Aboriginal myths of creation mainly originated from Australia and were originally beliefs of the Australian community. It is through understanding Dreamtime that one can understand the origin of Aboriginal myths of creation. Anthropologists tend to use the term to refer to the myths and the beliefs. Dreamtime is a word used by anthropologists, in the beginning, to refer to the religion and cultural view of the world. It was mainly used in the Australian Aboriginal beliefs. The term was first used by an anthropologist known as Francis Gillen who then influenced its use by his colleagues such as Baldwin Spencer and Elkin (Lawlor, 1991). The Aboriginal concept is represented by Dreaming while showing ‘everywhere’ or ‘time out of time’ showing a time when the land was occupied by ancestral personalities. They were mainly heroes who possessed supernatural abilities. The personalities were different from ‘gods’ for they did not have the ability to manipulate matter in the world and they were not worshipped. Dreamtime as a concept has now become popular in the global culture and is not only an Australian culture.
Indigenous Australians are known to have originated from Africa as they migrated to Asia. It is a time dated back to seventy thousand years ago. They then arrived in Australia fifty thousand years ago and began dispersing across the Australian continent over a duration of time (Rapoport, 1975). The ancient personalities then began expanding and differentiated into groups that were distinct with each possessing their own culture and language. The paper is to discuss aboriginal myths of creation while referencing the celestial world in art at the Pacific Island.
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Currently, there are four hundred Australian Aboriginal groups on the continent with all having different names, languages, speech patterns and dialects. It is through the Australian Aborigines that a representation is seen of the oldest instance of a human culture that is continuous in the world (Hiscock & Faulkner, 2006). Its vibrant longevity is unique to the current modern world while raising questions on the path of western civilization.
There is the common factor that is witnessed in reference to Aboriginal creation myths and that is Dreamtime. Anthropologists state that at the beginning of time, earth seemed desolate and featureless. There was no existence on the surface. The maker also referred to as Baiame created many things such as the Dreamtime ancestor who was underground and overseas. As they awoke so did the barren life and flat plains (Rapoport, 1975). Dreamtime ancestors existed in different forms with some looking like human beings while others took the form of creatures and animals. They were also believed to have the ability to transform from one form to another.
In waking from their slumber, the beings were then referred through other forms such as totemic ancestor, Emu Dreaming or Wallaby Dreaming who were known to move around the earth bringing into life other physical features of the earth. Features such as rivers, mountains, plains and sand hills were awakened to mark the presence of the wandering totemic ancestors. None of the created features that were prominent did show a sign of supernatural beings. There is a drawing caption of Biame that is eight feet high found on a rock at Bulgar Creek near Singelton (Rapoport, 1975). It shows his arms and legs in a position of lying on a flat surface such as the ground. There are lines seen to be perpendicular drawn and coming from under the arms. Three of them are seen on the right while four are on the left to represent the region’s seven tribes who hold the Supreme Being with great significance. The tribes include Gringai, Worimi, Darkinjung, Awabakal, Gamillaroi, and Wonarua.
Dreamtime as previously discussed was used widely but with minimal understanding of the terms perspective of Aboriginal spiritual beliefs of creation and life. It does not refer to a historical perspective but shows the fusion between spiritual connection and identity while presenting a timeless present. The concept of time depicted in the Aboriginal myths shows a connection of the past of people and actions with the generations in the present and future. Dreaming activities are relieved due to the fact that time is circular and not linear (Hiscock & Faulkner, 2006). The creators never died in fact, they merged with the nature of the earth in order to remain among the present. The rituals and myths are seen to connect both the creators and ancestors. They are seen to signify a union between the past and nature hence a reference to Dreamtime or dreaming. Hence, there is continuity in peace and existence in the world. Dreaming with reference to Aboriginal myths philosophy was embraced by anthropologists and it was seen through the published research known as ‘The Native Tribes of Central Australia in 1899.
