Arabella Douglas
Apr 1, 20212 min
The sadness of festivals of the full moon. Australia
There is clear evidence Aboriginal gathered in full moons to perform a ceremony that connected celestial patterns to food cycles.
How do we know this?
Because of ration distributions.
What are ration distributions?
A policy of distribution ration as means of gaining control over Aboriginal ppl to district them in frontier wars and protection of their ancestral lands, and 'draw them into labour' and to set up 'asylums' as a place where rations and clothing would be distributed. It was a war tactic and subversion control tactic.
The plan was simple to follow Aboriginal patterns of traditional economic activities, and use it for land alienation.
Macquarie in 1814 began manipulating full moon gathering held every Dec (full moon) until abolished in 1835.
The full moon feasting in Sydney Parramatta was the distribution of blankets, food and display of the children from the Native Schools which set the pattern for other States.
By 1938 Adelaide perfected the trap, lure and abuse full moon feasting as a time to distribute and replace the purpose of ceremonies with distribution 'reporting we never distribute rations until work is done
Aboriginal people understood the inferior food as a novelty as they abundance all around, so the real value to the colony was the distribution which coincided with large groups gathering as moon times allowed a tool for controlling frontier conflicts.
Mobs gathered regionally trying to maintain a practice of flow and appreciation of life cycles was disturbed and abused by a political attempt to the highway a system of the ceremony.
In Adelaide Gawler went so far as to celebrate Queen Birthday 24 May 1839 he observed mobs gathering for full moon ceremonies and was keen to take control of gathering (28th was the full moon) and big lead up and mobs flowing in.
It became custom for the Governors to address the assembly before the feasting began, hijacking earth, land and celestial celebration to be used to lure disrupt the connection to spiritual practice.
Each area mobs gathered for moon ceremonies the depot for rations were created.
Minyungbul peoples like all First Nations celebrate, connect and pay attention to cycles of life, cycles of flow and cycles of food systems. This connection in ceremony is to humble human to remember they are reliant on the same systems of life. That the system of life that wants everything to flourish, grow, connect and communicate is also present in people, we long, need and desire this connection to living life beyond the ego.
This system is worth celebrating paying particular attention to and beginning to understand as the sun gives vitamin D, the moon gives us the same type of vitamins, energy, and life.
We like the oceans and rivers hold water, the moon directs and causes tides to swell, as it does us a body of water, we are moved by the moon, sway to the moon and swoon to the moon.