New video about First Nations art showcases power of storytelling through art

A new video about First Nations art and spirituality speaks to the power of storytelling in shedding light on the Faith and its concepts. 

The video follows a recent exhibition that was held at the Baha’i House of Worship grounds and which featured a selection of Baha’i First Nations People’s artworks, highlighting the connection between Baha’u’llah’s teachings and Aboriginal Spiritual Lore. 

“The role that art plays is that within our culture, it’s part of our practice on sharing stories,” said senior Lore man of the Wadja tribe Kugaman Banbari (Phillip Obah Junior), whose father’s works are featured in the exhibition. 

For tens of thousands of years, the Indigenous people of the world have used art, music and storytelling to maintain the integrity of their spiritual stories. “It is the Lore to pass this knowledge on, and it was against the Lore to change any detail of any story, as we cannot change any word that comes from the Divine Messengers, hence a strong oral culture,” Kugaman Banbari says.  

“It was part of Dad’s vision to share the connection between Aboriginal spirituality and spiritual Lores with the Baha’i principles and spiritual insights. Painting was a cultural way of sharing stories. When the first painting was done, our senior Elders, because they’re familiar with painting and can see the stories within them, they understood the essence and message of it straight away.” 

Watch the full video here: