The Dreaming and Dreamtime Stories

The Dreamtime, Also Known as The Dreaming, Is the Core of Aboriginal Culture

The Dreamtime is the framework within which Aboriginal peoples understand their place in the universe, their relationships with their kin, and their connections with the land. In it, the temporal, the spiritual, and the natural are interconnected, and life is part of a larger order.

Above Image: ‘The Rainbow Serpent’, ©Goobalathaldin Dick Roughsey

Preface

It's worth clarifying at the outset that the terms 'The Dreaming' or 'The Dreamtime' are European translations, and other words could have been used. Words like eternal and everywhen have been suggested, but they too do not perfectly capture the original concept as expressed in Aboriginal languages. The Warlpiri people, for instance, use the term 'Jukurrpa'. The terms 'Dreaming' and 'Dreamtime' come mainly from early anthropologists, and offer a simplified view of a complex, deeply rooted concept. One key thing to keep in mind: the Dreaming does not relate to unreality or to dreams.

Understanding the Dreamtime asks for an approach that moves beyond literal interpretation. It is not confined to a single, linear point of reference. It is a dimension that ties together the past, present, and future in one continuum of existence and experience.

One way to approach this from a Western frame is to consider the scale of the universe: around 2 trillion galaxies, each holding hundreds of billions of stars, and Earth a single speck within it. Eckhart Tolle put it this way: "You are not IN the universe, you ARE the universe, an intrinsic part of it. Ultimately you are not a person, but a focal point where the universe is becoming conscious of itself." Just as we are part of the universe rather than separate observers of it, the Dreamtime is not something Aboriginal people stand outside of, but something they are part of, past, present, and future held together at once.

In reading about the Dreaming and Dreamtime stories and their expression in Aboriginal Art, it helps to keep this in mind, and to look beyond the surface into the spiritual and cultural layers with an open mind.

After covering general information, please find specific details below relating to:

1. Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime Story
2. The Seven Sisters Dreamtime Story
3. The Wandjina Dreamtime Story
4. Water Dreamtime Stories

The Dreamtime

The Dreamtime runs through all aspects of Aboriginal culture, underpinning the social, spiritual, and moral order of Aboriginal life. It bridges past, present, and future in a cyclical continuum where ancestral spirits and their earthly incarnations co-exist.

The Dreamtime is also the realm where the Ancestral Beings roam. These spiritual entities, often embodied as animals or natural elements, are credited with creating the world and its inhabitants during the time of creation. Each Aboriginal group has its own Ancestral Beings and creation stories, tied to specific places within their traditional lands. The paths these beings traversed across the land, often called 'Songlines', 'Dreaming Tracks' or 'Dreaming Paths', form a web of routes connecting significant sites or 'Sacred Sites' across Australia.

The Dreamtime also carries a moral code that guides the way of life. It sets the laws for social conduct, responsibilities towards kin, respect for elders, stewardship of the land, and protocols for sharing and passing on knowledge. In this way it forms the basis of Aboriginal law and order, upholding social harmony and mutual respect within the community.

The Dreamtime gives Aboriginal people a deep sense of identity and belonging, tethering them to their ancestors, their country, and their spiritual heritage. It remains a vital part of Aboriginal culture, fostering resilience and unity, despite the challenges faced since colonisation.

What Are Dreamtime Stories?

Embedded in the Dreamtime are many stories, or 'Dreaming Stories'. These narratives carry the journeys and deeds of Ancestral Beings, and serve as a traditional way of conveying moral codes, survival techniques, and environmental knowledge.

Dreamtime stories are a core part of Aboriginal oral tradition. Passed from one generation to the next, they portray the deeds of Ancestral Beings, the making of the natural world, and the emergence of human societies. They carry multiple layers of meaning, from simple moral fables to sophisticated philosophical discourses.

