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Originally posted by OEAOHOO
As for serpents..they're seminal to all proto-religions..why??
Western Culture has situated Aboriginal culture on the margins of dominant society.
Originally posted by Skyfloating
As most of them are described "spitting fire" we can instead assume that they refer to misunderstood technology and aircraft or real deities that roamed the earth long ago.
[edit on 16-5-2008 by Skyfloating]
Originally posted by Shar_Chi
Sorry to be a wet blanket but the rainbow serpent is perhaps their cultural explanation for *ahem* rainbows. The curved shape as it arches out of the ground into the sky and back again as well as the colourful iridescence is matched in the ubiquitous snakes of Australia. Sometimes the obvious solution is the hardest to see.
Don't get me wrong I have more respect for Aboriginal culture than most people I know and place great stock in their myths and legends. The concept of dreamtime for example is mind-expanding, and something our quantum physicists are only just beginning to suspect. They know that our reality is an illusion or merely an iteration. The dreamtime is not just the past but the present and future, the omnipresence of existence beyond our '5-senses' dimension which is perpetually entwined with our perceived reality. Like I said, when you finally 'get it' it makes the jaw drop.
Regarding UFOs yes they are aware of them and have many legends about them, ancient and recent. When I was out near Tennant Creek a few years ago a local elder was telling me how the lights are a VERY regular occurrence in their skies.
Also there is the whole yowie thing and coming to grips with that is at once a frightening and exhilarating experience. I may start a new thread on it soon. The annihilation of Aboriginal people and culture is a damning stain on the soul of Australia whether some choose to acknowledge it or not.
In the case of the Atherton Tableland myths telling of the origins of Lake Eacham, Lake Barine, and Lake Euramo, geological research had dated the same formative volcanic explosions described by Aboriginal myth tellers, as having occurred more than 10 000 years ago. Pollen fossil sampling from the silt that'd settled to the bottom of those craters since their formation confirmed Aboriginal myth-tellers advice that at the time eucalypt forests dominated rather than the current wet tropical rain forests.
Dixon observed, from the evidence available, Aboriginal myths regarding the origin of the Crater Lakes might be dated as accurate back to 10 000 years ago.. Further investigation of these observations by the Australian Heritage Commission lead to the Crater Lakes myth being listed nationally on the Register of the National Estate, and included within Australia's World Heritage nomination of the wet tropical forests, as an "unparalleled human record of events dating back to the Pleistocene era".
Since then Dixon assembled a number of similar examples of Aboriginal myths performed or told around Australia accurately describing the landscapes of an ancient past, particularly noting the large number of myths telling of previous sea levels, including
* the Port Phillip Bay myth recorded as being told to Mr Robert Russell in 1850, describing Port Phillip Bay as dry land once, and the course of the Yarra River being once different (following the then Carrum Carrum swamp) - an oral recollection that would have been accurate 10 000 years ago
* the Great Barrier Reef coastline myth told to Dixon himself in Yarrabah, just south of Cairns telling of a past coastline (since flooded) which stood at the edge of the current Great Barrier Reef, and naming places now completely submerged after the forest types and trees that once grew there - an oral record that would have been accurate 10 000 years ago
* the Lake Eyre myths recorded by J.W Gregory in 1906 telling of the deserts of Central Australia once being fertile, well watered plains and the deserts around present Lake Eyre having been one continuous garden - an oral recollection which matches geologists' understanding that there was a wet phase to the early Holocene when the Lake would have had permanent water.
Originally posted by Shar_Chi
Sorry to be a wet blanket but the rainbow serpent is perhaps their cultural explanation for *ahem* rainbows. The curved shape as it arches out of the ground into the sky and back again as well as the colourful iridescence is matched in the ubiquitous snakes of Australia. Sometimes the obvious solution is the hardest to see.
Originally posted by Tricky63
reply to post by Skyfloating
What a wondeful thread.I do belive we have a shared history.Your research into this subject has reinforced that.Im really looking forward to more.Thank you very much for sharing this with us.