By: David Wroth,
The three colours of the Aboriginal Flag are bright red, yellow and black. Black represents the Aboriginal people of Australia. Yellow is the life giving sun and red is the colour of the earth.
The sacred Aboriginal colours, said to be given to indigenous people during Tjukurpa*, are Black, Red, Yellow and White.
The Rainbow Serpent is known by different names by the many different Aboriginal cultures. Yurlunggur is the name of the "rainbow serpent" according to the Murngin (Yolngu) in north-eastern Arnhemland, also styled Yurlungur, Yulunggur, Jurlungur, Julunggur or Julunggul. The Yurlunggur was considered "the great father".
The snake has been used as a symbol of strength, creativity and continuity since ancient times across many societies. Using its powers to disappear into the earth and to re-appear in other locations has given the snake a symbolic power that is represented in stories and art.
There is no single moral to the Rainbow Serpent, in the way that myths and fables in the western tradition have them. The story of the Rainbow Serpent teaches Aboriginal peoples to live in a conscious relationship with the cycles of the land and the cycles of the human body.
The four colors (black, white, yellow, and red) embody concepts such as the Four Directions, four seasons, and sacred path of both the sun and human beings. Arrangement of colors vary among the different customs of the Tribes.
Traditionally, the highly creative application of body paint has been used as a way for Aboriginal people to show important aspects of their lives, such as social status, familial group, tribe, ancestry, spirituality and geography.
Australia's national floral emblem is the golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha Benth). When in flower, the golden wattle displays the national colours, green and gold. As one species of a large genus of flora growing across Australia, the golden wattle is a symbol of unity.
The coyote is one of the most well-known symbols in Native American culture, representing a creator god, a spirit, and a significant ancestor. To wear a coyote symbol is to encourage one's own intelligence and craftiness.
KOALAS ARE A TOTEM FOR MANY FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE
The koala is a totem for many Aboriginal people, and totems are a very significant part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and identity.
The First Nations symbol: The Eagle Feather
The Eagle is accorded the highest respect by all First Nations. The Eagle is considered the messenger of the Creator, therefore its feathers are held in high regard. Thus, the eagle feather is the link between the People and the Creator.
This is where the term silver tongue derives from. If you're particularly gullible, silver will capitalize on your trusting disposition.
Red-green and yellow-blue are the so-called "forbidden colors." Composed of pairs of hues whose light frequencies automatically cancel each other out in the human eye, they're supposed to be impossible to see simultaneously. The limitation results from the way we perceive color in the first place.
The color Saffron (Sanskrit: भगवा, lit. 'Bhagwā') is considered as sacred color in Hinduism. According to Hindu mythology, Saffron (or Kesariya) is the color of Sunset (Sandhya) and Fire (Agni) which symbolises sacrifice, light, and quest of salvation.
Blue is the color of spirituality, intuition, inspiration and inner peace. It is also associated with sadness and depression (the "blues"). In healing blue is used for cooling and calming, both physically and mentally.
In the mythology of the ancient Greeks, rainbows were the personification of the goddess Iris. This goddess was a messenger between Heaven and Earth, hence the representation of how the rainbow hangs between the two. In Homer's epic the Iliad, Iris was a winged creature who specifically served as the messenger of Zeus.
The 1996 census reported that almost 72 percent of Aboriginal people practised some form of Christianity, and that 16 percent listed no religion. The 2001 census contained no comparable updated data. The Aboriginal population also includes a small number of followers of other mainstream religions.
The Dreamtime is the period in which life was created according to Aboriginal culture. Dreaming is the word used to explain how life came to be; it is the stories and beliefs behind creation. It is called different names in different Aboriginal languages, such as: Ngarranggarni, Tjukula Jukurrpa.
Aboriginal people learn about their totem through ceremonies, Dreaming stories and by watching them. Today, we can read their stories and do projects about them. Aboriginal people sing songs and tell stories so that everyone knows about their totem.
The most important number is four, the symbol of the horizontal picture of the world, which is most clearly represented among North American Indians: “In its essence, this symbolism stays for a cycle associated with fertility.
Feather. The eagle feather is the symbol of peace, friendship and good luck.