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Traditional stories of creation from Australia's first people

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The Rainbow Serpent

30/10/2018 By Dreamtime 84 Comments

At the beginning of the Dreamtime, the earth was flat and dry and empty. There were no trees, no rivers, no animals and no grass. It was a dry and flat land.

One day, Goorialla, the rainbow serpent woke from his sleep and set off to find his tribe. He crossed Australia from east to west and north to south, stopping to listen for his people. He crossed every part of the dry, flat Australia but found nothing. After searching for a long time, he grew tired and lay down to sleep.

The land he lay down to sleep on was not the same land he had set out to search for his people on, though. As he had looked for his people, his big, long body had cut great gouges into the land.

Goorialla lay in the sand all alone until he decided to create more life in the world. He called “Frogs, come out!” and frogs rose out of the ground with their bellies full of the water they stored. He tickled the frogs until the water burst from their mouth and filled the gouges in the land. These gouges made the rivers and streams we see today.

As the water flowed over the land, grass and trees began to grow and fill the land with colour.

Now that there was grass to eat and water to drink, Goorialla woke the animals. The kookaburra laughed, the goanna walked, and the wombat climbed out of her burrow, all for the first time.

Some animals lived in the sea, swimming back and forward. Some animals lived in the sky, flying with their friends to distant places. Some animals lived on the land, digging and playing in the sand. They were happy and gathered food and water to bring back to their own tribes.

The Rainbow Serpent made rules that all animals had to obey. He said “All animals that obey the rules will be rewarded by becoming humans. The animals that disobey the rules will be punished.”

Some animals followed the rules and were rewarded by being turned into humans. Other animals disobeyed the rules and were turned into the stone that makes the mountains.

One day, it started to rain. And it rained like it had never rained before. Rain fell for days and days and the world was becoming flooded with water. Two young men, Bil-bil, or the Rainbow Lorikeet brothers had no shelter and they came to the Rainbow Serpent. They asked for help sheltering from the rain.

The rainbow serpent was hungry and tricked the young men “I have no shelter, but you can hide in my mouth. You’ll be safe from the rain in there.” The young men climbed into Goorialla’s mouth and he closed it shut, swallowing both men.

He soon realised that people would notice the young men missing and come looking for them. He knew they would find their track leading right into his mouth. He didn’t want to be caught and so decided to hide in the only place he knew he would be safe: the sky.

He hid in the sky away from the people chasing him and he saw their sadness at losing these two young men. He decided to try and make them happy again so turned his body into a big arc of beautiful colours.

Now, every time, just after it rains, you can see the Rainbow Serpent sharing his beautiful colours with the people on the ground as his way of saying sorry for taking those Rainbow Lorikeet brothers.

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Filed Under: Dreamtime

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. no worries says

    08/11/2018 at 11:28 pm

    no worries

    Reply
    • Big Marus says

      15/08/2019 at 11:32 pm

      Good dream story

      Reply
      • Bronte cunningham says

        15/02/2020 at 3:42 am

        I so agree with you it was so spiritual

        Reply
    • old mate says

      09/02/2020 at 10:02 pm

      cheers

      Reply
      • Jacquie Thomas says

        13/05/2020 at 4:17 am

        I love dream time stories they are so calming

        Reply
  2. Ev says

    13/11/2018 at 12:48 pm

    I heard that the term “dreamtime” is culturally inappropriate and that Dreaming stories is more politically correct, is this true?

    Reply
    • joseph says

      21/03/2019 at 3:57 am

      yes you are right I don’t know why these people call it Dreamtime I’m starting to wonder if they are even aboriginal

      Reply
      • Nullabill this my First Nations name. says

        27/03/2019 at 11:22 pm

        Fair go old chap , look around the world and you will find more brown/black skinned people then pale!

        Reply
        • guga says

          26/08/2019 at 2:13 am

          Thats my budda

          Reply
      • RICHARD GOULD says

        02/04/2019 at 1:16 pm

        Every year the AFL (Australian Football League, the national league for Australian Rules Football) have an Indigenous round of football to celebrate the achievements and influence Indigenous players have had on our game. The main game of this round is between Richmond and Essendon, the clubs famous for recruiting and playing many Aboriginal players decades ago, opening the door for many to follow in their footsteps. This main game is held at the MCG in front of an average of 80,000 plus spectators. It is called “DREAMTIME AT THE ‘G'” – many Aboriginals are on the planning committee – I’d suggest your information for it to be called DREAMING and not DREAMTIME is incorrect.

