The Dreamtime

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Information for students in Y7 - 9

 

This picture is called Witchety Grubs. These are large grubs that Aborgines dig up and cook as part of their diet in the Bush.

The Dreamtime of the Aborigines of Australia is not just a collection of stories it is an entire way of life that is unfortunately disappearing.  The aboriginal peoples have a very large collection of myths and stories that have been passed down to different tribal groups for thousands of years. There are a number of creation myths but they all surround the idea that we live in a spiritual world which is called the Dreamtime. This means that the world that we see around us is not simply a physical world,  it is also a spiritual world inhabited by strange beings whom we cannot see in our normal waking lives. The Dreamtime involves art, music, music worship and rituals as well as myths.  The following websites have some excellent information and paintings.

These sites will tell you about the people and has links to some other information that is easy enough for you to read:-

http://www.oneworldmagazine.org/gallery/abo/ 

http://www2.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/multirc/pages/Voices/dreamtime.html

These sites have some good artwork and links:-

http://www.aboriginalartpaintings.com/stories.asp?#story2

http://www.aboriginalart.nl/pages/aart.html

http://www.crystalinks.com/dreamtime.html         

The following is a lovely site where you can hear a  creation story, read it for yourselves or even see a video.  You need to click on your choice in the box on the left of the page when you open it.

http://www.dreamtime.net.au/creation/index.cfm    

You will watch a video in class which was made by National Geographic about the Aboriginal peoples and in particular about the Dreamtime. Use the following story to help you understand the ideas that you see in the video.