The Dreaming

Back to World Religion

The Dreaming

Literal Interpretation

Word for Word translation of a book.

Every word is true and must be true.

Back to Values

Liberal Interpretation

Read over and interpret ancient texts (such as The Bible or Qu'ran) and put them into a modern day setting.

The Dreaming

Australia: Aboriginal Belief

The Dreaming is the Aboriginal understanding of the world, it's creation and its great stories.

It is the beginning of knowledge and it is where their laws come from.

To survive you have to observe these laws.

The Dreaming World

Australia: Aboriginal Belief

The Dreaming is told through song, dance, painting and stories and it is the time of the Ancient Ones.

The Ancestor Spirits came to earth in human form.

They moved through the land and they created what we know of today.

Once they had done their work they changed into trees, rocks, watering holes or other objects.

Creating sacred (special) places, plants and land features. Such as Ayers Rock.

The Dreaming did not end then, but continues today in a new phase and is a powerful force that must be maintained and cared for.

Task 1

There are many stories about how the world was created, today we are going to be learning one of these Creation Stories, told by some Aboriginals.

Read through the story of the Rainbow Serpent and create a picture to represent one of the verses.

1. In the Dreamtime all earth lay sleeping.

Nothing moved.

Nothing grew.

One day the Rainbow Serpent awoke from her slumber and came out from under the ground.

Back to Values

2. She travelled far and wide and eventually grew tired and curled up and slept.

She left marks of her sleeping body and her winding tracks.

Then she returned to the place where she had first appeared, and called to the frogs, “Come out!”

Back to Values

3. The frogs came out slow because their bellies were heavy with water, which they had stored in their sleep.

The Rainbow serpent tickled their stomachs and when the frogs laughed, water ran all over the earth to fill the tracks of the Rainbow serpents’ wanderings. This is how lakes and rivers were formed.

Back to Values

4. With water, grass and trees sprang up. Also all animals awoke and followed the rainbow serpent across the land.

They were happy on earth and each lived and gathered food with his own tribe. Some animals live in rocks, others on the plains and others in trees and in the air.

Back to Values

5. The Rainbow Serpent made laws that they all were to obey, but some became quarrelsome and made trouble.

The Rainbow Serpent said,” Those who keep my laws will be rewarded; I shall give them human form. Those who break my laws will be punished and turned to stone, never to walk the earth again.

Back to Values

6. The lawbreakers became stone and turned to mountains and hills, but those who kept the laws were turned into human form.

The Rainbow Serpent gave each of them their own totem of the animal, bird or reptile from whence they came.

The tribes knew themselves by their totems. Kangaroo, emu, carpet snake, and many, many more. So no one would starve, the Rainbow Serpent ruled that no man should eat of his totem, but only of other totems.

This way there was food for everyone.

Back to Values

7. The tribes lived together on the land given to them by the Rainbow Serpent or Mother of Life and knew the land would always be theirs, and no one should ever take it from them.

Back to Values

Task 2

What is The Dreaming important?

Whilst watching the video opposite write down between two and four bullet points from the video that describe why The Dreaming is so important.

Optional:

Challenge

How do you think The Dreaming affects the lives of modern day Aboriginals?

Write down at least three different ways it could affect their day to day lives e.g. How to act according to laws.

Back to Values

Back to World Religion

The Dreaming

Literal Interpretation

Word for Word translation of a book.

​

​

Every word is true and must be true.

Liberal Interpretation

Read over and interpret ancient texts (such as The Bible or Qu'ran) and put them into a modern day setting.

The Dreaming

Australia: Aboriginal Belief

The Dreaming is the Aboriginal understanding of the world, it's creation and its great stories.

​

It is the beginning of knowledge and it is where their laws come from.

​

To survive you have to observe these laws.

The Dreaming World

Australia: Aboriginal Belief

Task 1

1.

In the Dreamtime all earth lay sleeping.

Nothing moved.

​

Nothing grew.

One day the Rainbow Serpent awoke from her slumber and came out from under the ground.

2.

She travelled far and wide and eventually grew tired and curled up and slept.

She left marks of her sleeping body and her winding tracks.

Then she returned to the place where she had first appeared, and called to the frogs, “Come out!”

3.

The frogs came out slow because their bellies were heavy with water, which they had stored in their sleep.

The Rainbow serpent tickled their stomachs and when the frogs laughed, water ran all over the earth to fill the tracks of the Rainbow serpents’ wanderings. This is how lakes and rivers were formed.

4.

With water, grass and trees sprang up. Also all animals awoke and followed the rainbow serpent across the land.

​

They were happy on earth and each lived and gathered food with his own tribe. Some animals live in rocks, others on the plains and others in trees and in the air.

5.

The Rainbow Serpent made laws that they all were to obey, but some became quarrelsome and made trouble.

The Rainbow Serpent said,” Those who keep my laws will be rewarded; I shall give them human form. Those who break my laws will be punished and turned to stone, never to walk the earth again.

6.

The lawbreakers became stone and turned to mountains and hills, but those who kept the laws were turned into human form.

The Rainbow Serpent gave each of them their own totem of the animal, bird or reptile from whence they came.

The tribes knew themselves by their totems. Kangaroo, emu, carpet snake, and many, many more. So no one would starve, the Rainbow Serpent ruled that no man should eat of his totem, but only of other totems.

This way there was food for everyone.

7.

The tribes lived together on the land given to them by the Rainbow Serpent or Mother of Life and knew the land would always be theirs, and no one should ever take it from them.

Task 2

Optional:

Challenge

How do you think The Dreaming affects the lives of modern day Aboriginals?

​

Write down at least three different ways it could affect their day to day lives e.g. How to act according to laws.