Greeting Anangu with a friendly 'palya' while in the park is a simple way to show respect for the local culture. Anangu often address each other using kinship terms rather than personal names. Like most people, Anangu appreciate privacy and respect. Some of them may find constant eye contact uncomfortable.
Tjukurpa and creation stories
Uluru and Kata Tjuta were formed and shaped by our creation ancestors. In their travels, they left marks in the land and made laws for us to keep and live by. Please respect this knowledge and open your minds and hearts so you can fully appreciate our enduring culture.
The Anangu (pronounced arn-ung-oo) are the traditional indigenous owners of Uluru, which means great pebble, and the surrounding Kata Tjuta National Park. To the traditional owners of the land, Uluru is incredibly sacred and spiritual, a living and breathing landscape in which their culture has always existed.
Uluru and Kata Tjuta provide physical evidence of feats performed during the creation period, which are told in the Tjukurpa stories. Anangu believe they are the direct descendants of these beings and are responsible for the protection and appropriate management of these ancestral lands.
They continually use it as a place for traditional ceremonies and rites of passage, with the traditional owners looking after both Uluru and its surrounds. The Anangu people have continually stated how they wish tourists would not climb Uluru, as it brings them deep sadness and offence when done.
The climb up Uluru is incredibly steep and dangerous. People have previously got stuck, injured themselves and even died on the rock. Every year rangers must rescue people from the rock face who have broken bones, are suffering severe heat exhaustion or have extreme dehydration.
A small number of visitors believe that they have been riddled with bad luck or even been cursed as a result of removing the rocks. Anangu, the Aboriginal traditional owners of Uluru, believe that rocks and sand belong at Uluru, not in the homes or pockets of visitors.
The complex set of spiritual values developed by Aboriginal people and that are part of the Dreamtime include 'self-control, self-reliance, courage, kinship and friendship, empathy, a holistic sense of oneness and interdependence, reverence for land and Country and a responsibility for others.
For the Anangu, Uluru resonates with sacred meaning. They believe Uluru and every other feature of this landscape was created by giant ancestral beings who roamed the continent in the Dreamtime, sculpting the rocks, the rivers, the hills. Each of the caves, hollows and scars of Uluru bears witness to those ancestors.
More than simply a landmark, Uluru and the neighbouring Kata Tjuta are believed by Indigenous people to be sacred places that are alive with history. According to the Anangu, Uluru was formed due to the actions of ancestral beings many thousands of years ago.
Aboriginal people have a rich culture involving a custom, lore and value system based on the sustainability of their spiritual connection, belonging, obligation and responsibility to care for their land, their people and their environment.
Land is their mother, is steeped in their culture, but also gives them the responsibility to care for it. They "feel the pain of the shapes of life in country as pain to the self". Aboriginal languages described intimately the land and the culture of the people who spoke them.
Today, Anangu work together with park rangers and scientists to look after the land, plants and animals according to traditional law. Piranpa (non-Anangu) rangers receive training in traditional land management. Piranpa rangers bring scientific knowledge to the park.
The cultural landscapes of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park resonate with meaning. They contain creation stories and the associated knowledge of law, relationships, plants, and animals, all of which live in the shapes and features of the land.
Uluru isn't yours to climb
The traditional owners – the Anangu – consider Uluru an intensely spiritual place, an area where their Tjukurpa (creation stories), which govern their ceremonies, art and rules for living, converge.
Uluru Rock's cultural significance
Because of its age and the span of time that Anangu People have lived there, Uluru is now a sacred site for this culture. Uluru Rock has been used within Dreaming stories for many generations, and it is seen today as a resting place for ancient spirits.
An estimated 37 people have died on Uluru since Western tourists began climbing the site in the middle of last century via a track so steep in parts that some scared visitors descend backward or on all fours.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta Nafional Park is World Heritage listed for both natural and cultural values. In 1994 the park became the second nafional park in the world to be listed as a cultural landscape.
The Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock is Uluru.
Uluru is a Yankunytjatjara word. Yankunytjatjara is the name of the Aboriginal people whose land Ayers Rock is located on.
The six values are Spirit and Integrity, Cultural continuity, Equity, Reciprocity, Respect, and Responsibility. 'Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities' guidelines document provides further detail.
The four core values commonly associated with Indigenous Peoples – respect, relationship, reciprocity, and responsibility – demonstrate a strong commitment to lifelong learning, and encourage ongoing engagement and exploration of Indigenous knowledge and experiences.
While Climbing Uluru has been stopped, but you can still get up up and personal with the rock on an incredible trek around the base., and yes you can touch Uluru.
Visitors are advised that climbing Uluru is a breach of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity (EPBC) Act, and penalties will be issued to visitors attempting to do so. “The land has law and culture. We welcome tourists here. Closing the climb is not something to feel upset about but a cause for celebration.
It is a Sacred Site
For many, Uluru and its neighbour Kata Tjuta aren't just rocks, they are living, breathing, cultural landscapes that are incredibly sacred. Known as being the resting place for the past ancient spirits of the region.