What does the Rainbow Serpent story teach us?
As a protector of water, the Rainbow Serpent also controls water, so he has the power over life and death in the desert. In Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory the Rainbow Serpent is associated with rituals of abundance and propagation in the natural world, and of fertility and well-being in human society.
How old is the Rainbow Serpent story?
6,000 years
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 does the snake mean in 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.
What does a Rainbow Snake symbolize?
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.
Why was the Rainbow Serpent created?
What is the Aboriginal name for snake?
Snake, carpet gabul, yumba.
What did the Rainbow Serpent look like?
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.
Is Uluru the rainbow serpent?
Goorialla, The Great Rainbow Serpent, Way Back in Dreamtime But it had been too old and tough and hard to digest. Goorialla spewed it up again and left it lying in the desert. Many years later his people found the remains and called this great red lump Uluru.