In Aboriginal myth, if Dreamtime is the era when spirit beings created the world, what are the paths they traversed?
"""The routes taken by the Creator Beings in their Dreamtime journeys across land and sea... link many sacred sites together in a web of Dreamtime tracks criss-crossing the country. Dreaming tracks can run for hundreds, even thousands of kilometres, from desert to the coast [and] may be shared by peoples in countries through which the tracks pass..."" Australian anthropologists willing to generalise suggest Aboriginal myths still being performed across Australia by Aboriginal peoples serve an important social function amongst their intended audiences: justifying the received ordering of their daily lives; helping shape peoples' ideas; and assisting to influence others' behaviour."
"Dreamtime Dreamtime (also dream time, dream-time) is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his colleague Baldwin Spencer and thereafter popularised by A. P. Elkin, who, however, later revised his views. The Dreaming is used to represent Aboriginal concepts of ""time out of time,"" or ""everywhen,"" during which the land was inhabited by ancestral figures, often of heroic proportions or with supernatural abilities. These figures were often distinct from ""gods"" as they did not control the material world and were"
"his tail he makes rainbows. The Bundjalung people tell us that Rainbow Snake and Dirawong worked together to create the northern rivers of nsw & areas of Queensland, causing the world to take on the shape it has today The tribal groups of the Bundjalung nation believe that at the start of the ""Dreamtime"" the traditional Aboriginal way of life, practiced in Aboriginal societies today, established from mythical life forms Traditional Aboriginal groups believe that their ancestors were taught about their tribal lands from the mythical Beings of The Dreamtime, and were told how they, as descendants of these Beings,"
"world is a symbolic footprint of the metaphysical beings whose actions created our world."" Through practices such as storytelling, dance and art, Dreamtime provided the foundation for Aboriginal culture and spirituality. Since European settlement, Australian mythology shifted away from Dreamtime and focused more on the ideals of the average Australian worker. A strong central theme was rebellion, with stories of common heroes who ""laugh in the face of adversity, face up to great difficulties and deliberately go against authority and the establishment"". These figures were further romanticised during the Australian gold rushes, lovingly dubbed ""The Diggers"" by the public; who"
"a belief in this Dreamtime. The Dreaming is at once both the ancient time of creation and the present-day reality of Dreaming. There were a great many different groups, each with its own individual culture, belief structure, and language. These cultures overlapped to a greater or lesser extent, and evolved over time. Major ancestral spirits include the Rainbow Serpent, Baiame, Dirawong and Bunjil. Traditional healers (known as ""Ngangkari"" in the Western desert areas of Central Australia) were highly respected men and women who not only acted as healers or doctors, but were generally also custodians of important Dreamtime stories. Music"
"after all, the Dreamtime creatures were not austere divinities, but fallible beings who happened to make the world and everything in it while going about their creaturely business. Traditional Aboriginal culture effortlessly fuses areas of understanding which Europeans 'naturally' keep separate: ecology, cosmology, theology, social morality, art, comedy, tragedy – the observed and the richly imagined fused into a seamless whole."" Political and religious power rested with community elders rather than hereditary chiefs. Disputes were settled communally in accordance with an elaborate system of tribal law. Vendettas and feuds were not uncommon, especially when laws and taboos were broken. Cremation"
"Age and feminist spirituality alongside related appeals to other ""Rouseauian natural people"", such as the Native Americans idealized in 1960s hippie counterculture. Dreamtime Dreamtime (also dream time, dream-time) is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his colleague Baldwin Spencer and thereafter popularised by A. P. Elkin, who, however, later revised his views. The Dreaming is used to represent Aboriginal concepts of ""time out of time,"" or ""everywhen,"" during which the land was inhabited by ancestral figures, often of heroic"
"Mythology of Australia Australian mythology stems largely from Europeans who colonised the country from 1788, subsequent domestic innovation, as well as other immigrant and Indigenous Australian traditions, many of which relate to Dreamtime stories. Australian mythology survives through a combination of word of mouth, historical accounts and the continued practice and belief in Dreamtime within Aboriginal communities. The beginnings of Australian mythology center on the Aboriginal belief system known as Dreamtime, which dates back as far as 65,000 years. Aboriginals believed Earth was created by spiritual beings who physically represented the land, sea, animals and people. 'Everything in the natural"
"the land and on a belief in the Dreamtime. The Dreaming is considered to be both the ancient time of creation and the present-day reality of Dreaming. There are many different groups, each with their own individual culture, belief structure and language. These cultures often overlapped, and evolved over time. The Rainbow Serpent is a major ancestral being for many Aboriginal people across Australia. Baiame or Bunjil are regarded as the primary creator-spirits in South-East Australia. Dingo Dreaming is a significant ancestor in the interior regions of ""Bandiyan"", as Dingo formed the songlines that cross the continent from north to"
