Table of Contents
What does the Rainbow Serpent create?
The Rainbow Serpent came from beneath the ground and created huge ridges, mountains, and gorges as it pushed upward. The Rainbow Serpent is understood to be of immense proportions and inhabits deep permanent waterholes and is in control of life’s most precious resource, water.
What does the snake represent aboriginal art?
Snakes are indigenous to all parts of Australia and feature strongly in the Creation stories held by Aboriginal people and in their paintings and carvings. The snake has been used as a symbol of strength, creativity and continuity since ancient times across many societies.
How does the Rainbow Serpent look?
The Rainbow Serpent or Snake is portrayed as a long mythical creature made of different parts of animals such as a kangaroo’s head, crocodile’s tail with a huge snake body. The most popular rendition of the Rainbow Serpent story states that in the Dreaming, the world was flat, barren and arctic.
How did the Rainbow Serpent get its Colours?
The rainbow serpent was hungry and tricked the young men “I have no shelter, but you can hide in my mouth. He hid in the sky away from the people chasing him and he saw their sadness at losing these two young men. He decided to try and make them happy again so turned his body into a big arc of beautiful colours.
What is the main message of the Rainbow Serpent?
In Australian folklore, the rainbow serpent represents a deity, or god, responsible for giving life as well as creating and destroying nature, particularly in relation to water. It’s believed that the snake travels from one waterhole to another, blessing the people when happy and causing destruction when angered.
What is the purpose of the Rainbow Serpent for the Aboriginal culture?
The Rainbow Serpent (Serpant) dreaming in Aboriginal society represents one of the great and powerful forces of nature and spirit. Connected to water, the Rainbow Serpent is the great life giver, and protector of water, which is his spiritual home.
What is the Rainbow Serpent story about?
It is an adaptation of a Dreamtime story from the Northern Territory that tells of an all-powerful rainbow serpent that travelled across the flat land in search of his own people. As he travelled from the south to the north of the country, he made formations in the land.
Is the Rainbow Serpent an ancestor?
The Rainbow Serpent is considered one of the most powerful and widespread Ancestral Beings of Aboriginal Australia. Rock art featuring this great Ancestral being dates as far back as 6,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuous religious beliefs in the world.
What is the Aboriginal creation story?
Dreamtime is the foundation of Aboriginal religion and culture. It dates back some 65,000 years. It is the story of events that have happened, how the universe came to be, how human beings were created and how their Creator intended for humans to function within the world as they knew it.
What are 5 different symbols that have been used in aboriginal art?
Aboriginal Art Symbols Menu
- Person Symbol.
- Man Symbol.
- Woman Symbol.
- People Sitting Symbol.
- Campsite/Waterhole Symbol.
- Resting Place Symbol.
- Connected Waterholes Symbol.
- Water/Smoke/Fire Symbol.