Davidson's Arnhemland Safaris, aboriginal culture.

Aboriginal & Cultural

Rainbow Serpent rock painting - Arnhemland

When you think antiquity, you usually associate it with ancient Egyptian tombs and monuments such as the Great Pyramid of Cheops which was constructed a mere 4,600 years ago. Rock paintings at Mount Borradaile have been dated as originating an incredible 50,000 years in the past, providing a pictorial evidence of the spiritual beliefs and historical events that are the heritage of the world's oldest surviving culture. An 18 foot long Rainbow Serpent, one of the most potent symbols of Aboriginal spiritualism, or the Dreamtime, is shown in the picture on the left.

The Rainbow Serpent originated in Northern Australia at the dawn of the Dreamtime and travelled throughout the land creating mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and plains in its passing. It finally came to rest in Central Australia and from its being emerged spirit people who dispersed to all parts of the country, to create varied but essentially similar lifestyles within the tribal boundaries of their own Dreaming land, with many different languages evolving during this process. Walya-Nam-Adiki (my mother the land) features strongly in Dreamtime lore, bearing many spirit children to populate the land.

Traditional Owner with friends at Mount Borradaile - Arnhemland

Rock painting, Mount Borradaile - Arnhemland

"Dreamtime" usually refers to the time when all things were created, while "Dreaming" is in reference to an individual's or a tribal group's creed of spiritual beliefs. Stories are passed down through the ages by word of mouth, totemically, via rock paintings, ceremonial dances (corroborees) and secret rituals for men or women. All events and life processes are imprinted in the memory of the land, so the Dreaming of a place relates the spiritual echoes of its past. Ancestral spirits still live in the indigenous world of today, in the form of animals, rocks, stars, hills and other sacred places and objects, powerful symbols of an ancient culture that has survived, largely unchanged, for an astonishing 65,000 years. Catacombs and grottos forged by nature over millions of years contain burial sites with human remains, which may be viewed but not photographed, in accordance with the wishes of the traditional custodians of the region. Artefacts of stone and wood, tools and weapons from the distant past, are to be found in many locations. Much of the lease is still unexplored and there may be many more treasures of antiquity yet to be discovered. You will leave Mount Borradaile with a profound feeling of the spirituality of the place, and a desire to return and experience more of the heritage and culture of this ancient land.

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