        Reply
        • KYS says

          05/09/2019 at 4:19 am

          Did I ask?

          Reply
          • ナルト the boss says

            01/06/2022 at 4:33 am

            why cant you believe such a simple fact. Aboriginal culture. Dreaming is the word used to explain how life came to be; it is the stories and beliefs behind creation. It is called different names in different Aboriginal languages, such as: Ngarranggarni, Tjukula Jukurrpa.

        • Aussie 1968 says

          11/07/2020 at 7:39 am

          Agreed!

          Reply
      • my name is k says

        17/05/2019 at 12:16 pm

        exactly

        Reply
      • lily watts says

        27/05/2019 at 11:52 pm

        they called it dreamtime because thats what the Indigenous australians
        called it.

        Reply
    • bob says

      21/03/2019 at 3:59 am

      idk

      Reply
    • Anonymous says

      05/06/2019 at 12:12 am

      Ev,that rumour is false. I’m from an aboriginal background, and I’ve done research about it. It is fake

      Reply
      • Alfred says

        12/09/2019 at 4:32 am

        fake, just like you.

        Reply
      • anonymous says

        17/02/2020 at 4:03 am

        when?

        Reply
  3. ricky says

    29/11/2018 at 5:02 pm

    Surely this can’t be true…

    Reply
    • rainy says

      15/04/2019 at 8:00 pm

      of course this is not true its a story duhh

      Reply
      • Alfred says

        12/09/2019 at 4:30 am

        actually, RAINY, you are wrong sis

        Reply
      • Anasatsia says

        13/12/2019 at 6:59 pm

        rainy; it is how they believe it came to be

        Reply
        • Gavin says

          06/06/2020 at 5:06 pm

          No it isn’t at all Iv seen him

          Reply
  4. Kymani says

    05/12/2018 at 9:28 am

    Hey no need to disrespect the oldest living culture in the world. No need at all.

    Reply
    • hello says

      09/03/2019 at 5:43 am

      Yes, I totally agree. Please give some respect to others’ culture.

      Reply
  5. Epic Gamer says

    07/12/2018 at 4:34 pm

    This is cool.

    Reply
  6. Phoenix says

    10/12/2018 at 10:25 pm

    This story is slightly cool.

    Reply
    • Phoenix says

      21/01/2020 at 1:56 pm

      My name is Phoenix reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

      Reply
  7. GOD says

    16/12/2018 at 4:35 am

    I never remembered putting a giant rainbow lizard in Australia.

    Reply
    • jesus says

      24/04/2019 at 4:14 am

      I don’t remember that either dad

      Reply
      • James(joseph’s brother) says

        19/08/2019 at 11:44 pm

        I dont remember that either nephew

        Reply
      • Mary says

        12/09/2019 at 5:01 am

        Go to bed child

        Reply
    • Blanta says

      06/01/2020 at 9:26 pm

      Ah yes you are correct

      Reply
  8. Mikayla says

    14/01/2019 at 8:35 am

    My interpretation:

    It is a beautifully written story about shortly after the interglacial period around 20000 years ago… The serpent is a body of water… The sleeping bit is about it turning to ice (hence the gouging out the gorges). Then it woke up and melted and was dangerous and killed the brothers. Afterwards it returned the the sky (think evaporation) and it made a rainbow…

    It is full of symbolism and metaphor… It is beautiful.

    It also shows a story passed down over thousands of generations from a group of humans that survived the last ice age….

    Reply
    • Val says

      14/02/2019 at 2:56 am

      Mikayla,
      If I was your teacher I would have to give you full marks for analysing this Dreaming Story.
      Congratulations

      Reply
      • elise says

        08/03/2019 at 3:27 am

        I learnt that Aboriginals spirituality believed in a variety of deep meaningful, interesting stories including the story of “The rainbow serpent”. The rainbow serpent had important meaning because it discusses how Goorialla spread its powers and passion of creating an amazing life on the land with beautiful scenery and colours, full of living animals and humans. An aspect of Religion addressed in this story included the ethics that were created for the animals in order to indicate who was a good animal and will have the privilege to turn human. Another aspect that stood out to me was spiritual experience of Goorialla the rainbow serpent to have the power to create an entire life on land. This story made me feel interested in the miracles that Aboriginals believe in and the ending. I think the moral of this story is to demonstrate how the feeling of guilt was formed from a wrong choice and how to make it right.