At their core, Dreamtime stories are living repositories of knowledge. They hold essential survival information, such as the locations of water sources, the habits of animals, and the seasonal availability of food. They also offer practical wisdom on social interaction, conflict resolution, and moral conduct.

They also have a deep spiritual resonance, articulating the bond between Aboriginal peoples and their environment. Many are geographically specific, connected to particular landscapes, landmarks, and ecological features. They express the perception of the land as a spiritual entity, imbued with the essence of the Ancestral Beings and entrusted to people's care.

Dreamtime stories thus play a critical role in preserving and transmitting Aboriginal culture and knowledge. They function as educational tools, teaching younger generations the cultural history, traditional practices, social norms, and spiritual beliefs of their people. By keeping these stories alive, Aboriginal societies ensure the continuity of their heritage.

The Genesis of Aboriginal Art

Artistic expression in Aboriginal societies dates back millennia, with ancient rock art sites attesting to the skill of Indigenous Australians. This section traces the journey of Aboriginal Art, from its ancient beginnings to its contemporary forms.

Aboriginal Art, in its varied forms, has been part of Indigenous cultural practice for thousands of years. Evidence of it can be found etched on the walls of rock shelters, carved into trees, engraved on ceremonial objects, and painted on bodies during traditional rituals. These practices reflect the early Indigenous Australians' spiritual connection with the Dreamtime and their need to articulate it through visual means.

One of the most potent forms of traditional Aboriginal Art is rock painting, a practice believed to date back over 30,000 years. Sites such as Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region in Western Australia hold rock art galleries showing human figures, animals, mythical beings, and abstract symbols. These ancient canvases are cultural archives, preserving the beliefs, structures, and environmental knowledge of the Aboriginal people.

Traditional Aboriginal Art also includes bark painting, body painting, wood carving, and weaving. Each uses distinctive techniques, materials, and symbols, reflecting the diversity within Aboriginal societies. Some of these forms are utilitarian; others serve ceremonial, spiritual, storytelling, or knowledge-keeping purposes.

In the late 20th century, Aboriginal Art changed significantly with the rise of the contemporary Aboriginal Art movement. Indigenous artists began to use modern materials and techniques, translating their ancestral narratives and iconography onto canvas. This shift led to the global recognition of Aboriginal Art. Today it continues to evolve, yet remains grounded in the Dreamtime.

For further reading on the history of Aboriginal Art and Aboriginal Art Symbols please read:

1. Aboriginal Art of Australia: Understanding its History
2. Aboriginal Art Symbols

Dreamtime Art

Aboriginal Art, rooted in the Dreamtime, is an expression of Aboriginal cosmology, social norms, and ancestral narratives. Each artwork, whatever its medium or period, carries the Dreamtime's relationship with past, present, and future.

Each work communicates the connection between the people, their land, their ancestral heritage, and their spirituality. This bond, preserved and expressed over millennia, sits at the core of each artwork, adding depth beyond the purely visual.

Understanding Aboriginal Art means engaging with the philosophy and wisdom the works embody, not just observing their forms and patterns. As we work through these expressions, we begin to read the meanings within them, and to understand an ancient culture and its conception of reality.

Exploring Aboriginal Art also opens up questions of cultural preservation and respect. The works reveal the sacred connection of Aboriginal peoples with the natural world, their communal responsibilities, and their spiritual knowledge. These underscore why it matters to acknowledge, preserve, and respect these traditions.

Why Dreamtime Art Matters

Dreamtime art plays a role across many parts of Aboriginal culture and society. It preserves heritage: Indigenous artists put the tales, customs, and knowledge of the Dreaming onto canvas, creating an enduring record of ancestral heritage handed down across generations.

It also consolidates cultural identity. The narratives, symbols, and iconography of the Dreaming find a voice in art, making it an emblem of cultural pride and continuity, and a counter-narrative to the impacts of colonisation.

Because ancestral narratives are so often tied to specific landscapes, landmarks, and sacred sites, the art reaffirms the bond between Indigenous people and their ancestral lands. Artists capture the interdependence between land, ancestral beings, and human existence in their works.

