The Dreamtime of Aboriginal Australians

The mythology of Australian aborigines tells a tale of a sacred time of creation, a "once upon a time" period where the Totemic Spirit Beings that were the ancestors developed The Creation. This sacred time is called The Dreaming, Altjeringa, or the Dreamtime. The term "Dreamtime" often refers to "the time before time," while "The Dreaming" refers to a single individual's spirituality or set of personal beliefs.

For example, an Indigenous Australian aborigine may say that he has Shark Dreaming, Kangaroo Dreaming, Honey Ant Dreaming, or any combination of sacred dreaming times that are relevant to their particular country. But other aborigines refer to that time of creation as "The Dreaming." Although the terminology may differ from one person to the next, what is certain among the beliefs of Australian aborigines is that Ancestor Spirits appeared on Earth in human forms as well as other forms, and the landscape, the plants, and the animals were created in their form as they exist in today's world.

The Dreamtime consists of many different parts. It tells how things happened in the past; how the universe was created; how human beings came to be; and how the Creator planned for humans to interact and function within the universe. The Ancestor Spirits established relationships among individuals and groups, both humans and animals, and where the Spirits traveled through the land or came to a halt, it was at that point that they created rivers, mountains, valleys, and other topographical features. These places often have stories attached to them, telling of their creation.

Once their work was completed, the Ancestor Spirits again changed into animals, hilltops, stars, or other physical objects. For Australian aborigines, the past is still vital and alive today as it was, and it will remain alive forever into the future. The Ancestor Spirits are not gone; they are still present and living in the forms they changed into at the end of The Dreamtime, according to the stories of old. These stories have been handed down through the ages, and they are integral to the Dreaming of each Indigenous Australian person. Every tribe has an individual dreamtime, but some of the ancient legends overlap in the tales they tell. Most Dreamtime stories originate with the Giant Snake or the Giant Dog, and every story is unique and colorful.

Dreamtime legends are passed down by totem from each generation to the next, involving secret rites and rituals, with some stories classified as "Women's Business" and some as "Men's Business." Enthusiastic, colorful dances and corroborees are employed to pass along the stories of the creation that took place in ancient times.

Australian aborigines talk about guruwari, which was a seed deposited in the earth. In their world view, every meaningful event, activity, or life change that happens at a particular spot leaves behind it a residue of vibration within the earth, in the same way that plants leave behind an image of their form as seeds. The shape of the land, therefore - mountains, rivers, rocks, deserts - carries with it unseen vibrations that echo the events that conspired to bring that place into existence. Therefore, everything in today's natural world is a footprint of the ancestral beings whose actions were responsible for creating the world as we know it today. Just like a seed, the power of an earthbound location is bonded to the memory of how it began. The Aborigines call such potency the "Dreaming" of that place, and it constitutes the sanctity of the earth. One can be attuned to the inner dreaming of an earthly place only in an extraordinary state of consciousness.

Dreamtime stories are different throughout Australia, and many are just variations on the same them. For instance, the tale of how birds got their different colors varies from one location to another. The stories cover many topics and themes because there are so many different stories - the creation of land, people, plants, animals, sacred places, laws, and customs. The stories constitute a large and complex network of faith, knowledge, and social practices that are derived from stories of ancient creation, and the stories pervade and inform all the physical and spiritual aspects of the life of Indigenous Australians. They believe that in an essential way, every person exists for all time in the Dreaming. This part of each person existed before the universe was created, exists still today, and will continue to exist even after that person's life ends.