Ancient Aboriginal mythology and the Dreamtime

kfc1

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I'm interested in learning more about Aboriginal mythology - how the world was created and developed, the history thousands of years before 1788 and so on. Most have heard the basic stuff that you learn in school like rainbow serpents creating gorges etc. but I'd like to delve a bit deeper. Would be interesting to learn what differences there are in the dreamtime stories between the different language groups as well.

Are there any good forums to read/discuss this sort of thing? Good youtube videos are always welcome.

Please let's keep the usual fighting about racism/post-1788 events/other religions out of this thread.
 

kfc1

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Example:

http://www.ashburton.wa.gov.au/visit-ashburton/warlu-way
The Warlu (pronounced Wah-loo) comes from the Aboriginal dreaming of a giant sea serpent – or Warlu – named Barrimirndi, who emerged from the sea at Coral Bay and meandered his way across the land, forming waterways as he went.

According to the legend, Barrimirndi had become angry with two boys who had cooked and eaten a Gurdarnkurdarn (Mulga parrot), and, following the smell of the singed feathers, he went in search of the boys. Travelling underground, the creature wove his way up the route of the Fortescue River, cutting gorges and rivers into the landscape.

Every now and then, Barrimirndi would break through the earth to the surface to check the scent of the trail, creating a waterhole, before disappearing back down below to continue his subterranean journey.
He reached his destination at Jirndawurrunha (Millstream), and coming up at Nhanggangunha (Deep Reach Pool), he discovered the boys.

Barrimirndi raised the boys up into a wananggaa (willy willy) where they were hit with flying sticks which broke their arms, leaving them useless. When they fell to the ground he swallowed them whole.
The local people wept and tried to pull the boys from the stomach of the serpent with sticks, but to no avail. Returning to their camp by the river bed, they wept some more. Angered by this, Barrimirndi rose and drowned them in a flood of water.

The legend goes that the spirit serpent still lurks in that same rock pool he created at Nhanggangunha, and the Yinjibarndi people believe you must approach it in the correct way or you will be harmed. Firstly, when entering the pool you must take a handful of water to your mouth, then spit it out and call out ‘nguru’ to let the serpent know of your presence and that you respect the land.

Traditional Yinjibarndi elders must do this first, to explain to the spirit who the strangers with them are, asking that they too are protected. The Yinjibarndi people also warn visitors not to stand so close that their shadow crosses the hole created by Barrimirndi - when he broke through the earth – for fear he might be disturbed and take them.
 

little graham

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Ngarra welcomed the two brothers visiting his people, but one night, jealously of his brothers wife, they murdered his brother and left . Ngarra set about hunting these two down and bringing justice. He tracked them for miles and miles. It took him years, eventually he found them. When he returned to his lands, noone recognized him, jealousy, rage and the adventure had left him unrecognizable to his people. Fearful of strangers after the murder of his brother, he was chased into the sea and killed. On his journey he introduced life to the rivers, to the seas, to the lands. Only after murdering him , did his people recognize and then bury him. His grave is now the mount lofty rangers. Clearly visible from the air is the shape of his body. Just like the area around Hindmarsh island is the shape of a Womens womb.

A story told longer than Christianity has been. They (christianty) to believed in giants.

Remember, from here life began, here it will end and begin again.
 

little graham

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For a long time there was no sun, only a moon and stars. That was before there were men on the earth, only birds and beasts, all of which were many sizes larger than they are now.

One day Dinewan the emu and Brolga the native companion were on a large plain near the Murrumbidgee. There they were, quarrelling and fighting. Brolga, in her rage, rushed to the nest of Dinewan and seized from it one of the huge eggs, which she threw with all her force up to the sky. There it broke on a heap of firewood, which burst into flame as the yellow yolk spilled all over it, and lit up the world below to the astonishment of every creature on it. They had been used to the semi-darkness and were dazzled by such brightness.

A good spirit who lived in the sky saw how bright and beautiful the earth looked when lit up by this blaze. He thought it would be a good thing to make a fire every day, and from that time he has done so. All night he and his attendant spirits collect wood and heap it up. When the heap is nearly big enough they send out the morning star to warn those on earth that the fire will soon be lit.

The spirits, however, found this warning was not sufficient, for those who slept saw it not. Then the spirits thought someone should make some noise at dawn to herald the coming of the sun and waken the sleepers. But for a long time they could not decide to whom should be given this office.

At last one evening they heard the laughter of Goo-goor-gaga, the laughing jackass ringing through the air.

"That is the noise we want," they said.
Then they told Goo-goor-gaga that, as the morning star faded and the day dawned, he was every morning to laugh his loudest, that his laughter might awaken all sleepers before sunrise. If he would not agree to do this, then no more would they light the sun-fire, but let the earth be ever in twilight again.

But Goo-goor-gaga saved the light for the world.

He agreed to laugh his loudest at every dawn of every day, and so he has done ever since, making the air ring with his loud cackling, "Goo goor gaga, goo goor gaga, goo goor gaga."

When the spirits first light the fire it does not throw out much heat. But by the middle of the day, when the whole heap of firewood is in a blaze, the heat is fierce. After that it begins to die gradually away until, at sunset, only red embers are left. They quickly die out, except a few the spirits cover up with clouds and save to light the heap of wood they get ready for the next day.

