The Reptilian Labyrinth

a reply to: Kantzveldt

Old Egypt was phonies they didn't make the great pyramids of Giza. They were a bunch of fakers they couldn't even copy those right.

For more Sssserpintine sssstoriess check out the tale of the ssship wrecked sssailor

The Tale of The Ship-Wrecked Sailor is an epic tale written on papyrus around the year 2000 BCE, during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Contemporary with the rise of the Cult of Osiris and the inscribing of the Coffin Texts, the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor tells a similar story of redemption.

The basic form of the story is very simple: a sailor returns home from an adventure in which he was lost at sea and tells the tale to his `master’ so that this master may unfold to the pharaoh what happened. In explaining to his master where he has been the past six months, the sailor tells of an amazing island on which he meets a great talking serpent who calls himself the Lord of Punt. As the Land of Punt had been a well-known partner in trade with Egypt since the 4th Dynasty it is interesting to see it portayed mythically as an island of riches and magic from which the sailor is rescued (after being helped by the serpent) and returned home a richer man.

Since the actual land of Punt did, in fact, finally vanish in the minds of the Egyptians into mythology and legend, it is tempting to speculate that the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor was the beginning of this process but, in fact, there is no hard evidence that this is so. More probably, the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor was first written long after Punt had been accorded mythical status. The following translation of the text is from W.K. Flinders Petrie, 1892.

www.ancient.eu.com...

Christianity was introduced into Abyssinia 331 years after the birth of Christ by Abuna Salama whose former name was Frumentos or Frumentius. As that time the Ethiopian kings reigned over Axum. Before the Christian religion was known in Ethiopia half the inhabitants were Jews, who observed the Law; the other half were worshipers of Sando, the dragon." - A History and Genealogy of the Ancient Kings
books.google.co.jp...=onepage&q&f=false
www.sacred-texts.com...

This is among my favorite dragon/serpentine slaying figures the following St.Georges figures may well reflect the attempt at stomping out of serpentine worship.

Axumite St.George

THE DAYS BEFORE SHEBA
Historians might like to insist that little is known about the founding of the Aksumite Kingdom, but ask the average Ethiopian and they’ll tell you something very different. Aksum, they will say, was founded by none other than the Great-Grandson of Noah, Aksumawi. His new kingdom flourished for a while, but one day Wainaba, a giant snake, 170 cubits long, attacked the city, killed the king and then ruled for 400 dark years. The snake was a foul tempered and dangerous creature and in order to placate him the people of Aksum fed him a diet of milk and virgins. Eventually salvation came in the form of a man named Angabo who, crossing the Red Sea from the land of the Sabeans, offered to kill the serpent in exchange for the throne. The people of Aksum agreed, but rather than fighting the serpent as the Aksumites expected, Angabo proved himself wise and fed the serpent a goat laced in poison.
The kingdom quickly recovered, Angabo married and was borne a daughter. That daughter was named Makeda and on her father’s death she became the woman we today know as the Queen of Sheba.


Read more: www.lonelyplanet.com...

The theme of reptile slaying is wide spread sprang from a single source?? I don't know but the same theme popped up everywhere one have to remember that the main plot of the story of Andromeda a princess being rescued by the Hero Perseus was set in Ethiopia ruled by king Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia, later we have the tale of Bida the Black Snake set in ancient Wagadu other wise known as Ghana, not it's name sake far to the south,but bordering Mali and Mauritania.

Oral tradition in the legend of Wagadu says that after Cisse's death, his two sons, Khine and Dyabe, disagreed about who would become the successor. They fought and Khine won the battle. Dyabe, humiliated, made an accord with a black snake with seven heads named Bida. Dyabe promised to sacrifice a virgin to the snake once every year in return for victory over his brother. He fulfilled his promise to Bida until his death. The wealth of Ghana is depicted by this story, as the Soninke believe that there were rains of gold due to the annual virgin girl sacrifice to the black snake. Another clarification to the prosperity of the empire was its gold mines located in Kumbi Saleh, the imperial capital. This place became an important commercial centre. The existence of camels facilitated the transport of gold and other products, such as slaves, salt and copper, textiles, beads, and finished goods, with the rest of the world. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Not sure if this is related to your post but in 2008 I went to Egypt and one of the temples we went to was Kom Ombo.

