The Songlines

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A"novel of ideas", set among the Aboriginal camps of Central Australia. 'Songlines' or 'Dreaming-tracks' are what Europeans call the labyrinth of invisible pathways that meander al l over Australia. These trails are both intricate sources of personal identity and territorial markers and the author has been able to trace a great deal about an Aboriginal culture as complex at it is different from our own. Disputes over the right to excavate land that is sacred to wandering tribes highlight the importance of myth and instinct in the human psyche. Money from big business can corrupt tribal loyalties which have endured since time immemorial. Few other places on earth reflect so dramatically the clash between material and mental well-being.. An eye-opening, challenging semi-philosophical work. Show more