Creation

In most stories of the Dreaming, the ancestor spirits came to the earth in human form and as they moved through the land, they created the animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains and other forms of land that we know today. Once the ancestor spirits created the world, they transformed it into trees, stars, rocks, watering holes and so on. These are the sacred places of Aboriginal culture and have a special meaning.

“Stories of the Dreaming” have been handed down through the generations, they are not owned by individuals but belong to a group. The Dreaming or ‘Tjukurrpa’ also means to ‘see and understand the law’ as it is translated from the Arrernte language (Frank Gillen with Baldwin Spencer, translating an Arrernte word Altyerrenge).

The Dreamings explain the creation process. Ancestral beings rose from the earth and seas and roamed the initially barren land, created the land’s features and then returned to the land to become part of its features in the form of rocks, waterholes, ad trees. These became sacred places, to be visited only by initiated men. These ancestral spirits formed the relationships between Aboriginal people, the land and all living beings. The ancestral spirits are passed onto their descendants, e.g., shark, kangaroo, honey ant, snake and so on and hundreds of others which have become totems within the diverse indigenous groups across the continent.

Dreaming exists before the life of the individual begins, and continues to exist when the life of the individual ends. Both before and after life, it is believed that this spiritchild exists in the Dreaming and is only initiated into life by being born through a mother. The spirit of the child is culturally understood to enter the developing fetus during the fifth month of pregnancy. When the mother felt the child move in the womb for the first time, it was thought that this was the work of the spirit of the land in which the mother then stood. Upon birth, the child is considered to be a special custodian of that part of their country and is taught the stories and songlines of that place. As Wolf (1994: p. 14) states: "A 'black fella' may regard his totem or the place from which his spirit came as his Dreaming. He may also regard tribal law as his Dreaming." In the Wangga genre, the songs and dances express themes related to death and regeneration. They are performed publicly with the singer composing from their daily lives or while Dreaming of a nyuidj (dead spirit). Aboriginal families and individuals identify with a specific Dreamings. It gives them identity, dictates how they express their spirituality and tells them which other aboriginal people are related to them in a close family. They can share the same Dreamings. This means that one person can have multiple Dreamings. The storytellers are chosen by the elders and they have the duty to pass the stories on, ensuring that young people build and retain a sense of who they are.

The journey of the Spirit Ancestors across the land are recorded in Dreaming tracks. A Dreaming track joins a number of sites which trace the path of an Ancestral Being as it moved through the landscape, forming its features, creating its flora and fauna and laying down the Laws. These spirit ancestors include the Rainbow Serpent, Wandjinas, Mimi Spirits – fairy-like beings of Arnhem Land, Karatgurk – Seven