It had a crocodile museum there and some of the hieroglyphics had crocodiles/crocodile-headed gods.

Here's some of my pics.

Enjoy...

a reply to: Spider879


Thanks for those great stories Spider, i particularly like the mounted Horus fighting the dragon!

Originally i don't think it was about slaying the dragon but mastering it, turning it's powers away from chaos and making it work for you, the Horus that counters dark spells and magic by standing upon the crocodile.

The constellations Andromeda and Perseus were related to this with the Dragon being located at Pegasus and the Labyrinth, which goes on to become the white winged horse of the dragon conquering hero, through his powers of transformation, possibly...

Thus Saint George is Pegasus, or at least his horse is, as maybe it is Perseus, formerly the Panther constellation in Sumeria that is seen to become the mounted hero.



a reply to: Cruff


Thanks for the pictures, Kom Ombo was a Temple dedicated to Sobek, lucky you for going there



a reply to: On7a7higher7plane


You reckon maybe the Faeries built them...?

The Walters Art Museum held an exhibition of the Book of Faiyum at the end of last year. It got very good reviews, I would have loved to have gone, but transatlantic travel is completely beyond my budget. There are plans though to bring it to Europe, Germany I think. Fingers crossed, if a success, they may bring it to London...here's hoping anyway.

When 19th-century scholars and enthusiasts first saw the Book of the Faiyum, some thought it represented the legendary Egyptian labyrinth, described by ancient Greek and Roman authors including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder. Egyptologists today, however, recognize the maplike features of the papyrus as a depiction of Lake Moeris and the canal that feeds it. This bird’s-eye view of the region is only visible once the entire composition is revealed—a feat that requires a large display area. Most ancient Egyptians would have encountered the Book of the Faiyum one short section at a time; readers often held papyrus rolls in one hand, while using the other to unroll the text across their laps.

The Book of the Faiyum offers a window onto cultural, intellectual, and religious life in a unique ancient Egyptian place. Over the course of many centuries, the ancient Egyptians depicted the gods and myths seen in the Book of the Faiyum countless times. Stories of divine creation and the sun god’s nightly regeneration, featured prominently in the book, frequently appeared in ancient Egyptian art. The Book of the Faiyum, however, creates a local context for universal narratives, tailoring them to suit the Faiyum’s specific history and geography. The story of the Ogdoad, eight primeval gods who took the form of snakes and frogs, provides a good example of this. One section of the Book of the Faiyum illustrates these gods in an act of creation: creating Lake Moeris by digging it out with their own hands. The complex, layered imagery of the Book of the Faiyum continues to challenge scholars today. This exhibition encourages reflection on the mysteries surrounding the Book of the Faiyum, including why it was made and for whom.

thewalters.org...

originally posted by: Spider879
This is among my favorite dragon/serpentine slaying figures the following St.Georges figures may well reflect the attempt at stomping out of serpentine worship.

Great post, and worthy of it's own thread in the context outlined above. The dragon was a feature of early Christian Europe that was systematically eradicated with the rise of the Normans. The pervasiveness of the stories, when you remove the localised subtext that is added over time and space, is testament to the globalistic relevence of the base story.

Thuban (α Draconis) was the northern pole star from 3942 BC, when it moved farther north than Theta Boötis, until 1793 BC. The Egyptian Pyramids were designed to have one side facing north, with an entrance passage designed so that Thuban would be visible at night.[2] Due to the effects of precession, it will once again be the pole star around the year 21000 AD. It is a blue-white giant star of magnitude 3.7, 309 light-years from Earth. The traditional name of Alpha Draconis, Thuban, means "head of the serpent".[1]

en.wikipedia.org...

The stories that emerged from this preliminal period pervade as George and the Dragon, and more literally in the Arthuran mythos. King Arthur's name in Welsh, Arth Vawr, means Heavenly Bear. His father, Uther Pendragon, means Wonderful Head of the Dragon. The slow and gradual procession of the nothern Pole Star from Draco to Ursa Minor, is immortalised in the story of Arthur. Stories around the world record this event, of Ursa Minor overthrowing the Dragon for Pole position.

