12/04/2023 Carolyn Cavell 1

Aboriginal Dreamtime

The land owns us; we don’t own the land.The land owns us; we don’t own the land.We are part of the land.From the time we are children we learn thesongs and stories about the land.For thousands of years, these songs andstories have been part of the people’s oraltradition and beliefs.

Aboriginal Dreamtime

Dreamtime - from the time of the origin or the beginning.

2

There was another visitor to Australia in those early days — the

great Rainbow Serpent. She created the riverbeds, valleys, hills and mountains by threading her strong muscular body over our virgin plains.

Rainwater gathered in the hollows and furrows, becoming rivers

and lakes. Rich vegetation grew around the waterholes and our people and the animals flourished. Across the continent we traced,

cut and painted the image of the Rainbow Serpent in the sand, on rocks and bark and in caves.

Any story about our people and our land must begin many thousands of years ago.That was when the great Creator Biame put the sun in the sky and made the fish, birds, animals and our ancestors. Biame continues to guide us spiritually and in our daily life.

The Rainbow Serpent

3

Frogs live in wet habitats from the mountains to the coast, usually in shallow water, such as suburban fish ponds.

Their sound is like: crick-crick-crick.

FROG

4

Wombats are amongst the world’s largest burrowing animals. They are equipped with powerful limbs, short broad feet and flattened claws. Wombats are primarily grazers and their continuously growing incisors work as efficient cutters of grass and forbs.

WOMBAT

5

KOOKABURRA

The chuckling voice that gives this species its name is a common and familiar sound throughout the bird's range. The loud 'koo-koo-koo-koo-koo-kaa-kaa-kaa' is often sung in a chorus with other individuals. Kookaburras pair for life.

6

LIZARD

Blue-tongues are not very agile and the animals they eat are mostly slow-moving. When threatened, they open their mouth wide and stick out their broad blue tongue . If the threat does not go away, blue-tongues may hiss and flatten out the body, making themselves look bigger. A frightened blue-tongue may bite if it is picked up.

7

The Emu is Australia's tallest native bird. Their wings are greatly reduced, but the legs are long and powerful. Emus are not really social, except for young birds, which stay with their father.

Communication Booming, drumming and grunting. Booming is created in an inflatable neck sac, and can be heard up to 2 km away.

EMU

8

EEL

They live in the murky streams and ponds feeding mainly on fish, but also amphibians and even birds and small mammals. As air-breathers, they must come to the surface frequently. They also have poor eyesight, but can emit a low-level charge.

9

ABORIGINAL BOY

Aborigine - a member of the cultural group of people who were the original inhabitants of Australia.

The Aborigines have painted on walls of rock for at least a century.

They also paint on themselves as a part oftheir creative expression.

10

ABORIGINAL ELDERS

Aboriginal religion (totenism) describes the linking of humans, nature, and the gods.

The spirit of the species is believed to flow from the spirit world into the physical world at a particular site within the sanctuary. The species is honoured through song, rhythm, and dance.

Aboriginal Elders are wise and are respected by all.

11

MIMETo act using only movements and gestures. The events of this distant time have been passed down in the oral tradition of folklore and are still enacted in ceremonies that include dance in mime form to the accompaniment of clap sticks.

ORAL TRADITIONThrough the spoken word or verbal. There is early evidence from the 18th century that Aboriginal families were creating paintings for use in rituals and oral traditions.

MYTHAn ancient story dealing with gods and heroes. They are the subjects of the Dreamtime myths and legends.

VOCABULARLY