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.
WILDLIFE TRADE
From ivory souvenirs to animal skins and hummingbird charms, in the era of global travelling and mass consumerism, this is how you can avoid wildlife trade and help endangered animal species
Words: Aleksandra Georgieva
Photography: Logan Weaver, Mohammed Hassan
26 June 2023
Global travelling is a growing aspect of tourism and with more access to remote destinations, as well as tourist hotspots, it becomes our responsibility to take care in travelling ethically and remaining mindful when shopping for souvenirs to bring home from our holidays. Nowadays our journeys often take us to curious places, whether that’s amid tourist crowds at big cities or among indigenous people inhabiting under-the-radar regions. Regardless of whether we find ourselves on exotic islands, blending with the commotion on the streets of Japanese tourist hotspots, or diving into a wildlife adventure in remote safari regions, the urge of bringing home souvenirs can be strong.
Yet, travellers are often unknowingly exposed to markets with piles of unethically sourced souvenirs, whether those are items made from ivory, big cat parts, furs and so on. It is no secret that wildlife trade across the globe is an ongoing animal crisis but it is vital to remain aware that a great power lays in consumerism and as creators of the consumer demand, which drives the need for supply in the first place, travellers hold the key to preventing the harmful environmental impact of this vicious circle.
As the remote regions of the world become more easily accessible to the average tourist, it is vital for travellers to understand the scale of impact they have on the way the trade market functions and its ability to tempt visitors with local “souvenirs”. To a large extent the effort for wildlife conservation is in the hands of the consumer of tourism and the goods that are directly and indirectly connected to the travel industry. On that note it is important to know which wildlife souvenirs to avoid purchasing. While some of the items, we have featured on this list might seem obvious, many of our readers are left in disbelief of how easy it could be to remain ignorant, or to even be fooled, over the harmful effects certain souvenir items can have over animals and wildlife.
‘‘To a large extent the effort for wildlife conservation is in the hands of the consumer of tourism and the goods that are directly and indirectly connected to the travel industry.’’
Animal skins and furs top our list, which is among the seemingly most obvious trade products to be avoided. From crocodile and snake leather to tiger furs, the fashion garments made at the expense of wildlife, often even endangered species, can seem endless at times. In the high fashion scene, handbags, shoes and belts are often made from reptile leather. However, apart from lizards, furry animals including a variety of big cats, polar bears, otters and even animal species such as seals, are often captured and killed for their skin. Some countries require permits to export products made of animal skin but whether or not travellers are wiling to take on that risk when crossing international borders, wildlife shouldn’t be forced into such levels of gross exploitation and ultimate destruction.
The simple truth is that there is no one in the world - not a single being - that needs ivory, but an elephant; or in respect a rhino, narwhal, warthog, hippopotamus, whale or any other animal that is haunted for the ivory body parts nature has gifted them. It is essential to normalise that buying ivory souvenirs should not only be unthinkable and prohibited, but it should even be considered taboo. Yet, amid the vast access to information and excess efforts of spreading wildlife preservation awareness among consumers, ivory trading remains among the worst threats to wildlife introduced by humans.
Similar to this issue is the crisis of trading sea turtle products. It is beyond troubling to think that today almost every sea turtle species is endangered. Yet, these marine animals are widely haunted for illegal trade of their shells, meat and eggs. It is imperative to avoid products labeled “tortoiseshell” at all costs, alongside turtle leather products or hair clips, jewellery and musical instruments that could result or have resulted in harming these peaceful marine creatures.
Seahorses are another absurd souvenir idea that has somehow gained popularity in the past few decades especially in coastal tourist cities. The majority of the 40 existing seahorse species are endangered, yet countless specimen are sold alive for aquarium trade. Meanwhile, an estimate of 150 million seahorses are captured and dried in the sun to either become souvenirs or to be used for traditional medicine purposes.
Among the popular marine souvenirs we often find corals and seashells. Some of the seashells are captured with the animals inside them still alive. Overharvesting of corals left many of the species endangered. While decorating your home with oceanic souvenirs may seem like an exotic idea, make sure to check the laws of the country you visit and to source your souvenirs ethically. You could easily make a tremendous impact on the industry by avoiding buying souvenirs that have costed the lives of wildlife species or ones that have caused the unnatural or premature death of oceanic species.
Hummingbirds and bird feathers are another aspect of wildlife trade where species are captured for their natural beauty. While the world’s smallest birds unarguably belong in the wild, traders seemingly easily meet the large demands for superstitious tokens. Hummingbird charms are believed to have several superstitious purposes including keeping the man next to you loyal. While Mexican markets give them away nearly for free, the trade of ownership of such birds without permission is a crime.
While various endangered animal species constitute of staggering amounts of wildlife trade across the globe, the consumer has a tremendous power into changing the troubling statistics. There are many ways wildlife is harmed in unethical and even inhumane conditions for the sake of satisfying consumer needs or tourist curiosity. It is sad and despicable that humans have turned wild animal species into souvenir charms and holiday trophies, but it is never too late to start shopping humane on your travels.
RELATED STORIES
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.
SOCIAL
© NOMADSofORIGIN Magazine 2023. All rights reserved.