Ursa Minor and Ursa Major were related by the Greeks to the myth of Callisto and Arcas. However, in a variant of the story, in which it is Boötes that represents Arcas, Ursa Minor represents a dog. This is the older tradition, which sensibly explains both the length of the tail and the obsolete alternate name of Cynosura (the dog's tail) for Polaris, the North Star.[4]

Previously, Ursa Minor was considered just seven close stars, mythologically regarded as sisters. In early Greek mythology, the seven stars of the Little Dipper were the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas. Together with the nearby constellations of Boötes, Ursa Major, and Draco, it may have formed the origin of the myth of the apples of the Hesperides,[5] which forms part of the Labours of Hercules.[original research?] Ursa Minor with its modern associations was invented by Thales of Miletus in approximately 600 BCE, from what had previously represented the wings of Draco, the Dragon. He did so out of a desire to commemorate the location of the North Celestial Pole, then near Beta and Gamma Ursae Minoris.[6]

In Hungarian mythology the constellation is called 'Little Goncol cart' (Göncöl szekér) after a legendary shaman. (Ursa Major is 'Big Goncol cart.') The shaman's knowledge knew no limit. He invented the cart: His nation was wandering, so the cart was the biggest gift of the Gods to the country. Legends claim he knew everything about the world. Nobody saw his death; his body simply disappeared among the stars.

Because Ursa Minor consists of seven stars, the Latin word for "North" (i.e. where Polaris points) is septentrio, from septem (seven) and triones (oxen), from seven oxen driving a plow, which the seven stars also resemble.

en.wikipedia.org...

Similarly, the emergence of Draco as Pole Star some 5000 years ago, in story telling as a means of expressing transisitory beliefs or preliminality, in coincidence with the development of astrology/astronomy, can be traced in the stories of Sumeria. The importance of such information and it's communication, to sailors particularly, underlies why these stories have such robustness of life. Sailors haven't gained their reputation as tellers of (tall) tales without reason, trade and commerce over sea brought these stories to land, and the best versions, as always, gained dominance.

a reply to: KilgoreTrout

Yes i noticed the recent exhibition, it would be good to see the work laid out in full, as it's seven metres in length, i suppose the length of a particularly large crocodile. I think the 19th scholars were right in that the work would have to in some way relate to the Labyrinth of Hawara, it does reference all cultic sites of Sobek in the Faiyum and the Hawara Temple/Labyrinth was the primary of such.

Hawara was dedicated to the crocodile god Souchos. The temple of Souchos in Hawara, attested from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD , was either an independent construction for the main god of the Fayum, or an alternative name for the Labyrinth. Amenemhat’s funerary temple was a cult centre for Pramarres in association with other Fayum deities, especially Souchos, who is well represented in the Labyrinth statues Herodotos' story of crocodile tombs in the Labyrinth (II 148) is confirmed by the excavations of Petrie , and Brugsch and Von Levetzau. Middle Kingdom inscriptions found in the Labyrinth area identify the crocodile god worshipped at Hawara as ‘Sobek of Shedet’, ‘Sobek lord of Khaui’ and ’Sobek lord of Bau

The unspecified ‘Temple of Hawara’ (P.Chic.Haw. 9; 239 BC; P.Hawara Lüdd. III; 233 BC) is no doubt the main temple of the village. Several prophets of Souchos are linked to this temple (P. Zauzich 17; 62/61 BC). It is not clear, however, whether this was an independent temple of Souchos or the Labyrinth itself, where Pramarres, Souchos and some other deities were worshipped

Fayum Project

The Underground chamber section of the Papyrus which i reconstructed in the OP will give indications of the role of Sobek in the Osiris mysteries, in it's own way a Book of the Dead specific to the cult of Sobek and Neith, that i would expect to have been an aspect of the Labyrinth cult, which is seen in conceptual terms here in the section before the Underground chamber, the rectangle, which will be relating to a field or measure.

A little on St. George

He is also known as Al Khidr

The name "Khidr" is taken colloquially (and sometimes within more scholarly literature) to mean "the Green One" or "the Verdant One" in Arabic, however, this definition is only a popular etymology with no linguistic connection between Khidr and al-akhdar, the Arabic word for green. Another opinion refers to a short or Arabized form of Hasisatra (Atrahasis).[7] Hasisatra is the nickname of the "Sumerian Noah" Utnapishtim.

