AustLit

'The myths of Australia's Aboriginal peoples are many thousands of years old, with the Rainbow Serpent being the oldest continuous spiritual belief in the world. The Dreaming ties together most aspects of Aboriginal spirituality. This books looks at the formation and meaning of these stories, offering examples from 'public' Dreaming stories where suitable. Aboriginal peoples have an exhaustive history which is retold in the form of legends, myths and part of their belief systems. A country with many peoples developed over more than 50,000 years a series of stories to explain the natural phenomena, the changing climate, the natural world of plants and animals. The spiritual realm of spirit beings was also comprehensively explained in their belief systems. This teacher resource reviews and gives lessons in all of the areas below to comprehensively introduce and discuss this fascinating part of the aboriginal culture. Areas covered include the following, Understanding why Myths and Legends occur, Myths and legends from around the world - other parts of the world and the Aboriginal peoples' patterns of stories and beliefs, Importance of Myths and Legends in Indigenous Societies, Social cohesions, General topics of myths etc - examples from various tribes. Creation Themes - list of key words, How did the themes develop and differ between people/​tribes and changes through time? Nature themes, Cultural stories - examples, Myth and legends - stories examples, Folklore and stories. Sacred Myths and Customs, Totems and birth signs, Songlines - chant of place, creation and making sense of the world and cosmos. Effects of Colonisation, Modern religions and effects - Aboriginal people today and their beliefs and religions, Dissolution and loss of tribal identity.' (Source: TROVE)