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Why were rituals important for the fertility of land plants and animals in Aboriginal beliefs?

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Aboriginal people of Galiwnku Island in Australia — Australian Aboriginal peoples Aboriginal people from Galiwnku Island gathering to watch the proceedings at which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia for their mistreatment under earlier Australian governments, February 2008.

In Aboriginal beliefs, rituals were essential because they served as the mechanism through which humans maintained the natural order established during the Dreaming.12

Aboriginal peoples believed that the creative beings of the Dreaming retained control over all power and fertility. This life-giving power was released into the human realm only as long as humans adhered to the "blueprint" left by these beings, which included the regular performance of specific rituals.1

Because Aboriginal people viewed themselves as having a responsibility for the fertility and reproduction of plants and animals, they believed that resources could only be replenished through these ritual actions. By performing these ceremonies, individuals and groups fulfilled their duty to the law of the Dreaming, ensuring the continued flow of life-giving power and the survival of their social and physical world. Consequently, religion was considered inseparable from daily economic life, as rituals were the primary means of guaranteeing that the environment would continue to provide for the community.32