Although there are many common or similar elements between the Gilgamesh epic and the Alexander romance in which 'Khidr' plays a role, Hasisatra is not the prototype of Khidr. Khidr originally comes from Ugaritic mythology and his prototype is Kothar-wa-Khasis (Chusor in Greek), the god of smith and builder;[10]

a reply to: zardust

Khidr originally comes from Ugaritic mythology and his prototype is Kothar-wa-Khasis (Chusor in Greek), the god of smith and builder

Yes yes Iam throwing this out there but what a great though not perfect fit for a son of a reptilian figure such as Sobek if my wild stab at a linkage is correct because there is a problem with his job description as a traveler verses as a builder and a smith better suited for Ptah or Khnum.

Khonsu (alternately Chonsu, Khensu, Khons, Chons or Khonshu) is an Ancient Egyptian god whose main role was associated with the moon. His name means "traveller" and this may relate to the nightly travel of the moon across the sky. Along with Thoth he marked the passage of time. Khonsu was instrumental in the creation of new life in all living creatures. At Thebes he formed part of a family triad with Mut as his mother and Amun his father. At Kom Ombo he was worshipped as son of Sobek and Hathor

Question to those with knowledge greater than myself does any of this tie in with Tiamat the Babylonian Goddess who was also a Water serpentine figure defeated by a hero Kingu, Anu , Enlil or Murduk??

a reply to: Spider879

The Egyptian equivalent would be Nun or Nunet;

Nun, also spelled Nu , oldest of the ancient Egyptian gods and father of Re, the sun god. Nun’s name means “primeval waters,” and he represented the waters of chaos out of which Re-Atum began creation. Nun’s qualities were boundlessness, darkness, and the turbulence of stormy waters; these qualities were personified separately by pairs of deities. Nun, his female counterpart, Naunet, and three further pairs together formed the Ogdoad (group of eight gods) of Hermopolis. Various Egyptian creation myths retain the image of the emergence of a primeval hillock formed of mud churned from the chaotic waters of Nun. Since it was believed that the primeval ocean continued to surround the ordered cosmos, the creation myth was reenacted each day as the sun god rose from the waters of chaos. Nun was also thought to continue to exist as the source of the annual flooding of the Nile River.


Nu was shown usually as male but also had aspects that could be represented as female or male. Nunet (/ˈnuːˌnɛt/; also spelt Naunet) is the female aspect, which is the name Nu with a female gender ending. The male aspect, Nun, is written with a male gender ending. As with the primordial concepts of the Ogdoad, Nu's male aspect was depicted as a frog, or a frog-headed man. In Ancient Egyptian art, Nun also appears as a bearded man, with blue-green skin, representing water. Naunet is represented as a snake or snake-headed woman.

Nun

Things such as four frog gods and four snake goddesses of chaos are an important aspect of the Book of Fayum, in conjunction with crocodiles of course. It is Frog headed Nun and serpent headed Nunet that are seen either side of the rectangle which i take as a symbol of the Labyrinth, thus it is surrounded by watery chaos in the mythological sense, in the same manner the Babylonians displayed the Iku/Pegasus rectangle/square



Of course also in Babylonian accounts it is Marduk as the crocodile come Dragon that establishes order out if chaos.

a reply to: Kantzveldt

Thanks Kantzveldt, the aquatic reptiloids is an even better fit, and Naunet without pushing any boundaries have some similarities to Tiamat.

Another intriguing read OP keeps the mind open to the potentials who share EA*RTH & cosmos with mammalians ...

One thing i should have drawn more attention to is the sheer scale of the suggested Labyrinth from the 2008 results of the Mataha expedition;

Petrie interpreted the enormous artificial stone plateau he discovered at Hawara (304m by 244m), as the foundation of the labyrinth and concluded, that the building itself was totally demolished, as a stone quarry in the Ptolemaic period.

The mission of the Mataha-expedition was, besides preservation, to question this theory. On account, the foundation impenetrated by early expeditions, could be the roof of the labyrinth, described by Strabo as a great plain of stone.

The conclusion of the Hawara geophysic-survey is, however, still waiting to be internationally released by Dr. Zahi Hawass, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (Egypt). Since the release of the scan results at the Ghent University public lecture, Dr Zahi Hawass requested to stop communicating our results, intimidating the Mataha Expedition team members with Egyptian National Security sanctions. After 2 years of patience we decided June 2010, to oppose all cunning and deceit by posting the conclusion on the labyrinthofegypt.com website:


The Mataha – expedition geophysic research confirms the presence of archaeological features at the labyrinth area south of the Hawara pyramid of Amenemhet III. These features covering an underground area of several hectares, have the prominent signature of vertical walls on the geophysical results. The vertical walls with an average thickness of several meters, are connected to shape nearly closed rooms, which are interpreted to be huge in number.