"one be tempted into the same temptation All the world's peoples have data, information, knowledge or wisdom of how the world was formed. The Bundjalung nation tribal groups believe that, in the beginning, the earth was featureless, flat and grey. There were no mountain ranges, no rivers, no billabongs, no birds or animals, in fact no living creatures, then long, long ago came the Dreamtime In The Dreamtime (also Dreaming, Altjeringa or ""Baribun"" in Bundjalung; A sacred ""once upon a time"" period in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed ""Creation"") giant creatures began to rise up from the grey plains"
"they should behave. These teachings are as important to their way of life today as the ""Ten commandments"" are to the ancient Israelite Hebrews. After a period of time, these Aboriginal ancestral mythical beings formed into the landscape All the mountain ranges or rocks of the ""Dreamtime"" are formed by these beings. Isolated hills, islands, rivers and even trees arose From here time and life in the Bundjalung nation, as we know it, began. Because of this belief, the land has a very special meaning to the Aboriginal people. Around the earth there are features which act as reminders of"
"myths across the entire continent."" The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation's booklet, ""Understanding Country"", formally seeks to introduce non-indigenous Australians to Aboriginal perspectives on the environment. It makes the following generalisation about Aboriginal myths and mythology: ""...they generally describe the journeys of ancestral beings, often giant animals or people, over what began as a featureless domain. Mountains, rivers, waterholes, animal and plant species, and other natural and cultural resources came into being as a result of events which took place during these Dreamtime journeys. Their existence in present-day landscapes is seen by many indigenous peoples as confirmation of their creation beliefs..."""
"contained within it are regarded as being in a sacred trust The spiritual relationships with the mythical Beings of the Dreamtime are such that tribal groups of the Bundjalung nation believe in a united world of body and spirit with every aspect of the land, both living and non living The people of the Bundjalung nation believe that the rocks, rivers and waterholes are more than just a reminder or a symbol of the Dreamtime but represent reality and eternal truth In ages past, Aboriginal Elders were the storytellers. This was the way things were passed along to the generations"
"back into a remote era in history when the creator ancestors known as the First Peoples travelled across the land, creating and naming as they went. Indigenous Australia's oral tradition and religious values are based upon reverence for the land and a belief in this Dreamtime. The Dreaming is at once both the ancient time of creation and the present day reality of Dreaming. There were a great many different groups, each with their own individual culture, belief structure, and language. These cultures overlapped to a greater or lesser extent, and evolved over time. The two moiety totems of the"
"based on the Dreaming, or Dreamtime, which refers both to a time when ancestral spirits created land and culture, and to the knowledge and practices that define individual and community responsibilities and identity. Conflict and reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians has been a source of much art and literature in Australia, and ancient Aboriginal artistic styles and iconic inventions such as the boomerang, the didgeridoo and Indigenous Australian music have become symbols of modern Australia. The arrival of the first British settlers at what is now Sydney in 1788 introduced Western civilisation to the Australian continent. Although Sydney was"
"the giant Beings of the Dreamtime. When they see a mountain or river, a rock or a tree, they think of the mythical Beings that had a part in their own creation The tribal groups of the Bundjalung nation believe that they are directly descended from these mythical Beings. After the Dreamtime, the people were left with a social and cultural heritage which came from their ancestors. All the rites and ceremonies are aimed at preserving this heritage. Their ancestors from the Dreamtime also gave them possession of tribal lands, and hence this land with all the forms of life"
"necessity as they are entertainment and are still passed on orally though many are now recorded in print, audio and video The Songlines, also called Dreaming tracks, were a form of Indigenous storytelling that brought about understanding of the landscape. They told stories about the path of a creator-spirit during the Dreaming. There is a large collection of stories from the Aboriginal Dreamtime that form a large part of Australian storytelling history. These include stories about the Bunyip. These Europeans who came to the continent in the form of convicts, soldiers and settlers brought their own stories which were passed"
"out at the country, she lets go all the birds, snakes, animals, children belonging to us. Eingana Eingana is a creator goddess in Australian Aboriginal mythology. Otherwise known as the ""Dreamtime Snake"" she is the mother of all water animals, and humans. She is a snake goddess of death who lives in the Dreamtime. She has no vagina; she simply grew in size and, unable to give birth to the life inside her, had the god Barraiya open a hole with a spear near her anus so that labour could commence. Eingana holds a sinew that is attached to every"