Dreamtime art is also a means of empowerment, letting Aboriginal artists reclaim, assert, and share their own narratives and perspectives. By telling their stories through their art, artists challenge stereotypes and assert autonomy over how their culture is represented. For non-Indigenous audiences, the work opens a window into Aboriginal spiritual and cultural life and can foster understanding and reconciliation.

There are economic and social effects too. The growing recognition of Aboriginal Art, at home and abroad, has opened new prospects for artists and their communities. Income from art sales, exhibitions, and cultural tourism supports sustainable livelihoods and employment, while reinforcing cultural pride and traditional practice.

Through their work, Aboriginal artists continue to shape the narrative of the Dreaming, ensuring its legacy and adding to the wider artistic landscape.

Dreamtime Narratives

The Dreamtime holds countless stories that explain the origins of the land, its people, and the connections between them. Here, we’ll take a closer look at a few significant narratives.

The Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime Story

Rooted in the beliefs and mythologies of Australian Aboriginal groups, this ancient narrative brings together creation, nature, and spiritual wisdom. Aboriginal artists have played a key role in capturing the Rainbow Serpent through their work.

At the heart of the story is the Rainbow Serpent itself. Often shown as a large, vibrant snake, it embodies the creative life force that shaped the world. In the Dreamtime, the Rainbow Serpent roamed the land, its body carving rivers, creating waterholes, shaping landscapes, and breathing life into plants, animals, and humans.

L: Wanampi Tjukurpa - Mythical Rainbow Snake Creation Story, 2009, ©Tiger Palpatja
R: Garimala (The Two Snakes) 1988, ©Ginger Riley Munduwalawala

The Rainbow Serpent holds deep spiritual significance for many Aboriginal Peoples, particularly those in desert regions. Believed to dwell in waterholes and to travel beneath the ground or among storm clouds, it holds sway over rainfall, and so over the fate of communities. It became an emblem of fertility, abundance, and the interconnectedness of all living beings.

The Rainbow Serpent is powerful, capable of conjuring storms, gales, and torrential rain. Those who fail to approach it with proper deference risk its retribution. As a guardian of water, it holds power over life and death in the arid desert. In Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, it embodies prosperity and fertility in both the natural world and human society. It can confer conception spirits upon waterholes, and can exact justice on those who transgress age-old customs and laws.

Approaching a waterhole is an act of reverence for Aboriginal peoples. Beyond its role in shaping the physical world, the Rainbow Serpent is revered as a spiritual guardian, and communities hold a deep respect for its enduring presence in the land. Its spirit is believed to continue to guide and protect the natural environment and its inhabitants. Through rituals, ceremonies, and respect for sacred sites, Aboriginal peoples maintain a harmonious relationship with it, honouring their responsibilities as custodians of the land.

Known as Ngalyod in the Kuninjku language of Arnhem Land, the Rainbow Serpent has a close relationship with water sources such as creeks and rivers. Its influence extends to waterborne flora, including waterlilies, vines, and palms. The shedding of its skin symbolises renewal and the capacity to rejuvenate life's cycle. Mythological accounts often portray a creature that consumes humans, then releases them transformed.

The Rainbow Serpent story carries symbolism and significance within Aboriginal communities. It works as a teaching tool, imparting moral lessons, ecological wisdom, and ancestral heritage to younger generations. It underscores the importance of balance, harmony, and respect for the natural world, and instils a sense of belonging and connection with the land.

L: Untitled (Rainbow Serpent), ©Rover Thomas, c1986
R: Ngalyod - the Rainbow Serpent, ©Jimmy Njiminjuma, c1985

The Rainbow Serpent takes many names and totemic forms across different Aboriginal languages and communities. Sacred sites associated with it require reverence and custodial care. Following the prescribed protocols at these sites is essential, since transgressions are believed to bring afflictions, accidents, and nature's upheavals. There are also Rainbow Serpent sites where people are welcome to hunt, fish, and swim.