The Labyrinth data are acquired mainly from 2 scanned surfaces at the labyrinth area south of the pyramid. One scan survey of 150m by 100m on the right site of the Bahr Wahbi canal, and one on the left site (80m by 100m). Two considerations regarding the conclusion. First, seen the survey provided only two big puzzles; the total size and shape of the labyrinth can not yet been concluded. Secondly, the data of the labyrinth are accurate, because of the exceptional dimensions of the structure, but groundwater affected the consistency of the survey. The partial defacement of the data is due to the high salinity of the shallow subsurface water and the seasonal fluctuation of this level.


Underneath this upper zone, below the artificial stone surface appears (in spite of the turbid effect of the groundwater) at the depth of 8 to 12 meters a grid structure of gigantic size made of a very high resistivity material like granite stone. This states the presence of a colossal archaeological feature below the labyrinth “foundation” zone of Petrie, which has to be reconsidered as the roof of the still existing labyrinth. The conclusion of the geo-archaeological expedition counters in a scientific way the idea that the labyrinth was destructed as a stone quary in Ptolemaic times and validates the authenticity of the classical author reports. The massive grid structure of the labyrinth is also out of angle by 20° to 25° from the Hawara pyramid

n analysis shifting the contemporary idea of the labyrinth as funerary temple and its supposed construction age, but on the other hand it hardens Herodotus accuracy, who described the nearby pyramid to be at the corner of the labyrinth. It might even be considered that the remains of the labyrinth run unaffectedly underneath the canal, which crosses the total Hawara area. Like the scanned Labyrinth sections on both sides of Bahr Wahbi canal have similar and parallel grids on the geophysical results

Mataha Project

I'm sure the reason that Hawass blocked the international announcement of the results at the time was that he was playing his usual game of inviting investigation and when promising results derived cutting the investigative team out of the picture in order to make future discovery himself,

Howdy Kantzveldt

Interesting thread, I went out to that site in '83 I wonder why they didn't just sink a test pit? The sandy soil is easy to dig there and with appropriated sand retainers you can dig down a meter x meter an hour.

Nevertheless

I sent you a message on a book on an unrelated topic which you might find of interest

a reply to: Spider879

Interesting, I don't know if that is a connection, but the Khon may have links to priest. Kohen is priest in Hebrew, its KHN. I'm just jiving here though. I haven't looked at khonsu much, but he is pictured very similarly to Ptah, who would directly correspond to Kothar-wa-Khasis.

a reply to: Hanslune


Howdy and thanks again for the book link.


What were your impressions when visiting the site with regards to the suggested stone foundation/roof platform, is this still in any way visible or buried under the sand and chippings?

With regards to test pits which would seem the obvious investigatory approach would one soon encounter level stone and have to cut through that?

The uppermost level readings for the walls are at 8 metres below the surface so there would be considerable depth to achieve and seemingly a layer of stone to get through, and it would all be a question of permission, which may only have been for general scanning.

One further description i forgot to add of the Labyrinth is from the 1st century, the last, but seemingly the one that most corresponds to the Geo-Physics results;

Pomponius Mela (1st century AD): One passage in his chorographia, Book I, 9, 56.

The building of Psammetich, the Labyrinth, includes within the circuit of one unbroken wall 1000 houses and 12 palaces, and is built of marble as well as being roofed with the same material. It has one descending way into it, and contains within almost innumerable paths, which have many convolutions twisting hither and thither. These paths, however, cause great perplexity both because of their continual winding and because of their porticoes which often reverse their direction, continually running through one circle after another and continually turning and retracing their steps as far as they have gone forwards with the result that the Labyrinth is fraught with confusion by reason of its perpetual meandering, though it is possible to extricate oneself.

