Most people associate \u201cdreaming\u201d with an unconscious state that serves no apparent purpose except to access a realm of fantasy and unreal actions.\u00a0 However, the Aboriginal people of Australia believed that the Earth was actually created in a dream-like state.\u00a0 Despite the fact that the Australian indigenous population is dwindling, a small percentage of the remaining Aborigines still believe in the creation legends that have been passed down through Aboriginal culture for an astonishing 50,000 years.\u00a0 While the average creation story normally includes a primordial creator and a blend of religious and scientific concepts, the Australian story strays from the norm.\u00a0 They do not believe a God (or multiple gods) created the earth and thus are not devoted to Him like the Hebrews, Christians, Greeks, and Norwegians.\u00a0 And just as every cosmological creation story has unique elements that reflect their respective culture, the Aboriginal one is a mythological tale involving a combination of dreaming spirits, a gargantuan lizard, water-loaded frogs, and obedient animals like those below in Figure 1. Apart from a few select resemblances to other creation myths, the Australian creation story stands on it\u2019s own.\u00a0 It is a truly unique interpretation of how the Earth was created because of its original \u201cDreamtime\u201d characters and dream-like state, mythical qualities, and stark contrast to the religious beliefs other non-western cosmologies have regarding creation.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/estewart\/files\/2012\/04\/AboriginalArt.jpg\")
<\/a>Figure 1: Secular Aborigines Dreamtime Characters (http:\/\/www.indigenouspeople.net\/legend.htm)<\/p><\/div>\n
The initial \u201cDreaming\u201d creation concept is completely unique to Aboriginal culture, as it does not parallel the creation myths of any other cosmologies.\u00a0 The Australians view the Earth\u2019s origin as the result of a dream-like state similar to what humans slip into during sleep.\u00a0 According to them, metaphysical spirits floated about the abyss before anything else existed, just as consciousness floats about in human dreams.\u00a0 These spirits dreamed up the idea of creating the Universe, including the sun, moon and planet Earth.\u00a0 To this day, they are thought of as still existing beyond the boundaries of the accessible universe but yet still have an impact on Aboriginal life, as each action is believed to be determined by these Dreamtime spirits.\u00a0 Many other creation stories such as the Egyptian, Native American, and Greek included preexisting gods that created the world and had an impact on its modern existence.\u00a0 While these could be seen as resembling the Aboriginal dreamtime spirits, they have exceptional differences.\u00a0 For instance, most of the other cultures held their creators as revered and worshipped them religiously.\u00a0 The Aboriginal Dreamtime spirits are not religious figures but ancestral characters that play a part in the culture\u2019s myth and philosophy.\u00a0 Also, the other creators were thought of having created everything: from planet Earth itself, to its topography, to its life forms.\u00a0 According to the Aborigines, only the Earth was created by these preexisting spirits.\u00a0 Its topography and life forms were the result of the Rainbow Serpent.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/estewart\/files\/2012\/04\/DKA-Stories-Rainbow-Serpent-300x208.jpg\")
<\/a>Figure 2: Rainbow Serpent (http:\/\/www.dreamtime.auz.net\/default.asp?PageID=236)<\/p><\/div>\n
The Australian creation tale of the Rainbow Serpent is to some extent similar to the creation stories of the Crow and Chinese people because they all use the \u201cearth-diver\u201d concept of creation. \u00a0The \u201cearth-diver\u201d concept hypothesizes that the creation of the earth was a slow process by a primordial creator, who either dove into the ground and brought up pieces of soil to form the physical aspects of the Earth or formed them from his own body parts (\u201cCreation Myths\u201d). \u00a0This concept is included in several non-Western creation stories. \u00a0The Crow people believe in the earth-diver legend of Old Man Coyote, who lived in a worldof only water. \u00a0When he asked a duck to explore the bottom of the water, the duck brought back some mud and a root. \u00a0Old Man Coyote blew on the mud and it expanded to create the earth and then planted the root to grow trees. \u00a0The Chinese people believed a giant named Pan Ku created the cosmos. \u00a0When Pan Ku passed away, his bodily remains became part of the Earth such as the sky, wind, and thunder (Penprase 77). \u00a0The Australian people believed that a giant serpent called the \u201cRainbow Serpent\u201d (such as the one above in Figure 2) erupted out of the earth after the Dreaming. \u00a0This earth-diver slithered around the world, and \u201cher body carved the canyons and rolling hills of the landscape\u201d (Penprase 90). \u00a0Yet while the Crow, Chinese, and Aboriginal people believed in an earth-diving creator, only the Crow and Chinese creators were thought of as being responsible for creating everything on Earth such as the water, people, and rocks.<\/p>\n
The Australian story of the creation of the rest of the earth\u00a0is unique.\u00a0 The first difference is the Aboriginal view on the origin of water.\u00a0 While other creation myths believe it was a work of their respective \u201cearth-diver,\u201d the Australian myth explains that after the Rainbow Serpent carved out canyons and hills, many frogs erupted out of the earth.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/estewart\/files\/2012\/04\/images-13.jpeg\")
<\/a>Figure 3: Frog loaded with water (http:\/\/museumvictoria.com.au\/about\/media-centre\/media-releases\/leap-into-melbourne-museum\/)<\/p><\/div>\n