The Rainbow Serpent story has moved from oral tradition into many forms of Aboriginal Art. Artists capture its colours and sinuous form on canvas, bark, and rock. These works convey the beauty of the narrative and serve as a means of cultural preservation, sharing its significance with the wider world.

In appreciating the Rainbow Serpent story and the artists who paint it, it is important to approach it with respect and cultural sensitivity. Aboriginal communities have guarded these narratives for thousands of years. By engaging in dialogue, supporting Indigenous artists, and promoting cultural appreciation, we can help preserve them.

The Seven Sisters Dreamtime story

Across many Aboriginal language groups, the Seven Sisters Dreamtime Story speaks to sisterhood, resilience, and the pursuit of autonomy. It continues to resonate across generations, and is shared through Aboriginal artworks.

L Pleiades seen with Venus R Pleiades seen with the naked eye (upper-left corner), Wikipedia

The Seven Sisters, a cluster of stars widely known as the Pleiades, appear in the night sky. In the lore of many Aboriginal language groups, though not all, they are seven ancestral women pursued across the heavens by a suitor, or suitors, whom they use their wit to elude. The story is told in many forms across most of the continent. The names, details, and events vary by country and language, and some layers of it are sacred and closely tied to ceremony. What follows is the openly shared shape of the story.

In the Warlpiri telling, the sisters are women of the Napaljarri skin group. They are pursued by the Jampijinpa man 'wardilyka', the bush turkey, who represents the Orion's Belt cluster of stars and who is in love with them. The Morning Star, Jukurra-jukurra, is a Jakamarra man who is also in love with the sisters and is often shown chasing them across the night sky. In some paintings the Evening Star, Yantarlarangi (Venus), chases the sisters too, for having stolen the night from her. In a final attempt to escape, the sisters turn themselves into fire and rise into the heavens to become stars.

Their journey shapes the sky and also leaves its mark on the physical landscape of Australia. Mountains, valleys, and waterways bear witness to it, creating a connection between the heavenly and earthly domains. The land becomes a record of their resilience and the endurance of their story.

The Seven Sisters story holds deep spiritual significance for Aboriginal communities. It embodies the strength of sisterhood, the spirit of independence, and the courage to defy oppressive forces, and it resonates with themes of self-discovery, autonomy, and liberation.

Artists depict the Seven Sisters in their paintings, translating the story onto canvas. Through colour and pattern, they capture the sisters' journey, inviting viewers into it.

L: Seven Sisters Dreaming, ©Alma Nungarrayi Granites, 2012
R: Seven Sisters, ©Tjungkara Ken, 2021

What makes the Seven Sisters so remarkable is that the same stars carry strikingly similar stories on the far side of the world. In Greek myth, the Pleiades are seven sisters, daughters of the Titan Atlas, pursued by the hunter Orion, whose constellation still appears to chase them across the sky. The parallel with the Aboriginal tellings is hard to ignore: seven sisters, a pursuer bound up with the same stars in Orion, and the constellations locked in an endless chase overhead. Australian astrophysicists Ray and Barnaby Norris have argued that the resemblance may be no coincidence, and that the shared story could date back to before the ancestors of European and Aboriginal Australian peoples separated, perhaps 100,000 years ago, which would make it one of the oldest surviving human stories.

The cluster appears in cultures across the globe. The Maori of New Zealand know it as Matariki, and its dawn reappearance in midwinter marks the Maori new year. In Japan it is Subaru, meaning 'gathered together'. In southern Africa it was called IsiLimela, the 'digging stars', whose rising signalled the time to begin hoeing the ground. Many of these cultures call it 'Seven Sisters' even though most people see only six stars, a puzzle that may itself point to how ancient the story is.