        Reply
      • FuriousDestroyer says

        05/06/2019 at 12:18 am

        I agree with Mikayla

        Reply
    • Kart says

      15/02/2019 at 2:45 pm

      Thank goodness someone replied with critical thinking and elegant writing skills. Metaphors and symbolism endure millennia.

      Reply
      • Senior Jurd says

        27/07/2020 at 9:59 pm

        Listen Kart mate, if our Gen Z mannerisims ain’t doing it for you, it’s on site brother.

        Reply
    • Will Crooks says

      21/02/2019 at 11:18 pm

      i just thought it was a snake with some colours on it aye

      Reply
      • eric cartman says

        18/04/2019 at 4:25 pm

        idk

        Reply
  9. Ethan says

    06/03/2019 at 1:47 am

    This story was very inspirational 🙂

    Reply
  10. Human (maybe I'm not sure?) says

    06/03/2019 at 10:53 pm

    My Friend Called me out as racist for searching aboriginal stories

    Reply
    • Sanan says

      28/03/2019 at 12:01 pm

      10/10

      Reply
  11. caitlin says

    08/03/2019 at 5:13 am

    hi, i really like this story because it is lovely and inspiring.

    Reply
  12. Cheeseballz says

    14/03/2019 at 1:25 am

    This story fascinated my little toes

    Reply
  13. Jayle says

    17/03/2019 at 1:40 am

    i learnt that the aboriginals spirituality is full of story that help us through life of what to do and what not to do.
    this story addresses the creation of earth and how it was formed and also addressees good and evil and how to whats right and wrong, this story made me feel intrigued to know more about the stories and rituals they go through.
    i believe the message of this story is about the creation of life and how we have come about and also explains good and evil in us and whats happens once we do something bad or good.

    Reply
  14. Harry says

    18/03/2019 at 10:33 pm

    rip

    Reply
  15. Fern says

    20/03/2019 at 2:09 am

    I learnt that Aboriginal religions consist of meaningful and metaphorical stories. An example of one of these stories is “The rainbow serpent”, which conveyed a significant message because it demonstrates how the serpent, Goorialla used its power to create a land of colour and happiness for all creatures. An aspect of Religion within this story is ethics, which was used to distinguish which animals were deemed ‘good’, and therefore would have the privilege of becoming human. Another aspect identified in the story was the spiritual experience of Goorialla the rainbow serpent. He was able to use his power to create life on land in a spiritual way. This story sparked my interested in the stories of creation that Aboriginals believe in. The moral of this story is to use something that goes wrong as an opportunity to make things better.

    Reply
  16. Jacumba says

    26/03/2019 at 4:36 am

    How is the rainbow snake living because if there are no trees, that means there is no oxygen! If there is also no river that means there is no natural water which means how does the rainbow serpent live! Also if the rainbow serpent made frogs, that must mean the rainbow serpent must be God, so does that mean God is Gay!!
    But hey, thats just a theory! A gay theory!!

    Reply
    • me says

      03/06/2020 at 12:29 am

      oi have som respect bloody mongrel

      Reply
  17. Sam says

    28/03/2019 at 12:02 pm

    Tell em’ that there dreaming

    Reply
    • Senior Jurd says

      23/07/2020 at 4:59 am

      No need to get political mate.

      Reply
  18. Prashant Chawla says

    02/04/2019 at 3:54 am

    Love It

    Reply
    • FuriousDestroyer says

      05/06/2019 at 12:19 am

      It’s a story,they don’t need to breath

      Reply
  19. Prashant Chawla says

    02/04/2019 at 3:55 am

    So Wonderful.

    But how do they breath?

    Reply
  20. Ivy says

    06/04/2019 at 2:57 am

    WOW! I thought that this was just about a Rainbow Serpent who went along the land and made the rivers. I didn’t know that they made the animals and plants too! Also I didn’t know the part where it swallowed the people (I thought that was a different story) and returned to the sky and made a rainbow! Very helpful!!