The only further mention is SeptimIus Severus visiting it around 200 AD;

According to the Historia Augusta, Septimius Severus 17, 4 (early 4th century AD) Septimius Severus visited the Labyrinth site during his journey in Egypt in 199-200 AD. The state of preservation of the building at that time is not clear, but its symbolic meaning and fame have remained

The last description makes it clear the Labyrinth was underground with only a single descending entranceway, and one can only conclude that at a date later than 200 AD this became blocked and lost, possibly the Temple complex closing and being abandoned during the Christian era when the cult of Sobek ended, the Labyrinth perhaps being seen as the infernal dominion of Satan himself.

All the circumstantial evidence then and accounts suggest it should still be there underground if the entrance could be refound.

a reply to: Kantzveldt

Sounds like a great movie idea. I'd say Indiana Jones, but ole Harrison is well Oooold

Do you think this place was ever above ground? Say 100,000 years ago, and they had to build an entrance down into it.

Connections to the resonance chambers on Crete? ( I think its Crete)

a reply to: zardust


The impression i get considering all the accounts, and particularly with regards to Strabo's description of the flat trapezium shaped place, is that what was seen above ground was as say the uppermost part of a huge bunker that had many levels within it, that to some extent a retaining wall had been built around this and was described as continuous.

What you see then with the large flat area is the roof, probably bedrock excavated from within up to 8 metres thick , but there could well be sides to this to some extent. It seemed they covered this with a layer of white gypsum and chippings to prevent anything growing upon it, and that the visible area of the rectangular construction made it's own impression, probably as representing the Pegasus square.

When one looks at the entrance to the Pyramid of the 12th Dynasty this appears built against a much more megalithic construction indicating to me there could have been construction at the site before the Middle Kingdom, and thus they were only adding to it, as the Pyramid would relate to the Labyrinth perhaps the entrance way is not so far from it.






But yes someone really does need to discover this as the place was by repute the greatest marvel of Egypt.

Fascinating, mans obsession with the Reptile.
Perhaps distorted from early mans original holistic view of creation.
Civilization bred power, greed, corruption, and control.........to early man, Earth was the mother, The Rainbow serpent the Creator.

"The Rainbow Serpent

The Rainbow Serpent is often described as the primary figure in the chronicle of Creation. In this myth, she creates many natural features and human beings and establishes the foundation of totemism.

In the Dreamtime all the earth lay sleeping. Nothing grew. Nothing moved. Everything was quiet and still. The animals, birds, and reptiles lay sleeping under the earth’s crust. Then one day the Rainbow Serpent awoke from her slumber and pushed her way through the earth’s crust, moving the stones that lay in her way.

When she emerged, she looked about her and then traveled over the land, going in all directions. She traveled far and wide, and when she grew tired she curled herself into a heap and slept. Upon the earth she left her winding tracks and the imprint of her sleeping body. When she had traveled all the earth, she returned to the place where she had first appeared and called to the frogs, “Come out!”

The frogs were very slow to come from below the earth’s crust, for their bellies were heavy with water which they had stored in their sleep. The Rainbow Serpent tickled their stomachs, and when the frogs laughed, the water ran all over the earth to fill the tracks of the Rainbow Serpent’s wanderings – and that is how the lakes and rivers were formed.

Then the grass began to grow, and trees sprang up, and so life began on earth. All the animals, birds, and reptiles awoke and followed the Rainbow Serpent, the Mother of Life, across the land. They were happy on earth, and each lived and hunted for food with his own tribe. The kangaroo, wallaby, and emu tribes lived on the plains, the reptile tribes lived among the rocks and stones, and the bird tribes flew through the air and lived in the trees.

The Rainbow Serpent made laws that all were asked to obey, but some grew quarrelsome and were troublemakers. The Rainbow Serpent scolded them, saying, “Those who keep my laws I shall reward well, I shall give to them a human form. They and their children and their children’s children shall roam this earth forever. This shall be their land. Those who break my laws I shall punish. They shall be turned to stone, never to walk the earth again.”

So the law breakers were turned to stones, and became mountains and hills, to stand forever and watch over the tribes hunting for food at their feet. But those who kept her laws she turned into human form, and gave each of them his own totem of the animal, bird, or reptile whence they came. So the tribes knew themselves by their own totems: the kangaroo, the emu, the carpet snake, and many, many more. And in order that none should starve, she ruled that no man should eat of his own totem, but only of other totems. In this way there was food for all.

So the tribes lived together in the land given to them by the Mother of Life, the Rainbow Serpent, and they knew that the land would always be theirs, and that no one should ever take it from them."

The first peoples of Australia.