As custodians of this narrative, Aboriginal communities preserve and share it with reverence. Through oral tradition, visual arts, and cultural practices, they ensure its teachings endure for present and future generations.

The Wandjina Spirit and Dreamtime Story

Within the culture of the Aboriginal Peoples of the Kimberley region lies the Wandjina. The Wandjina (also written Wanjina and Wondjina, and also known as Gulingi) Dreamtime story is painted across the rock galleries and caves of the Kimberley region in Western Australia. It speaks of the Rain Maker spirit, the Wandjina, whose presence is associated with the seasonal regeneration of the land and all natural resources.

L: Kimberley thunderstorms during the wet season
R: Wandjina rock art, Bigge Island, The Kimberley

The Wandjina story is shared by several language groups across the west and coastal areas of the Kimberley, including the Ngarinyin, Worrorra, and Wunambul people. It binds these communities together, connecting them to the ancestral beings who shaped their land, imparted spiritual knowledge, and bestowed the gift of rain.

Wandjina are often depicted as large, otherworldly figures with distinct features, such as round faces, large eyes, and intricate headdresses and body decorations.

Wandjina rock art, Barnett River, The Kimberley

The Wandjina images, marked in red and white ochre, are an integral part of this tradition. They adorn the walls of significant ritual sites, preserving the essence of the Wandjina and ensuring its continued presence in the lives of the Aboriginal people. The repainting of these images every decade reflects the deep and ongoing relationship between the communities and the Rain Maker spirit.

The Wandjina is regarded as the most significant Creation Spirit in the Dreamtime story of this region. Its association with rain goes beyond weather; it represents the cyclical rejuvenation of the land and all natural resources. The Wandjina's power to bring rain is symbolised by the dots covering its body, which represent the life-giving force that sustains the land.

The imagery around the head of the Wandjina often includes thunderstorms, lightning, and torrential rain. These are incorporated into ceremonial dances that pay homage to the Rain Maker spirit, with headdresses referring to lightning and thunder.

For the Mowanjum community near Derby in the Kimberley, the Wandjina brings rain and also carries the law, culture, and language of their people. Their Dreaming stories tell of the first Wandjina, Idjair, residing in the Milky Way and being the father of all Wandjinas. Idjair's first son, Wandjina Wallungunder, played a vital role in the creation of the Earth and all life upon it, and bestowed the laws of the Wandjinas upon the Gyorn Gyorn people, the first human beings. Wallungunder's journey to bring back more Wandjinas symbolises the connection between the different language groups of Mowanjum, with each Wandjina representing a specific group.

The rock paintings of the Wandjina carry an immense sense of antiquity, with some estimates suggesting they have existed for over 4,000 years. They often coexist with even older Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw figures) paintings, creating a layered record of the region's cultural history. While the Gwion Gwion art has withstood time, the Wandjina paintings are more vulnerable to it. To ensure the continuity of the Rain Maker spirit's presence, contemporary Aboriginal artists continue to repaint rock surfaces and to depict the Wandjina on canvas, allowing the image to reach beyond its traditional sites.

Anthropologist Kim Ackerman provides insights into the Wandjina, offering valuable descriptions and interpretations of their significance and cultural context.

L: Diagram of Wunambal Wanjina based on field notes of Kim Ackerman ©Kim Ackerman
R: Alec Mingelmanganu, Wandjina, c. 1980 ©Alec Mingelmanganu

''..The identification with Wanjinas is reflected in their inclusion as major motifs in contemporary art of the north-central Kimberley that has seen shifts from paintings executed on the walls of caves and overhangs, to paintings on sheets of bark and ultimately industrial materials, from chipboard to the finest artist canvases. Regardless of actual size, the proportions of good Wanjina paintings project a sense of cyclopean grandeur – a massive, looming ruggedness from which the large, penetrating eyes quizzically regard the viewer.

