The Social Songline

by Aydan Johnstone

The 'Songline' is a dreamtime concept that was used to shape the reality of our ancestors. Social networking is the modern adaptation of the songline, in which our networked narratives are shaped through social media. The traditional format of the songline made it possible for an ancestor to be directed across the entire country, providing they knew the song. This was clear with their firm belief that a song was both a map and a direction-finder (Chatwain, 1987). This belief was based on the premise that perception was a crucial part of a songline, and that staying on the familiar track will connect you with people who share the same dream. The concept of social networking being a modern adaptation of the songline through our networked narratives has much in common with the traditional concept of the songline, but also differs.

There are many similarities and differences between the songlines and the networked narrative of Facebook. Chatwain outlined the basic concept of the songlines and had an overarching focus on perception and existence: “to exist is to be perceived”. This suggests that an ancestor would only exist to the songline of a totemic ancestor provided they know the song, or are able to perceive it. To exist on Facebook is similar to a songline, given that we exist in social groups that we perceive as beneficial in shaping our networked narrative. This meant that we are able to find our way across the social network (country) providing that we know the people we interact with (song). The songline does differ from the modern networked narrative as Facebook is able to be explored outside our social songline, whereas a songline to the aboriginal people is mostly unrecognizable to a member of another totemic ancestral descent. This shows that narrative is fundamentally orienting (Kuttainen, 2015), whether relating to the traditional songline of the aboriginal people or the modern networked narratives, the social songlines.

References:

Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathon Cape Ltd. 

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Unknown, A. (2015). The Dreamtime. Retrieved from: http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/dreamtime2.html

Wood, B. (2012). What Is A Songline. Retrieved from: http://www.barbarawood.com/blog/archive/2012/06/20/what-is-a-songline

Image Reference:

Mick, J. (1994). Painting of Seven Sisters Songline. Retrieved from: http://sevensisterssongline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SevenSistersSongline_JosephineMick-Pipalyatjara-1994.gif