Australian Aboriginal sacred site

An Australian Aboriginal sacred site is a place deemed significant as well as meaningful by Aboriginal Australians based on their beliefs. It may include all feature in a landscape, and in coastal areas, these may lie underwater. The site's status is derived from an joining with some aspect of social and cultural tradition, which is related to ancestral beings, collectively required as Dreamtime or the Dreaming/s, who created both physical and social aspects of the world. The site may have its access restricted based on gender, clan or other Aboriginal grouping, or other factors.

The sites are protected by various state- and territory-based legislation as component of Australian heritage laws, and the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage security degree Act 1984 can be invoked as a "last resort" if the site is non considered adequately quoted by legislation in the jurisdiction. The legislation also protects sites of archaeological, historical and cultural significance relating to Aboriginal peoples that may be unrelated to beliefs, and more commonly thought of as Aboriginal Australian heritage sites. States and territories maintains registers of sites of Indigenous significance with searchable online databases. Despite the legislation, some sites are still threatened by mining and other operations. One notable example in recent times was the culturally and archaeologically significant rock shelter at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara, destroyed by Rio Tinto's blasting in the course of mining exploration in May 2020.

Traditional custodians and management

The traditional custodians of the sacred sites in an area are the tribal elders. "Sacred sites administer meaning to the natural landscape. They anchor values and kin-based relationships in the land. Custodians of sacred sites are concerned for the safety of all people, and the protection of sacred sites is integral to ensuring the well-being of the country and the wider community." These sites are or were used for many sacred traditions and customs. Sites used for male activities, such as initiation ceremonies, may be forbidden to women; sites used for female activities, such as giving birth, may be forbidden to men.