Wanjina beings are usually depicted as anthropomorphic figures, sometimes full length but also often as busts - with just head and shoulders portrayed. The head is often surrounded by one or more halo-like headdresses or by radiating ‘plumes’. The mouth is not depicted - although at least one artist, Charlie Numbulmoore, began to include mouth and teeth in the Wanjina paintings he made toward the end of his life. There is often an oval or sub-oval mark in the central chest region. Where the full body is depicted, Wanjinas are often shown with a hair belt around the midriff, and major joints as well as fingers and toes are indicated. Gender is not always obvious although female Wanjinas may be depicted with breasts. Wanjinas are believed to be responsible for the maintenance of the seasonal cycle - especially the Wet Season that reinvigorates the land after the drought conditions of the dry winter and early summer. Wanjinas are intimately associated with the Ungurr Rainbow Serpents. Clan leaders stimulate and encourage the Wanjinas to fulfil their roles as agents of fertility and growth by repainting their images located in the shelters in caves.''

The Wandjina Dreamtime story speaks to the enduring power of the Rain Maker spirit and its significance to the Aboriginal communities of the Kimberley. It invites us to appreciate the balance between people and the natural world, and stands as a testament to the cultural heritage of the region.

Water Dreaming and Dreamtime Stories

Water holds deep significance in the art and spirituality of Aboriginal communities across Australia. It features in many Dreamtime stories, cultural practices, and artworks that revolve around this life-giving element.

Ngurrara Canvas (10x8 meters), Created by the senior traditional owners of the Great Sandy Desert, May 1997. ©Ngurrara Artists. This incredible painting was used to show the artists' connection to their country during their Native Title claim and highlights the importance of water sites to the claimants in this vast area, albeit only a small part of the Australian continent.

From the coast to the arid deserts, water Dreaming stories reflect the connection between Aboriginal people and their environments, and the importance of water as both a physical need and a spiritual entity.

Water sources such as rockholes, springs, rivers, and billabongs are vital elements of traditional knowledge and ritual life. These sites are carefully maintained to keep them clean and accessible, since they are crucial lifelines in arid regions.

The geology of Australia's desert regions gives waterholes and springs varied characteristics. Some are permanent, often called 'living water', holding water year-round thanks to reliable underground sources. Others are ephemeral, known as soakages or rockholes by some Aboriginal peoples, filling only after rainfall and drying up in drier seasons. Their size and depth also vary, from shallow pools to deep reservoirs.

Shaped by millions of years of geological processes, these water sources are vital for the survival of plants, animals, and Aboriginal communities in Australia's desert environments.

Kurtal by Ngarralja Tommy May with a photograph of the Great Sandy Desert site inset. ©Ngarralja Tommy May & Mangkaja Artist Resource Agency

Kurtal waterhole is described as one of the most important sacred waterholes in the Great Sandy Desert. Ngarralja Tommy May is one of the custodians of Kurtal, and about the rainmaker he says, ‘Kurtal is the Kalpurtu (Rainbow Serpent) that brings the rain. He is extremely powerful, not just anyone can talk to him. There is an important Junba (ceremony) that happens for him. He’ll come out, then he’ll bring the storm and it will rain’.

For Aboriginal communities, waterholes hold great cultural and spiritual importance. Ceremonies are often held at these sites to commemorate their creation and maintain a connection with ancestral roots. Birthplaces are frequently located near waterholes, further emphasising water's significance. Seasonal ceremonies are performed to invoke the rains that regenerate plants and provide sustenance for animals and people.

Raining on Kurtal, Ngarralja Tommy May, 2016 and a Kimberley rainstorm. ©Ngarralja Tommy May

Kurtal is the Jila (living spring), Kurtal is the Kalpurtu (Rainbow Serpent) that makes the rain, Kurtal is the ancestors. This work is Kurtal rising up and making it rain. - Ngarralja Tommy May

Water Dreaming sites are tied to the land and its water sources: rivers, creeks, billabongs, soakages, and springs. These sustain both the physical and spiritual wellbeing of the people and the land. The Dreamtime stories associated with water Dreaming often narrate the creation of these sources, their place in the natural order, and the ancestral beings responsible for them.

