The Rainbow Serpent
The Rainbow Serpent is the Indigenous Australian story of the beginning of Dreamtime. It is one of the most important stories within Indigenous culture.
At the beginning of the Dreamtime, the earth was a dry, flat and empty land. There were no trees, no rivers, no animals and no grass.
One day, the rainbow serpent woke from his sleep and set off to find his tribe. 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 gorges into the land.
The rainbow serpent 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 gorges in the land. These gorges made the rivers and streams we see today. 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, The rainbow serpent 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.
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. 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 his 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.
LEARN MORE ABOUT INDIGENOUS DREAMTIME STORIES ABOUT ANIMALS
Aishah will be extensively involved with Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander communities to help understand snakes, snake bite treatment and snake safety. Identifying as indigenous Australian, Aishah will work closely with different indigenous communities, community leaders, government and indigenous focused organizations to promote understanding of snake safety and snake bite treatment in particular.
EDUCATING AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL CHILDREN
Part of this program will include educating non indigenous communities about the history, tradition, customs and beliefs indigenous communities share about snakes and reptiles to help promote understanding and cross cultural awareness. Such education programs will work closely with indigenous leaders and community members as well as schools.
