![]() ![]() The bodies of the Wandjina rain spirits would be shown covered in dots, which represent rainfall. Legends tell how Wandjina walked on Earth and created everything from rivers and mountains to plants and animals. In some other versions, Wandjina was not one god but many gods, or spirit gods, which are depicted with big black eyes, no mouth, and a halo-certainly not representing human beings. In fact, the ancestors were able to change shape and become either man or animal. Some of the ancestors were like men and others were like animals. Wandjina, the creators, were cloud and rain spirits who brought the ancestors from within the earth and over the seas, and life began. In the beginning there was only darkness and a bare land… There was no life on Earth-no animals, no plants, no trees, and no humans. (Robyn Jay / CC BY-SA 2.0 ) The Aboriginal Origin Story of Wandjina, The Creators Rock art of Wandjina at Mount Elizabeth, Australia. ![]() They are also related to the famous Aboriginal walkabout rites of passage. These songs created a cognitive map of the world, and have been described as a mnemonic device. Today these songlines remain as long distance paths across the landscape which feature a series of landmarks related to the events that occurred and there are traditional songs, dances, and folk stories describing the lines. Songlines, or dreaming tracks, are the journeys taken by the creator spirits across the land or the sky during the Dreamtime or Dreaming. Traditionally the legendary Aboriginal origins and Aboriginal Dreamtime stories were not written down with pen and paper, but these Dreamtime stories, and the knowledge they contain, have been passed down through generations through oral tradition, art, songs, dances, and ceremonies. The Mysterious Aboriginal Rock Art of the Wandjinas.Australian Aborigine Creation Stories: Rainbow Serpent and Emus in the Stars. ![]() Koalas: Dreamtime Legends, Ancient Symbols, and their Dangerous Prehistoric Ancestors.They blend verifiable events from the past with lessons on morality and belief systems, detailing the way in which the land, animals, and people were created by spirits. They are a fusion of past, present, and future all at the same time. The stories exist to explain life, creation, the cosmos and the stars.Īlthough difficult to understand, Aboriginal Dreamtime stories are more than simply stories of the past. These stories vary from region to region, and among the different Aboriginal groups. The stories of Australia’s Aboriginal origins can’t be deciphered without understanding Aboriginal Dreamtime stories. These stories were spread by oral tradition over more than 60,000 years. Here we’ll explore a small selection of Aboriginal creation myths to whet your appetite for more.Īccording to the Aboriginals of Australia, the “Dreamtime” preceded our own and was a time of creation when enormous mythical animals and heroes (gods) travelled across a land without form and created sacred sites. These Aboriginal origin stories or “Dreamtime” stories play an important role in Aboriginal art and are considered a place where every person exists forever. The Aborigines of Australia are considered one of the oldest continuously surviving cultures in the world, encompassing hundreds of diverse cultural groups, each with their own creation stories. ![]()
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