Voices of the 1st Day by Robert Lawlor

Voices of the 1st Day
Awakening in the Aboriginal Dreamtime
by Robert Lawlor

Paperback
412 pages
(November 1991)
Inner Traditions Intl Ltd
ISBN: 0892813555

Bookshelf Categories

Dreams
Shamanism

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Reviews:

Voices of Fantasy

4/24/2001

Reviewer: Sam from Carlton North, VIC Australia

Where are the real Aboriginal people, where are their voices? All i see here is the voice of a white man. The idea that he could "penetrate the consciousness" of Aboriginal people is offensive and ridiculous. Aboriginal people can speak for themselves and do not need distorted readings of out-of-date ethnographies to represent their cultures (and it is 'cultures' - there were over 500 Aboriginal nations in Australia, too many to be represented by a book like this).

Buy it for the Bibliography!

12/27/2000

Reviewer: A reader from Minneapolis, MN USA

On first reading, a lot of the statements Mr. Lawlor makes early on in the Intro and first few chapters seemed really strange. I had trouble buying the argument. But after reading the whole book, and some of the source material, it is much clearer to me that this is an important contribution to changing the metaphors we use to perceive the world. Lawlor is an artist as well as a scholar. And his bibliography is wild! One could learn a LOT just following its trail through Sheldrake and Hoyle, Elkin and Campbell. Which would lead to Levi-Strauss, Jung, Eliade, Bohm, Prigogine, and maybe Larry Dossey, Robert Moss...

Good Reading

11/5/2000

Reviewer: A reader from Chicago, IL

A great resource for those interesting in the culture of the Australian Aborigines, this book has a very strong focus on the religion, shamanism and spirituality which is so central to indigenous culture. Lawlor pays alot of attention to the kin relations, totems, ancestors, initiation rites and the Dreamtime. Anyone with some interest in the indigenous people of Australia should check this book out. There are only a couple of flaws with this book. One, is that it goes into great detail about traditional Aboriginal beliefs without paying attention to modern day continuation and adaptation of Aboriginal beliefs. Another is that Australia is so large and diverse that its hard to make any generalization about Aboriginal culture. However, these are only minor issues. The book itself is great.

Compelling, authoritative, insightful; a must to read.

1/25/1999

Reviewer: A reader from Gidgegannup Western Australia

I read Voices when it first came out. I contacted Lawlor, and subsequently took him to the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia to meet with eminent Ngarinyin Lawman the late David Mowaljarlai and his countrymen. Robert Lawlor has written the most comprehensive, authoritative book on Aboriginal spirituality in life. It is masterful. He encouraged me to write a book on my own knowledge and experience with the Ngarinyin people. This I did. Men's Business Women's Business: The Spiritual Role of Gender in the World's Oldest Culture published by Inner Traditions International (US)was inspired by Voices of the First Day. Unlike many who write about Aboriginal culture and philosophy Robert's diligent attention to authenticity is unsurpassed. This book has my unequivocal recommendation. A modern masterpiece.

A Treasure

8/26/1998

Reviewer: A reader from Outback of Nevada

Robert Lawlor has an incredible ability to bridge between cultures. His descriptions of Aboriginal perceptual reality made exquisitely good sense to my rational mind and at the same time relaxed its rigidity and stretched it. Voices of the First Day had the effect of evoking what I felt like I already knew and always had known but had merely forgotten. For me it was the book of a decade, one of my half-dozen of most treasured volumes.

One of the best books on the Australian Aborigines

10/27/1997

Reviewer: A reader from Australia

Lawlor weaves together three strands:beliefs and customs of the Australian Aborigines, an indictment of Western civilization, and aspects of the new physics.He has penetrated Aboriginal consciousness to explain their world view from the inside.He explains why the land is sacred to them, and how keeping in contact with the Dreamtime maintained their way of life for over 100,000 years.The deeper and symbolic meanings of Aboriginal social organization and life cycle rituals are discussed.This is a book that can expand the boundaries of the mind.

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Voices of Fantasy	4/24/2001
Reviewer: Sam from Carlton North, VIC Australia
Where are the real Aboriginal people, where are their voices? All i see here is the voice of a white man. The idea that he could "penetrate the consciousness" of Aboriginal people is offensive and ridiculous. Aboriginal people can speak for themselves and do not need distorted readings of out-of-date ethnographies to represent their cultures (and it is 'cultures' - there were over 500 Aboriginal nations in Australia, too many to be represented by a book like this).

Buy it for the Bibliography!	12/27/2000
Reviewer: A reader from Minneapolis, MN USA
On first reading, a lot of the statements Mr. Lawlor makes early on in the Intro and first few chapters seemed really strange. I had trouble buying the argument. But after reading the whole book, and some of the source material, it is much clearer to me that this is an important contribution to changing the metaphors we use to perceive the world. Lawlor is an artist as well as a scholar. And his bibliography is wild! One could learn a LOT just following its trail through Sheldrake and Hoyle, Elkin and Campbell. Which would lead to Levi-Strauss, Jung, Eliade, Bohm, Prigogine, and maybe Larry Dossey, Robert Moss...

Good Reading	11/5/2000
Reviewer: A reader from Chicago, IL
A great resource for those interesting in the culture of the Australian Aborigines, this book has a very strong focus on the religion, shamanism and spirituality which is so central to indigenous culture. Lawlor pays alot of attention to the kin relations, totems, ancestors, initiation rites and the Dreamtime. Anyone with some interest in the indigenous people of Australia should check this book out. There are only a couple of flaws with this book. One, is that it goes into great detail about traditional Aboriginal beliefs without paying attention to modern day continuation and adaptation of Aboriginal beliefs. Another is that Australia is so large and diverse that its hard to make any generalization about Aboriginal culture. However, these are only minor issues. The book itself is great.

Compelling, authoritative, insightful; a must to read.	1/25/1999
Reviewer: A reader from Gidgegannup Western Australia
I read Voices when it first came out. I contacted Lawlor, and subsequently took him to the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia to meet with eminent Ngarinyin Lawman the late David Mowaljarlai and his countrymen. Robert Lawlor has written the most comprehensive, authoritative book on Aboriginal spirituality in life. It is masterful. He encouraged me to write a book on my own knowledge and experience with the Ngarinyin people. This I did. Men's Business Women's Business: The Spiritual Role of Gender in the World's Oldest Culture published by Inner Traditions International (US)was inspired by Voices of the First Day. Unlike many who write about Aboriginal culture and philosophy Robert's diligent attention to authenticity is unsurpassed. This book has my unequivocal recommendation. A modern masterpiece.

A Treasure	8/26/1998
Reviewer: A reader from Outback of Nevada
Robert Lawlor has an incredible ability to bridge between cultures. His descriptions of Aboriginal perceptual reality made exquisitely good sense to my rational mind and at the same time relaxed its rigidity and stretched it. Voices of the First Day had the effect of evoking what I felt like I already knew and always had known but had merely forgotten. For me it was the book of a decade, one of my half-dozen of most treasured volumes.

One of the best books on the Australian Aborigines	10/27/1997
Reviewer: A reader from Australia
Lawlor weaves together three strands:beliefs and customs of the Australian Aborigines, an indictment of Western civilization, and aspects of the new physics.He has penetrated Aboriginal consciousness to explain their world view from the inside.He explains why the land is sacred to them, and how keeping in contact with the Dreamtime maintained their way of life for over 100,000 years.The deeper and symbolic meanings of Aboriginal social organization and life cycle rituals are discussed.This is a book that can expand the boundaries of the mind.