    Reply
  21. rainy says

    15/04/2019 at 8:05 pm

    thats nice

    Reply
  22. Lucifer Morningstar says

    24/04/2019 at 4:19 am

    They took my Devil Face! And replace it with these pesky wings! These buggers regrow no matter how many times I cut them off!

    Reply
    • lily watts says

      27/05/2019 at 11:55 pm

      love that 🙂
      it will come back over time and your brothers having a baby

      Reply
  23. K-POP STAR says

    20/05/2019 at 2:39 am

    why are my snakes now rainbow?

    Reply
    • Jacquie Thomas says

      13/05/2020 at 4:21 am

      Don’t know?

      Reply
  24. Hello... says

    17/06/2019 at 8:33 am

    Great Dreamtime story, my fav!!!

    Reply
  25. Fatty says

    19/06/2019 at 4:58 am

    This is funny

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      01/10/2019 at 4:12 pm

      Show some bloody respect me myself I’m an aboriginal dont judge wat u don’t know.

      Reply
  26. Big mama says

    19/06/2019 at 5:01 am

    This is trash not I love this so much

    Reply
  27. Gavin says

    20/06/2019 at 4:47 am

    This post fascinated my cheesy fingers

    Reply
  28. Epic Gamer says

    28/06/2019 at 2:33 am

    This is made up

    Reply
  29. mammoud says

    21/07/2019 at 11:35 pm

    Not a joke

    Reply
  30. Oof says

    26/07/2019 at 1:26 am

    Rip those dudes haha lol

    Reply
  31. Rachel says

    01/10/2019 at 4:15 pm

    Excuse me to all those disrespectful people out there, me myself I’m an aboriginal person show some respect to our culture. We did no harm to white people so leave the blacks alone.

    Reply
    • JOSIAH.K.STRONG-24 says

      18/11/2019 at 3:10 am

      yep i strongly agree just because all of you “non-aboriginals” dont believe in the creations of our culture it does not give you people the rights to disrespect our ways of life. Theres probably are reason why we have been around on this world and continent longer than any of you people. Because we respect the land that takes care of us and obey our sacred laws. you people dont see any of us disrecpecting God or any other cultures around the world. plus non of you people dont know anything about being aboriginal or to carry on stories and knowledges from our grandparents to recure to our grandchildren and we have been doing this for millenniums, so next time think about what you say because it will be held against you and your childish thoughts.

      BYE FELISHA’S

      Reply
  32. DisappointedTeacher says

    04/10/2019 at 2:09 am

    Please do behave in this comments section. This is a beautiful and culturally rich story, and in sharing it with my grade 4 students as part of a unit on language features in literature, half of them only wanted to focus on some of your arguments.

    The other half submitted Mikayla’s glacier interpretation.

    Reply
  33. Google says

    28/04/2020 at 10:02 am

    Good story

    Reply
  34. Horace says

    29/04/2020 at 11:30 pm

    this is a true dreamtime stories made up from the elderly aboriginals in the past

    Reply
  35. NZcolnex says

    11/05/2020 at 12:22 am

    Nice Story

    Reply
  36. Peter Parker says

    08/06/2020 at 5:08 am

    Aboriginal’s helped create Australia so leave them alone.

    Reply
  37. corrector for ev says

    18/06/2020 at 12:46 am

    ev its not political its cultural

    Reply
  38. EyelashViper says

    08/07/2020 at 1:47 am

    Your friend must be an American Democrat…they call everyone and everything a Racist as they dont know any other thing. Even your dog is a racist. Its the only word they know.

    Reply
  39. girl guide says

    08/07/2020 at 11:19 pm

    I’m reading this to my girl guides unit for my “faith awareness” badge

    Reply
  40. pen sharpener says

    23/04/2021 at 12:07 am

    do you know what a dream time story even is?

    Reply
  41. bruh says

    02/06/2021 at 12:24 am

    hey guyssssssssss i’m doing this story for English and spent half my time reading comments lol.

    Reply
  42. Josie young says

    23/05/2022 at 3:55 am

    I love this story it’s great but one thing I don’t like how racially motivated this story is why a rainbow snake and not a black snake?also I don’t like how sexists this is why isn’t the snake a woman or a man? Finally this story doesn’t appeal to people of other genders like me, overall I would give this story a 5/5 for story 1/5 for representation and finally a 1/5 on the racial part.

    Reply

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