"Songline Within the animist belief system of Indigenous Australians, a songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) which mark the route followed by localised ""creator-beings"" during the Dreaming. The paths of the songlines are recorded in traditional songs, stories, dance, and painting. A knowledgeable person is able to navigate across the land by repeating the words of the song, which describe the location of landmarks, waterholes, and other natural phenomena. In some cases, the paths of the creator-beings are said to be evident from their marks, or petrosomatoglyphs, on the"
"National Estate. It depicts him with enormous, long, arms and large staring eyes. Baiame In Australian Aboriginal mythology Baiame (Baayami or Baayama or Byamee) was the Creator God and Sky Father in the dreaming of several language groups (e.g. Wonnarua, Kamilaroi, Eora, Darkinjung, and Wiradjuri), of Indigenous Australians of south-east Australia. The Baiame myth tells how Baiame came down from the sky to the land, and created rivers, mountains, and forests. He then gave the people their laws of life, traditions, songs, and culture. He also created the first initiation site. This is known as a bora; a place where"
"Baiame In Australian Aboriginal mythology Baiame (Baayami or Baayama or Byamee) was the Creator God and Sky Father in the dreaming of several language groups (e.g. Wonnarua, Kamilaroi, Eora, Darkinjung, and Wiradjuri), of Indigenous Australians of south-east Australia. The Baiame myth tells how Baiame came down from the sky to the land, and created rivers, mountains, and forests. He then gave the people their laws of life, traditions, songs, and culture. He also created the first initiation site. This is known as a bora; a place where boys were initiated into manhood. When he had finished, he returned to the"
"a cycle of life in which one emerges from Dreamtime through birth, and eventually returns to the timeless, only to emerge again. It is also a common belief that a person leaves their body during sleep, and temporarily enters the Dreamtime"". The Murrinh-Patha people (whose country is the saltwater country immediately inland from the town of Wadeye) describe a Dreamtime in their myths which anthropologists believe is a religious belief equivalent to, though wholly different from, most of the world's other significant religious beliefs. In particular, scholars suggest the Murrinh-Patha have a oneness of thought, belief, and expression unequalled within"
"life"", and the developers cite the Australian Aboriginal mythology as inspiration. The character Helena Chang outright identifies Storytime with the Aboriginal Dreamtime in the in-game dialogue, while another, Saga, explains her world-traveling powers with the use of songlines, another concept from Aboriginal beliefs. ""The Longest Journey"" series as a whole is rooted in a predeterministic philosophy, which compares life to a journey with a set destination: a person may choose their course freely but will ultimately arrive to a ""predestined place"". In ""Dreamfall Chapters"", this philosophy is expressed in the player characters' ability to make story-altering decisions, which, however, have"
"Australia, the Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings formed The Creation. The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land. It remains a prominent feature of Australian Aboriginal art. Aboriginal art is believed to be the oldest continuing tradition of art in the world. Evidence of Aboriginal art can be traced back at least 30,000 years and is found throughout Australia (notably at Uluru and Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, and also at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in Sydney). In terms of"
"and should be properly called the Rainbow Serpent myth""s"" of Australia. Similarly, it has been suggested that the Serpent's position as the most prominent creator god in the Australian tradition has largely been the creation of non-Aboriginal anthropologists. Another error of the same kind is the way in which Western-educated people, with a cultural stereotype of Greco-Roman or Norse myths, tell the Aboriginal stories in the past tense. For the indigenous people of Australia, the stories are ""Everywhen"" — past, present and future. Dreamtime (or The Dreaming or Tjukurrpa or Jukurrpa) stories tell of the great spirits and totems during"
"south and east to west. The Yowie and Bunyip are other ancestral beings. Traditional healers (known as ""Ngangkari"" in the Western desert areas of Central Australia) were highly respected men and women who not only acted as healers or doctors, but also generally served as custodians of important Dreamtime stories. [Aborigines] perceived death as a transition to another life that is not completely different from the one they have left when they died. This appears to apply even to cases where a person is believed to have more than one spirit or soul. After death, the new situation was seen"
"Diné Bahaneʼ This story forms the basis for the traditional Navajo way of life. The basic outline of begins with the (Holy Wind) being created, the mists of lights which arose through the darkness to animate and bring purpose to the four (Holy People), supernatural and sacred in the different three lower worlds. All these things were spiritually created in the time before the Earth existed and the physical aspect of humans did not exist yet, but the spiritual did. The First or Dark World, , was small and centered on an island floating in the middle of four seas."
