The Dreaming

The Aboriginal belief system is heavily based on their own story of the Dreaming, which is the Aboriginal creation story. They believe that at the start of the world, it had no form nor shape, yet it was in waiting to be sculpted into the world we have today. In the 'Dreaming' , there were mythic beings called the Ancestors, and they arrived first. These ancestors came in many shapes, however they came mostly in the form of the serpent. The aborigines believe these ancestors traveled across the world shaping the landscape and creating new life throughout the world. Each geographic part of Australia has a separate yet simultaneous story to explain how it came to be. The depth yet abstract nature of the Dreaming creates a sense of another dimension. The Aborigines believed that they are constantly living in the Dreaming and that every time they do something they leave an impression on the other reality, which is 'The Dreaming".


The Aborigines believed that before humans came to be, animals and plants came into being, and their 'souls' existed. They believed that the animal and plant's 'soul' they knew they would become physical, but they didn't know when. And when that time came, all but one of the 'souls' became plants or animals, with the last one becoming human and acting as a custodian or guardian to the natural world around them.

For the Aborigines, The Dreaming "establishes the structures of society, rules for social behavior, and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land". It is said that The Dreaming governs the laws of community, and how people are required to behave in their communities.

According to the Aboriginal view of the world, every event leaves a record in the land. Everything that occurs in the natural world is a direct result of the past, present and future actions of these 'Ancestors', whose actions are continuously creating the world. Most Europeans believe these said Ancestors to be mythical beings, however the Aborigines believe these people exist literally in the past, present and future.

Author Reflection

In comparison to the widespread belief of Christianity, there are many contrasting characteristics of the Aboriginal beliefs. I do not find this to be surprising, considering the fact that there is a large population of the world that believe heavily in a more spiritual connection and creation of the world. In the Christianity belief, there was only one creator of the world, God, and he was the one who created the beings we know today as humans. If one were to look closer at the similarities between the two beliefs, they could possibly find that the Aboriginal belief of "Ancestors" could very well be alluding to the first people of earth that God created, who's actions constructed the past while simultaneously constructing the future. I think the Aboriginal beliefs have a strong foundation when considering the spiritual side of the creation of life, which many religions and belief system fail to acknowledge. The world as whole is very much separated and disconnected from the spiritual world of life. I find it satisfying to know a group of people have taken into consideration a side of life that most people fail to neglect, thus never truly connecting with the earth around us.

-Alyssia Slappey