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 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 sacred Aboriginal colours, said to be given to indigenous people during Tjukurpa*, are Black, Red, Yellow and White.
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.
According to legend, when a rainbow is present in the sky, the snake is traveling between watering holes, keeping them flowing even when drought parches the land. Some natives believe that the rainbow serpent blesses the fertility of women who wade in the water visited by the snake.
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.
Farancia erytrogramma (also known commonly as the rainbow snake, and less frequently as the eel moccasin) is a species of large, nonvenomous, highly aquatic, colubrid snake, which is endemic to coastal plains of the southeastern United States.
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.
Gold conjures images of Australia's beaches, mineral wealth, grain harvests and the fleece of Australian wool. Green evokes the forests, eucalyptus trees and pastures of the Australian landscape. Green and gold are also the colours of Australia's national floral emblem – the golden wattle.
The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is creator of human beings. It has life-giving powers that send conception (fertility) spirits to all the watercourses, such as billabongs, rivers, creeks and lagoons as it is in control of producing rainfall.
An ancient tradition
A powerful immortal and creative being, the Rainbow Serpent is associated with rain and water, fertility and food, and with the prosperity of a community. The earliest representations of Rainbow Serpents are found in rock art and related religious beliefs are at least 6000 years old.
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 curved U shape is a widely used icon in Aboriginal art and symbolises a person. It represents the shape that is left on the sand when a person sits cross legged. The marks that are placed either side of the human symbol can define whether it represents a male or female.
article, tattoo shops, tattooing women. The Aussie pioneer of the Neo-Aboriginal style, Tatu Lu.
Carpet Snake (Morelia spilota) as one of our key totems symbolises the relationship of clan members to each other, to our ancestors and the past, and to particular places or sites. Carpet snakes are important to us for their conservation, wild resource and other cultural values.
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.
Feather. The eagle feather is the symbol of peace, friendship and good luck.
Blue tones (to represent the ocean) and warm tones of brown and orange (to represent the earth) are most commonly used. The symbols can also be used for teaching purposes, catering to both children and adults.
Goorialla, The Great Rainbow Serpent, Way Back in Dreamtime
Goorialla spewed it up again and left it lying in the desert. Many years later his people found the remains and called this great red lump Uluru.
The Dreaming is used to represent Aboriginal concepts of Everywhen, during which the land was inhabited by ancestral figures, often of heroic proportions or with supernatural abilities. These figures were often distinct from gods, as they did not control the material world and were not worshipped but only revered.
The significance of the circle is evident for Aboriginal people in many ways. The circle is a sacred symbol of the interdependence of all forms of life; the circle is a key symbol in Native spirituality, family structure, gatherings of people, meetings, songs and dances (Pewewardy, 1995).
Green and gold were formally proclaimed Australia's national colours in 1984 after many requests for recognition of what had become our traditional sporting colours.
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.