a vast contrast between the plain design of its rear side and the playful dance of domes, semi-octagonal bays and 953 niches constructing its façade. Th palace reflects the cultural and architectural heritage of the region, while maintaining a sense of uniqueness, which appeals to tourist crowds from all over the world. The Hindu, Rajput style and Islamic Mughal architecture shows through interior and exterior design elements of fluted pillars, floral and lotus patterns, domes, carvings, miniature windows, coloured marbles and distinctive minimal ornaments.
The entrance to “The Palace of Winds” is located to the side of the palace through an imperial door, which leads to a spacious courtyard, revealing the elegant built-in interior of Hawa Mahal. Inside the aesthetics are minimalistic yet stylish, consisting of narrow corridors, fountains, colourful marbles, delicate arches and cooling chambers. The archaeological museum displays relics, miniature paintings and ceremonial armour – a reminder of Jaipur’s royal past. In honour of Prince Albert of Wales, who visited in 1876, the exterior of Hawa Mahal alongside the rest of the Old City was painted pink, which was considered the colour of hospitality and ever since the city has maintained its striking pink colour by law.
Nowadays the Pink City continues to awe with its magnificence and rich history. For the price of 200 rupees between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. travellers can enter the palace and look outside the windows of Hawa Mahal just like the ladies did all that time ago. Walk around the markets and buy handmade jewelry and handicrafts; you can even get a turban. At sunrise and sunset, the place looks almost unrecognisable as the sunrays bathe the pastel colours of the palace, defending Hawa Mahal’s reputation as one of the most magnificent symbols of India.
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NOMADSofORIGIN is an independent annual publication with a focus on sustainable travelling and global cultural values. Each issue features interviews, engaging articles and photo guides, which take our nomadic readers through different destinations and introduce them to local people's perspectives.
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