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<\/a><\/div>\nAboriginal stories range from the mundane to the truly ethereal and the average Australian\u2019s sense of \u201cfuck it all\u201d gives them a wicked sense of creativity (and humor, as you\u2019ll understand down the list). So for this week\u2019s stop on the tour<\/a>, let\u2019s take a look at something a little unusual with\u2026<\/p>\n Australian folklore, at its roots, is primarily animist. The idea of animism is that everything has a soul, including nature. We\u2019re all familiar with these concepts in the ways of the Native Americans and the like, and the Aboriginal concepts are not much different. But where as most animist religions eventually evolve into something more human-like, bringing about gods and characters to take the place of natural phenomenon, the Australian Aborigines didn\u2019t go about naming their thunder something like Zeus or Thor, nor did they create a god that looked like them.<\/p>\n The Aboriginal people of Australia instead maintained their animist nature and took it a step further by placing all of existence into a dream-like state. And the thing that created that all was, rather than something with a human face, one of the creatures that the Aborigines respected most\u2026 a big fucking snake.<\/p>\n In the beginning of the Dreamtime (which, as you will remember<\/a>, has no real beginning or end), there were many totem entities which molded the formless world into what we recognize today. Some of these entities were animals, some were human, but the one that is often cited to be the creator of all things is the Rainbow Serpent, which created mountains, ridges and valleys as it slithered up from beneath the surface of the Earth.<\/p>\n More importantly, the Rainbow Serpent is said to be in control of the most vital resource, especially for the arid lands of the outback – water. Living within deep permanent bodies of water, especially watering holes, it can control the flow of rivers and the fall of rain. In some cultures it comes to bring the rain, in others it comes to stop it. But what all versions of the story agree on is that it will be involved in the water cycle and that it is a vital part that either prevents drought or prevents flood. Either way, when there is rain, the Serpent isn\u2019t far away.<\/p>\n The different subgroups within the Aborigines have different views on the Serpent and find it can be either one of many totems to create the world or the great creator itself. It can be identified as male or female, as one form or many forms. When represented as female it can sometimes even be depicted with breasts despite being a serpent. But, then again, it has also been depicted as a flying fox, which makes very little sense considering the relationship pythons have with flying foxes.<\/p>\n The serpent is unpredictable and wild, like the weather itself. One could even argue it as a metaphor for the work water itself has done to shape the world. And in that case it\u2019s actually a pretty adept observation of the way river channels can carve the landscape over time. This makes sense with Aborigine culture having the time to study the world around them without much outside interference, being on the Australian continent for nearly 48,000 years.<\/p>\n Still, despite being associated with water itself, the Rainbow Serpent isn\u2019t the sole entity to be bound to those same deep watering holes. And, while the Serpent is clearly based on the rainbow, other things are a little less gently inspired. One such example being\u2026<\/p>\n Water spirits are a major part of the Aboriginal culture. Though they rarely agree on the form of the spirits they inevitably have a shared belief that water is tied to their very existence and the existence of more mystic beings. There are multiple river monsters in the folklore, creator spirits which are based in water and creator spirits which create the water itself. The Murray River, which is the longest river in Australia, actually has multiple river monsters in it, including one simply known as a \u201cwater spirit\u201d. This water spirit was a terrifying creature described to a European that encountered the native people living on that river. Modern belief is that the water spirit described in the 1840s was actually something much more commonly known (but not much understood) creatures of Australian folklore: the Bunyip.<\/p>\n The Bunyip is something of a mystery. Though it\u2019s one of the most commonly shared cryptids of the Australian continent, not many people actually agree what it looks like or how it behaves. The descriptions have varied anywhere from \u201clooking like a starfish\u201d to being some sort of chimeric beast. But the one thing that can be agreed on by all on the continent: it\u2019s not something to be fucked with.<\/p>\n The Bunyip\u2019s most common description today is actually one that was constructed by the colonists while talking to the Aborigines about it. It has the face of a dog with a head shaped like a crocodiles on a dark furry body with a horse-like tail, flippers and Walrus-tusks (or, alternatively, a duck-bill).<\/p>\nAustralian Mythology<\/span><\/h2>\n
The Rainbow Serpent<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\nThe Bunyip<\/h2>\n
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