Rainbow Serpent

The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator god, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion of many Aboriginal Australian peoples. Much like the archetypal mother goddess, the Rainbow Serpent creates land and diversity for the Aboriginal people, but when disturbed can bring great chaos. There are many names and stories associated with the serpent, all of which communicate the significance and power of this being within Aboriginal mythology, which includes the worldview commonly referred to as The Dreaming. The serpent is viewed as a giver of life through its association with water, but can be a destructive force if angry. The Rainbow Serpent is one of the most common and well-known Aboriginal stories and is of great importance to Aboriginal society. Not all of the myths in this family describe the ancestral being as a snake. Of those that do, not all of them draw a connection with a rainbow. However, a link with water or rain is typical. The rainbow is associated with a waterhole in a wide range of regions across Australia, in various states and in much of the state of Western Australia. When the rainbow is seen in the sky, it is said to be the Rainbow Serpent (Dhakkan) moving from one water-hole (or panhole) to another (as in Kabi Kabi lore). Thus a reliable watering hole (or rather, "rock hole") is regarded as being the permanent dwelling of a rainbow serpent, an understandable piece of folklore where so many water-holes dry up in the drought. The Rainbow Serpent Festival is an annual festival of music, arts and culture in Victoria.