Rainbow Serpent
creator god and common motif in the art and religion of Aboriginal Australia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Rainbow Serpent is an animal in the Dreamtime which many of the indigenous people of Australia, the "Aborigines", believe created the mountains, rivers and lakes.[1] The Rainbow Serpent stories are found all across Australia, and especially in Arnhem Land, in the north of Australia.[2] The serpent is known by different names, such as Almudj and Ngalyod, in different Aboriginal languages.[2] The Rainbow Serpent lives in waterholes and controls the supply of water.[3]
Aboriginal artists have painted the Rainbow Serpent on cave walls or on pieces of bark. The earliest cave paintings found are about 8,000 years old.[2] In special ceremonies, they sometimes honour the Rainbow Serpent by painting their handprints on the magic snake.
Scientists believe the Rainbow Serpent stories began at the end of the last ice age.[2] The rising sea levels would have forced a lot of people to move inland. The Rainbow Serpent became a symbol of both creation and destruction, and of unity and peace. This makes the Rainbow Serpent a symbol of the world's oldest continuing religion.[2]