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Australian Aborigines and the Dreamtime

The Australian Aborigines' conception of the world is based on the Dreamtime beliefs, which may also be referred to as the Dreaming. The Stories of the Dreaming tell how the world was created.

Before the Dreamtime the world was bare and lifeless and it had no shape. Then the mighty spirits that had been held captive in dreams emerged from the bowels of the earth. They had supernatural, magical powers, and they were able to transform themselves into humans, animals or other objects of nature.

The forms the Ancestor Spirits took, the places they dwelled in and everything they touched when they were giving the world its shape became filled with their vital energy.

All things that have come into being ever since have originated from this energy of the Spirits. The Ancestor Spirits gave instructions on how and where the beings they had created should live. Obeying these instructions would ensure their survival in the often severe and difficult circumstances.

The Dreamtime also comprehends a conception of time of its own. As descendants of their forefathers and through their native lands the people are in connection with the Ancestor Spirits and the past and the present of the world they created.

The Spirits are present everywhere in nature: in trees, stones and water. According to their beliefs the Aborigines are a part of nature, and it is their obligation to respect the environment. The earth does not belong to them; they belong to the earth.

TEXT: Marju Tapaninen
TRANSLATION: Terhi Kinnarinen
PHOTO: Asta Rajala
UPDATED: Wednesday, 13-Mar-2002 11:38:38 EET

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