Once upon a time, an evil sorcerer in search of a wife began pursuing a group of sisters, changing his form often in order to deceive them. Aware of his nefarious intentions, the sisters fled across the country side; they were shapeshifters too and the paths they traversed created songlines. This is the Pleiades star cluster origin story as told by the Aborginal community — differing versions of the story exist in cultures around the world.
Over the course of time, songlines or dreaming tracks as they are also known, came to signify the routes and activities of ancestral beings as they travelled across Australia. The digital songline crafted by the National Museum of Australia in partnership with Australia’s Mosster Studio, gives visitors a peek into Aboriginal Australian knowledge. Walking Through A Songline is an attempt to share sacred Aboriginal traditions, which have been passed down from one generation to the next, with those from outside the community.
Inside Walking through a Songline’s travelling marquee| Photo Credit:Jason McCarthy An enclosure of 8.5/ 5.5 metres houses a digital experience, where in a span of seven minutes, one can hear the ancient tongue as well as relive the folklore in 3D.
The voices have been used with the consent of custodians and knowledge holders of these stories. A star-studded sky, rocky terrain, torrential rain and more, seamlessly meld and unfold as one follows the path of the fleeing sisters and their pursuer. The digital experien.