The Ecology of Australian Aboriginals and Modern Hunters

  A blog on a topic of student’s choosing 

    Aboriginal hunting practices as seen in a course documentary reveal an ecological spirituality in primitive hunting. In indigenous cultures of the film, they believe in spirits of the animals they consume. These animal spirits guide their religious traditions and beliefs. It can be readily seen that modern Industrial food processes and buying meat from the store are different and lessen the ecological and spiritual connections, but what about modern hunting?

    To answer this, I think back to last fall when I went hunting for the first time. I always thought of hunting as savage and grotesque as I am squeamish when preparing meat and don’t eat much of it. Instead, I found hunting to be a more ecologically sound and connected way to procure food.

 

    On my first hunt I learned the goal of a one shot kill; end the animal’s life before it knows what happened or feels much pain. My instructor recalled a fascinating story of hunting’s one shot kill goal. The week prior my instructor was out with a nine year old who made a shot despite the instructor’s guidance to do the opposite. The boy barely shot a squirrel, wounding but not killing the creature. I was shocked when my instructor told me how he made the boy use a knife to finish the wounded squirrel. When I questioned it, he explained that it was a vital lesson to not rush a shot and know your limits otherwise pain will be a consequence. Although it was likely a mildly traumatizing experience, it’s a valuable lesson on our human connection to the extra-human around us. As a result of the industry around us many people consume meat without out thinking of the life and death of the animal being consumed. The boy can now hunt more responsibly and respect the lives of the extra-human around him including his food. Even with modern tools hunting connects people to the lives of their food, allowing the hunters to recognize the sacrifice of a life just as primitive Australian aboriginal hunters do.