Bandilngan (Windjana Gorge) National Park is part of a 375 million-year-old Devonian reef system. Carved by the Lennard River, Bandilngan is over three kilometres long with 300-metre-high walls.

One example of the importance of water Dreaming in the Central Desert region comes from the Warlpiri people of Central Australia. They have a deep connection to the country associated with their 'ngapa Jukurrpa' (water Dreaming), including the site of Mikanji, a watercourse west of Yuendumu. Though typically dry, Mikanji holds essential 'mulju' (soakages) within its creek bed.

In the Warlpiri water Dreaming narrative, one story describes the journey of the water Dreaming from Puyurru, northwest of Yuendumu, to a soakage in the Mikanji creek. During the journey a great storm is unleashed, bringing life-giving rains. The story features two old blind Nampijinpa women sitting by the soakages. As they strain their eyes to see the sky, tears well up, and their emotions manifest as rain. The spirits of these women can still be seen at Mikanji as two 'ngapiri' or river red gum trees growing near the soakage.

This water Dreaming also intertwines with other narratives. In one, the storm created at Mikanji is picked up by a 'kirrkarlanji' or brown falcon, which carries it on its wings and drops it at Pirlinyarnu (Mt. Farewell), where it forms a significant 'maluri' or claypan. This claypan holds a 'mulju' or soakage that sustains life in the area.

Water Dreaming stories vary across language groups, communities, and regions. Each carries elements specific to the land, water sources, and ancestral beings of that area. The Dreaming tracks may traverse vast distances, linking locations and creating a connection between communities and across languages.

In the coastal regions, water Dreaming often relates to the ocean, tides, and marine life. The Yolngu people of Arnhem Land, for example, have Dreamtime stories that explain the creation of saltwater and freshwater environments and the interactions between ancestral beings and marine creatures. These stories emphasise the interplay between land and sea.

Yolngu man spear fishing in Arnhem Land. Via Venture North Safaris

In the arid regions, water Dreaming is bound up with the concept of 'living water' or 'Jila'. The Martu people of the Western Desert, for instance, have Dreamtime stories associated with the creation of waterholes and the movements of ancestral beings across the desert. These stories reinforce the connection between the Martu people, the land, and the water sources scattered through the harsh desert environment.

Our Country (5x3m), Collaborative work by 10 Martu Artists, 2011. This work depicts the Canning Stock Route and the wells along it and illustrates the artists' intimate knowledge of their country, the importance of fire to manage county, the vast sand hills and underground water sources, and Martu Jukurrpa (Dreaming). ©Martumili Artists

Water Dreaming is not confined to specific stories but also encompasses broader cultural practices. Water is a sacred element, and ceremonies and rituals associated with water Dreaming play a significant role in many Aboriginal cultures. These often involve singing, dancing, and the creation of artworks that depict the Dreaming stories and ancestral beings associated with water.

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography represents the 'Jukurrpa' (Dreaming), associated sites, and other elements. In many paintings of this Dreaming, short dashes represent 'mangkurdu' (cumulus and stratocumulus clouds), symbolising water and rain. Longer, flowing lines represent 'ngawarra' or floodwaters. Concentric circles often represent specific sites or water sources, while small circles depict 'mulju' or soakages and river beds.

The depiction of water Dreaming in Aboriginal Art serves several purposes. It works as a visual language, communicating the ancestral stories, cultural knowledge, and significance of water Dreaming. It preserves cultural heritage, passing traditional knowledge from one generation to the next. And the making and sharing of these works reinforces the connection between Aboriginal people and their ancestral lands. Equally, Aboriginal Art is a vessel for Aboriginal Peoples to share and celebrate their culture with the wider world, fostering understanding and appreciation, and providing opportunities for economic independence.

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