One of the Aboriginal myths of creation was the flood myth. Wondjina is one of the beings in Aboriginal mythology. They were considered rain spirits who participated in the creation process. It is said that they descend from the sky and draw pictures on the cave walls giving their stories. There is a time when Wondjina would be angry about how human beings were conducting themselves in the world, therefore, they sent the world into floods (Dundes, 1988). It was done through the opening of their mouths thus causing a never-ending rain. Their intention was to kill all humans then recreation to take place by the hand of Wondjina. It was now the responsibility of Wondjina to ensure that their mouths were shut in order to avoid any more floods again. Due to shutting their mouths for the longest time, they disappeared no wonder most of their images had no mouths. Eventually, Wondjina lost their form and assumed the spirit like forms that are now discussed in the society. Most people believe that they still exist in ponds and waterholes.
Another myth is known as the Rainbow Serpent. It is an art considered motif and a myth in Aboriginal Australia. According to the Aboriginal traditions, there is a depiction of power that is seen in the names and stories related to the serpent. Rainbow Serpent mythology is closely connected to fertility, land, relationships, water, and life. It is mainly referred to as a protector of the people and punishes those who break the law. The serpent is known to be the inhabitant of waterholes that are permanent and controls waters, resources and oils which are considered precious (Lawlor, 1991). There are those traditions that refer to the serpent as male while others female.
The Rainbow Serpent is unpredictable and thus sometimes replenishes water storages while forming deep channels and meandering gullies as it moves across the landscape. Dreamtime stories tend to give information of the totems during creation and spirits that assume human and animal form cursing the earth to barrenness and featureless (Lawlor, 1991). The Serpent came from the ground creating mountains, ridges, and gorges that pushed the earth upwards. Rainbow Serpent is referred to as Borlung by Miali and Ngalyod by Gunwinggu. It is known to be of vast proportions and lives deep in the waterholes that are considered permanent. The stories tend to vary in different environments. In monsoonal areas, the tribes present an interaction with the sun, wind, and serpent that is epic and is seen in their Dreamtime stories. On the other hand, central desert tribes tend to experience a less sudden change in seasons and therefore their stories reflect the same.
Lastly is the myth of song-lines. In the ancient world, there has been a variety of methods in which pre-literate navigation was documented. Development of sacred landscapes is explained through the Aboriginal combination of oral mythological and navigation storytelling that is a famous technique in the past. Song- lines is also referred to as dreaming tracks and are paths in the sky and land that indicate routes followed by the creator-beings as they are dreaming (Lawlor, 1991). Song-lines paths are documented in stories, paintings, traditional songs, and dances. Through singing the songs in a fitting sequence, people considered indigenous could traverse various distances while moving along deserts in interior Australia. Australia as a continent contains various systems of song-lines that range from hundreds of kilometers to those that are few kilometers through the lands of the various indigenous people.
Knowledgeable people are usually able to navigate through the land by singing songs and repeating the words that describe natural phenomena, landmark location, and waterhole. In some instances, paths depicted by the creator-beings tend to witnessed from their petroglyphs or marks found on the land such as depression which people assume to be footprints. Due to the different languages in the land, it is said that the song-lines can be used and interpreted in the several language groups (Lawlor, 1991). Therefore, one can say that there is no language barrier due to the melodic contour found in the song that is used to describe the lands nature to which the song passes. Rhythm is quite critical to interpreting and understanding the song. It is said that listening to the song of the land is equivalent to walking along the song-line while coming up with observations.
References
Dundes, A. (Ed.). (1988). The flood myth . Univ of California Press.
Hiscock, P., & Faulkner, P. (2006). Dating the dreaming? Creation of myths and rituals for mounds along the northern Australian coastline. Cambridge Archaeological Journal , 16 (2), 209-222.
Lawlor, R. (1991). Voices of the first day: Awakening in the Aboriginal dreamtime (pp. 47-48). Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International.
Rapoport, A. (1975). Australian aborigines and the definition of place . Deakin University.