Children are not allowed to imitate the laughter of Goo-goor-gaga, lest he should hear them and cease his morning cry.


If children do laugh as he does, an extra tooth grows above their eye-tooth, so that they carry the mark of their mockery in punishment for it. Well the good spirits know that if ever a time comes when the Goo-goor-gagas cease laughing to herald the sun, then no more dawns will be seen in the land, and darkness will reign once more.

More believable that Christianities version of creation.If only because it was shared closer with the time science says the big bang happenned.

In layams terms, they used the stars to track time and the behavior of birds. Not unlike the three wise men did. The stars told them how late it was, the birds the alarm clock to signify time to get up. They also knew the sun was a fire.

Astrologists and scientists, long before white man.

You can also go as far as saying that when we wipe out all the trees, there will be no birds to laugh at dawn. Science tells us that its quite possible that if there's no trees, there will be darkness.
 

little graham

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I assume this is referring to the Kookaburra?

Interesting story; like many of these ancient stories I wonder how they developed

I wonder about those stories on the lizards revenge. One of them speaks about a lizard buried deep, he has a yellow belly. Dreamtime say don't wake him, he'll get angry and destroy the world. Science has since told us that the lizard is buried in a mass uranium deposit.
 

Illinois Nazi

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I wonder about those stories on the lizards revenge. One of them speaks about a lizard buried deep, he has a yellow belly. Dreamtime say don't wake him, he'll get angry and destroy the world. Science has since told us that the lizard is buried in a mass uranium deposit.
Spooky.
 
Science has since told us that the lizard is buried in a mass uranium deposit.
You're using it as a metaphor? Not believing there is an actual lizard?

IMO these prophecies are usually just interpreted to fit modern events.

But anyway, this isn't on the topic of the history of these stories.
 
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Are there any good forums to read/discuss this sort of thing? Good youtube videos are always welcome.

while it's aimed at school children, this site has some traditional stories from different groups and they've been animated too

http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/

Some of them are pretty cool... some are a bit dark too, but have a watch of them...
 

little graham

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Evidently for thousands of years the scientists amongst them had a an infinite understanding of human anatomy. One culture, who possessed perhaps the richest of land anywhere in Australia (if you ever been there and understand what wealth was to them), didn't like some of the visitors. They would knock them out in their sleep then inject poisoned animal fat directly in their kidney. The bloke would go home, and after a few days die. Not having any idea, apart from a sore head, what went on.

This sort of evidence of the evolved nature of their culture, makes you think about their dreamtime stories.
 

Kynge of Begrem

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Evidently for thousands of years the scientists amongst them had a an infinite understanding of human anatomy. One culture, who possessed perhaps the richest of land anywhere in Australia (if you ever been there and understand what wealth was to them), didn't like some of the visitors. They would knock them out in their sleep then inject poisoned animal fat directly in their kidney. The bloke would go home, and after a few days die. Not having any idea, apart from a sore head, what went on.

This sort of evidence of the evolved nature of their culture, makes you think about their dreamtime stories.
Do you have a source for this, I have never heard of it occuring.
 

kfc1

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Evidently for thousands of years the scientists amongst them had a an infinite understanding of human anatomy. One culture, who possessed perhaps the richest of land anywhere in Australia (if you ever been there and understand what wealth was to them), didn't like some of the visitors. They would knock them out in their sleep then inject poisoned animal fat directly in their kidney. The bloke would go home, and after a few days die. Not having any idea, apart from a sore head, what went on.

This sort of evidence of the evolved nature of their culture, makes you think about their dreamtime stories.
What did they use for needles?
 

little graham

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What did they use for needles?

Have you ever seen how some cultures could make fire? In the area I'm talking about, native pines provided materials that could be manafctured thin and sharp enough.

Have you seen some of the subincision practices of some cultures here?
 

kfc1

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Have you ever seen how some cultures could make fire? In the area I'm talking about, native pines provided materials that could be manafctured thin and sharp enough.

Have you seen some of the subincision practices of some cultures here?
thanks and no, that's why i asked brother :)
 

little graham

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It's interesting that the Bunyip achieved the same result the Loch ness monster did. Stopped kids playing in dangerous water ways, stopped people using the natural boundaries the water way was, to sneak up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunyip


Although, indigenous civilization is so old they were here when larger roos and wombats roamed, science has shown. Chances are there is some truth to the stories.
 

kfc1

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It's interesting that the Bunyip achieved the same result the Loch ness monster did. Stopped kids playing in dangerous water ways, stopped people using the natural boundaries the water way was, to sneak up.
I was thinking this myself - a lot of these stories seem quite unrealistic if taken literally - was their origin in religion/mythology in the traditional sense or as a way of shaping the attitudes of each younger generation like Santa Claus and the Bunyip example?
 

little graham

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Evidently for thousands of years the scientists amongst them had a an infinite understanding of human anatomy. One culture, who possessed perhaps the richest of land anywhere in Australia (if you ever been there and understand what wealth was to them), didn't like some of the visitors. They would knock them out in their sleep then inject poisoned animal fat directly in their kidney. The bloke would go home, and after a few days die. Not having any idea, apart from a sore head, what went on.

This sort of evidence of the evolved nature of their culture, makes you think about their dreamtime stories.

That they're complete bullshit and fairy tales?
 
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