Aboriginal dreamtime stories

‘Dreaming’, also known as ‘creation’ or ‘Jukurrpa’, is one of the most important and significant things in the life of Australian aboriginals. The Australian dreamtime stories emerge from this ancient concept of dreaming. The aboriginal art of Australia is closely connected to this belief in dreaming. The Australian aboriginals believe that the first thing that happened on earth is Dreamtime, when giant creatures sprang out of the earth, where they were sleeping for a long time. According to the Australian dreamtime stories, these creatures behaved very much like humans. The rivers and ravines were formed when these huge creatures dug up the earth for water, creating the present shape of the world.

There is further belief in Australian dreamtime stories that these mythical beings taught the ancestors of the aboriginals of Australia as to how they should conduct themselves and live happily on earth. The various features of the earth appear to remind the aboriginals of this Dreamtime and the concept of dreaming. This is clearly reflected in the aboriginal art of Australia, where dreaming is brought out in a subtle manner. Since the aboriginals believe that they are the descendents of these mythical creatures, the ceremonies and rituals of the aboriginals revolve around this dreaming. Further, they look at the lands and the various forms of life on the land as a sacred trust that had been handed over to them from their ancestors and should be passed on to the coming generations.

‘The First Sunrise’, ‘The First Barramundi Fish’ and ‘Moola the Pelican’ are classic examples of the Australian dreamtime stories. They warn you of the dangers of yielding to the temptation of breach of the sacred trust. In contrast to the stories of the other countries, in the Australian dreamtime stories, the Sun is a female and the Moon is a male. The Sun is the creator of life on the earth. Earth, water, red ochre, and fire represent the Sun. The Moon is believed to control the seasonal cycles and the tides of the sea. The water, dog, snake, and frog represent the Moon. Since dreaming is the base of the Australian dreamtime stories, the stories could be somewhat absurd or confusing initially. The characters of these stories are generally non-human beings but their behaviour would be highly similar to that of human beings.

The First Sunrise

The First Sunrise is a typical Australian dreamtime stories. According to the story, long ago, the clouds hung very low and close to the ground that all the beings on the earth had to crawl around. The clouds kept out the light and the whole planet was submerged in darkness. Finally, the birds got together and decided to lift the cloud cover with sticks. The animals collected the sticks and the Magpies started pushing the sky upwards. The rested the sky on hills and mountains while resting between the pushing. Finally, the Magpies lifted the sky to the tallest mountain in Australia. From there, they gave a mighty heave and the sky went up. In that process, the sky was split open. The rays of the Sun reached the earth. This was the first sunrise, according to the story.

Moola the Pelican

This interesting Australian dreamtime story says that a pelican named Moola lived during the Dreamtime. Moola was very black and very fierce. He was proud of his looks and he would preen and prance for hours together. Moola was also highly possessive of his canoe and he would go around in the canoe, showing himself off to the other birds. One day, the water was rising around an island and he came across a family of aboriginals while rowing in the canoe. The family consisted of an old man, two old women and a young beautiful girl named Mungi. Mungi pleaded with Moola to save them. Moola became enchanted with the girl and wanted her for himself. Hence, he took the older women and the old man one by one to a high place by rowing across the river. Before he came to get her, Mungi swam across the river and escaped. Moola was furious that he had been tricked by a young girl. He went back and sprayed the white war paint on his body. The other pelicans attacked Moola saying that pelicans should not be white and banished him from their community. However, the younger pelicans were impressed with the white appearance of Moola and all of them painted themselves white. From that time on, pelicans remained white.