For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Dreamtime describes a time when the earth, people and animals were created by ancestral spiritual beings. They created the rivers, lakes, plants, land formations and living creatures.

Songlines are part of the Dreamtime where dreaming tracks crisscross Australia and trace the journeys of these spirits as they created the land, animals and lores. These dreaming tracks are sometimes called ‘Songlines’ as they record the travels of these spirits who 'sung' the land into life.

This year we will celebrate NAIDOC Week from Sunday 3 to Sunday 10 July with the theme Songlines: The living narrative of our nation.

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and support local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

As part of BHP Billiton’s commitment to recognising and celebrating Australia’s Indigenous heritage and supporting the enormous contribution to Australia that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make to society, and we will hold various events held across Australia and the regions where we operate.

There will be dances, artefact displays, painting, reading, singing and much more that celebrates NAIDOC Week and Songlines. Songlines are recorded in traditional songs, stories, dance and art. They carry significant spiritual and cultural connection to knowledge, customs, ceremony and Lore of many Aboriginal nations and Torres Strait Islander language groups.

Songlines are intricate maps of land, sea and country. They describe travel and trade routes, the location of waterholes and the presence of food. In many cases, Songlines on the earth are mirrored by sky Songlines, which allowed people to navigate vast distances of this nation and its waters.

The extensive network of Songlines can vary in length from a few kilometres to hundreds of kilometres, crossing through traditional country of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups.

For example, the Seven Sisters Songline covers more than half the width of the continent and spans from deep in the Central Desert in Australia out to the West Coast.

Aboriginal language groups are connected through the sharing of Songlines with each language group responsible for parts of a Songline. Through songs, art, dance and ceremony, Torres Strait Islanders also maintain creation stories which celebrate their connection to land and sea.

Songlines have been passed down for thousands of years and are central to the existence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. They are imperative to the preservation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural practices.

Did you know? NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’. This committee was once responsible for organising national activities during NAIDOC Week and its acronym has since become the name of the week itself.

Find out more about the origins and history of NAIDOC Week as well as events being held in your community by visiting the NAIDOC Week website.