"his home in the west. The significance of these cultural routes is central to Pitjantjatjara spiritual connection to land. Each individual is custodian of the land they are born in and the Creation Ancestor who walked and sung that land into being in the beginning. If the land and songline is destroyed people are severed from the core of their being, they get sick and die. Ngiṉṯaka Ngiṉṯaka is a giant perentie lizard spirit being of Australian Aboriginal ""Dreaming"" Creation mythology. The Ngiṉṯaka is one of several Creation Ancestor Beings of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Western Desert Speaking Original people of"
"Yhi In Australian Aboriginal mythology (specifically: Gamilaraay peoples), Yhi is a goddess of light and creation, and a solar deity. She lived in the Dreamtime and slept until a whistle awakened her. When she opened her eyes, light fell on the Earth. She walked the earth and plants grew where she walked. Soon the whole world was covered with foliage. She decided that, in addition to plants, she wanted to make something that could dance. Searching for such an organism, Yhi found evil spirits beneath the earth who tried to sing her to death. But her warmth chased away the"
"Eingana Eingana is a creator goddess in Australian Aboriginal mythology. Otherwise known as the ""Dreamtime Snake"" she is the mother of all water animals, and humans. She is a snake goddess of death who lives in the Dreamtime. She has no vagina; she simply grew in size and, unable to give birth to the life inside her, had the god Barraiya open a hole with a spear near her anus so that labour could commence. Eingana holds a sinew that is attached to every living thing; if she lets go of one, the attached creature dies. Eingana made everything, Eingana"
"womb of all time which is another word for ""Dream Time"". It allows the spirit to be connected once more to all nature, to all their ancestors, and to their own personal meaning and place within the scheme of things. ""The Dreamtime is a return to the real existence for the aborigine"". ""Life in time is simply a passing phase – a gap in eternity"". It has a beginning and it has an end. ""The experience of Dreamtime, whether through ritual or from dreams, flowed through into the life in time in practical ways"". ""The individual who enters the Dreamtime"
"in New South Wales and in Western Australia. Stories cover many themes and topics, as there are stories about creation of sacred places, land, people, animals and plants, law and custom. In Perth, the ""Noongar"" believe that the Darling Scarp is the body of the ""Wagyl"" – a serpent being that meandered over the land creating rivers, waterways and lakes and who created the Swan River. In another example, the ""Gagudju"" people of Arnhemland, for which Kakadu National Park is named, believe that the sandstone escarpment that dominates the park's landscape was created in the Dreamtime when ""Ginga"" (the crocodile-man)"
"eurocentric concept of the Dreamtime devised to describe Aboriginal religion or the traditional worldview of the Djabugay and the Yidinji, was expressed in the word ""bulurru"" (alternatively ""damarri""). The Rainbow Serpent, ""gudju gudju"", assuming the form of a carpet snake (""Budadji"") travelled through the country, bartering with the clans along the way his nautilus shells for the implements he required, such as dilly bags created everything from ""Yaln giri"" (Crystal Cascades) to ""Ngunbay"" (Kuranda), moving through the Mowbray River to the hill at Port Douglas. It finally came to rest at ""Wangal Djungay"" (Double Island) In one account, he was"