Ayers rock why is it there

In particular this requirement ensures that non-Aboriginal guides tell Aboriginal origin stories correctly.

In Aboriginal life, sacred stories are not just narrative accounts of something that happened once. Country is like a family member. If the story is wrong, country suffers. When country suffers, people suffer. The park guides for our group were enthusiastically on board with this emphasis on accuracy and were eager to help us engage with Anangu stories and philosophy.

Each time we arrived at the national park, they gave a greeting in the local Pitjantjatjara language, which serves not just to welcome visitors but also to announce to the land that outsiders are entering it.

Rather than simply encourage visitors not to climb, park management cleverly provided a way for them to feel they have contributed something by their decision. At one time climbers who summitted Ayers Rock could record their achievement in a visitors book at the top. The book enables visitors to see their decision as an active endorsement of Aboriginal values, rather than a passive abstention.

Signing becomes a record of a different kind of achievement. One unexpected response to the gradually developing perception of Uluru as a sacred site has been the return of the rock itself—or, rather, bits of it. For years visitors have purloined pieces of Uluru as souvenirs. As awareness of Aboriginal beliefs began to become more widespread in Australian society, people started sending the rocks back.

Almost daily, national park staff received packages of rocks from all over the world with messages of regret. The heaviest piece returned so far weighs 70 pounds. Some letter writers claimed to have been cursed with bad luck since taking rocks home, but most simply said that they recognized what they or relatives from decades earlier did was wrong. By , climber numbers had plummeted. In the s, 74 percent of visitors climbed the 1,foot sandstone monolith.

By the percentage had dropped to less than Five years later it was a mere 16 percent. Instead visitors can go skydiving, camel riding, and cycle touring, or they can watch Aboriginal artists make their famous dot paintings in the Yulara cultural center. Sunrise and sunset viewing areas provide visitors with optimum vistas of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. If tjukurpa is gone, so is everything.

There is a moment just before the sun sets when the west-facing flanks of Uluru blaze orange as if the rock has caught fire. The glow is fierce, intense, alive. A quarter of a million people come each year to watch this symphony of light and, increasingly, to learn something of the oldest living civilization on Earth. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

There are numerous trails that weave around the base of the monolith and through the spectacular surrounding scenery. Plus plenty of opportunities to see ancient rock paintings that tell stories and history of the Anangu. If you want to learn more about the Indigenous history of Uluru and its name change, you can duck into the on-site Cultural Centre. You can also take a guided tour with an Aboriginal guide who will share the stories and traditions of their people with you.

Visiting Uluru is a must-do on any visit to Australia, as this impressive monolith forms an important part of the country, both past and present. Related article: When is the best time to visit Uluru? Prime Minister says he does not believe he has told a lie in public life.

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