These frogs were fat and heavy with water (see figure 3), and when the Rainbow Serpent tickled their stomachs they laughed and spewed the water everywhere.\u00a0 This water filled the canyons, crevices, and valleys to create rivers, lakes, and oceans (Penprase 90).\u00a0 The origin of humans on earth is different as well.\u00a0 Most cosmologies believe the original creator formed humans.\u00a0 For instance, the Chinese believed the fleas of Pan Ku\u2019s hair turned into human form upon his death (Penprase 77).\u00a0 However, the Aboriginal legend explains that as more and more animals rose out of the earth\u2019s crust behind the frogs, they were greeted by the Rainbow Serpent and proceeded to live under her watch.\u00a0 These animals were rewarded for good behavior by being turned into humans, and were punished for bad behavior by being turned into mountains and rocks to watch over the humans (Penprase 90).\u00a0 The Aboriginal creation legend is unique in this way because other life forms were magically transformed into humans.\u00a0 This reflects Australian culture, which believes that every life comes from the \u201ceternal life\u201d of the Earth itself, just as the first humans were formed from animals that come from the Earth itself.\u00a0 Upon death, Australians are seen as returning to the Earth, and returning to eternal life (Crisp).\u00a0 These were not religious views but simply cultural values that reflected Australian spirituality and philosophy.<\/p>\n
As exemplified by the secular creator of the Rainbow Serpent, the Australian creation story does not have any ties to a specific religion but rather to aspects of spirituality and philosophy. According to the Australian Government\u2019s written explanation of Aboriginal creation, \u201cthe ancestors did not disappear at the end of the Dreaming, but remained in these sacred sites, the Dreaming is never-ending, linking the past, present, and future.\u201d The Dreamtime characters do not come from or define a certain religion. They are ancestral beings that do not have any godly authority over humans but rather take part in the creation process, and after they are finished they become some part of the world they created.<\/p>\n
Although the Aborigial myth has secular creators of the earth, the myth contains lessons of the spirits to pass on knowledge and to promote spirituality.\u00a0 \u201cThe creation or Dreaming stories, which describe the travels of the spiritual ancestors, are integral to Aboriginal spirituality\u2026Ceremonies, such as initiation ceremonies, are avenues for the passing on of knowledge.\u201d (\u201cAustralian Aboriginal Culture\u201d).\u00a0 The Dreamtime creation story is a rich part of the Aboriginal culture and the passing on of this cultural knowledge has effects on the ethics of Aboriginal society. It is said\u00a0by the Australian Government that laws and customs of punishment and discipline with regard to social behavior have emerged from the Aboriginal creation stories and that the virtues of Australian society can be based off of ancestral precedent.\u00a0 The creation story of the Rainbow Serpent and her control over the animals of the earth exemplifies the consequences of social behavior. With the ability to reward human form for good behavior and punish for bad behavior, the Rainbow Serpent can be seen as a judge of what is wrong and right, teaching the importance of good moral conduct to the Aborigines.\u00a0 Unlike the non-western cultures of the Egyptians, Native Americans, and the Greeks, the Aborigines derive their moral code not from the idea of a god or religion, but rather from specific instances in their creation story that exemplify the difference between right and wrong in society. \u00a0Aside from the example of the Rainbow Serpent acting as a model of conscience for the Aborigines, the creation myth also contains stories about social conduct.\u00a0 The story of the lightning brothers in the sky illustrates the challenges humans face to be chaste, as one brother lusts after another brother\u2019s wife and he is consequently decapitated.\u00a0 Stories like these are orally passed down between generations and are numerous in the Aboriginal creation myth.\u00a0 They do not have any affiliation with religion but serve the purpose of educating people about the rights and wrongs of morality and to illustrate what happens when the moral law is broken. The secular contributions of the Aboriginal creation myth act as guidelines for society and help form a healthy conscience.<\/p>\n
The Australian creation myth\u00a0is similar to the Hebrew story of creation\u00a0because there are many examples in the Torah of how God punishes for bad moral behavior and rewards for good moral behavior.\u00a0 For example, in the story of Noah and the Flood, God decides to punish the world because the majority of His people are leading sinful lifestyles. He rewards Noah and his family with a chance to escape on an ark because they are faithful and lead ethical lifestyles.\u00a0 Similarly, the Rainbow Serpent was known to punish anyone who broke moral law by drowning them in a flood.\u00a0 While the reoccurring theme in both of these stories is a flood sent to punish the immoral people of the world, the Hebrew flood is seen as punishment through God while the Australian flood is seen as punishment through secular ancestral spirits.\u00a0 And although Aboriginal cosmology does share some similar themes with Hebrew cosmology, its secular nature sets it apart from almost every other cosmology and it provides a unique tale of the creation of the earth.<\/p>\n
While the Aboriginal creation story resembles the creation stories of a few other cosmologies like those of the Crow and Chinese people, the majority of the Australian tale is unique because it embodies original characters who are not viewed as religious.\u00a0 While Hebrew cosmology also included a god-like character punishing humans for bad behavior, the Australian interpretation is the only one that actually transformed animals into humans for good behavior and punished them for bad behavior by turning them into rocks and mountains.\u00a0 The formation of the topographical aspects of the earth as a result of the actions of the Rainbow Serpent and is also one of a kind as it differs from other earth-diver legends like Pan Ku of the Chinese and Old Man Coyote of the Crow people.\u00a0 Despite the few resemblances of morality and punishment to other creation stories of the world, the secular creation story of the Aboriginal people of Australia is a story unlike any other. The concept of the earth being created in a mysterious dreamlike state by preexisting, ancestral spirits makes the Australian cosmology truly unique and provides an engaging and memorable way to learn the way in which the earth was created.<\/p>\n
To view this essay in PDF, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [quicktime]http:\/\/webpages.scu.edu\/ftp\/cosmos\/aboriginalcreationpodcast.m4v[\/quicktime] Download This Podcast Most people associate \u201cdreaming\u201d with an unconscious state that serves no apparent purpose except to access a realm of fantasy and unreal actions.\u00a0 However, the Aboriginal people of Australia believed that the Earth was actually created … Continue reading