What is a Rainbow Serpent?
Q: What is a Rainbow Serpent?
A: A Rainbow Serpent is an animal in the Dreamtime that represents the creation of the mountains, rivers, and lakes in Aboriginal mythology.
Q: Where is the story of the Rainbow Serpent found in Australia?
A: The Rainbow Serpent story is found all across Australia, but is most prominent in Arnhem Land in the northern part of the country.
Q: What are some of the names that the Rainbow Serpent is known by in different Aboriginal languages?
A: The Rainbow Serpent is known by different names, such as Almudj and Ngalyod, in various Aboriginal languages.
Q: Where does the Rainbow Serpent live and what is its significance?
A: The Rainbow Serpent lives in waterholes and controls the supply of water. It is significant because it represents creation and destruction, as well as unity and peace.
Q: How have Aboriginal artists depicted the Rainbow Serpent?
A: Aboriginal artists have painted the Rainbow Serpent on cave walls or on pieces of bark in their artwork.
Q: What is the age of the oldest discovered cave paintings of the Rainbow Serpent and where were they found?
A: The oldest discovered cave paintings of the Rainbow Serpent are about 8,000 years old and were found in Australia.
Q: Why is the Rainbow Serpent a symbol of the world's oldest continuing religion?
A: The Rainbow Serpent is a symbol of creation, destruction, unity, and peace in Aboriginal mythology, which is considered the world's oldest continuing religion.