Dreamtime
" vision to see, faith to believe, courage to do.."
While away on holiday in Australia recently I was honoured to meet a local aboriginal tribe from far North Queensland. They told me stories of the spiritual beliefs which is known as DREAMTIME. This belief intrigued me so much that I wanted to share some of there knowledge , beliefs and customs with you, I hope you enjoy there story just as I did. Mike. Aboriginals believe in two forms of time; two parallel streams of activity. One is the daily objective activity, the other is an infinite spiritual cycle called the "dreamtime", more real than reality itself. Whatever happens in the dreamtime establishes the values, symbols, and laws of Aboriginal society. It was believed that some people of unusual spiritual powers had contact with the dreamtime. THE DREAMTIMEThey say we have been here for 40 000 years, but it is much longer - We have been here since time began We have come directly out of the Dreamtime of our creative ancestors - We have kept the earth as it was on the first day.Our culture is focused on recording the origins of life. We refer to forces and powers that created the world as creative ancestors. Our beautiful world has been created only in accordance with the power, wisdom and intentions of our ancestral beings. Dreamtime Mythical past of the Australian Aborigines, the basis of their religious beliefs and creation stories. In the Dreamtime, spiritual beings shaped the land, the first people were brought into being and set in their proper territories, and laws and rituals were established. Belief in a creative spirit in the form of a huge snake, the Rainbow Serpent, occurs over much of Aboriginal Australia, usually associated with waterholes, rain, and thunder. A common feature of religions across the continent is the Aborigines' bond with the land. The Dreamtime stories describe how giants and animals sprang from the earth, sea, and sky and crisscrossed the empty continent of Australia before returning into the earth. The places where they travelled or sank back into the land became mountain ranges, rocks, and sites full of sacred meaning. Rituals, which must be re-enacted at certain times of the year in order to maintain the life of the land, are connected with each site. Each Aborigine has a Dreamtime ancestor associated with a particular animal that the person must not kill or injure. Mike's favourite Dreamtime story which was told to him in the rainforest of Far North Queensland. Bilargun and Daroo 'The Platypus story' When the old people sat around their campfire, they would tell the dreamtime story of the platypus. "Once there was a water rat named Bilargun, while he was out hunting one day, he saw Daroo the duck, and decided that he wanted her as his wife. He silently swam underneath the water and grabbed her legs, and then took her back to his hole in the bank; which was his home. There he made her very comfortable and brought her food every day. They were very happy. Bilargun told Daroo that if ever she was in danger, to hit her tail on the water as a warning signal. After some time, Daroo the duck had some babies, and do you know, they had Daroo the duck’s bill and webbed feet, and Bilargun the water rat's fur coat and a flat tail." To this day the baby's ancestors can still be seen in the creeks and rivers, using the same warning signal. They are now called the 'Duck Bill Platypus'.
