Book Review: Aboriginal Stories

A book that’s intrigued me over the course of the school year has been Aboriginal Stories by A. W. Reed. This is a book that I bought in a local bookstore located in Juneau while previously visiting Alaska over the summer. It caught my eye because of its mystical cover, which added to the spiritual nature of the book. The variety of color with the traditional native artwork lured me in. If a reader is looking for something spiritual and historical, this is a book I would 100% recommend.

This book is structured into various short stories that touches on what the Aboriginal people in Australia believed and were inspired by over the course of time and why. While it is focused on Australian history/spirituality, a lot of the beliefs reflect other cultures indigenous faiths. A recurring theme is the variety of Gods and how they affect a lot of the surrounding factors of the people. These stories aren’t just tales, but journeys that guide many spirits and creatures throughout life. Two specific stories titled “The First Man” and “The Strange Shape Of Animals” truly highlighted the passion these people had for their Gods.

“The Strange Shape of Animals” and “The First Man” went into depth about how creatures developed their purpose. A goddess known by the name of Yhi (the sun goddess) was a goddess known for spreading her warmth throughout the world and providing creatures with their individual purpose. In this short story, she converses with undeveloped life forms about their ideal journey. What purpose do they want to serve? What strengths do they want to maintain? What strengths are they willing to sacrifice?

The mood of the conversation embellished the level of trust that lay with Yhi among various other Goddesses and Gods. Her nurturing essence conveys a mother-like spirit to civilization. This assists readers in beginning to fully grasp that the Gods were a vessel of emotional peace among communities.

Another tale that made me more invested was the tale of “The Gift Of Flowers.” Yhi blessed the people with the gift of flowers which was treasured greatly until it was stripped away from them. The souls born after the death of flowers didn’t receive the life they should. This story represented a gloomy way of living life in contrast to flourishing to your full potential. The people united and provided the Gods with a beautiful story about how they wanted the gentle, warm feeling that the blessing of the flowers provided them with once before. This story highlights the power you hold within your spirit and the power of coming together.

The author’s structure of repetition really translated to the readers as a passionate warm feeling. They not only captured truly inspiring stories with a variety of fun perspectives but while these stories mainly contain playful attributes some of them often tended to conclude with the reality of at times struggling to understand the complex variety of forms of humanity in your general public. The beautiful thing about these tales is that no matter how contrasted they all were connected with each other through the mutual interest and dedication to their Gods. This makes me reflect on what our society could do if we had reflected more of these peaceful ways of living and the importance of interconnectedness with yourself and the souls around you.