Oban's Myths & Legends
The Rainbow Serpent or Mother of Life
explained by Oban
In the Dreamtime there were no hills or mountains, trees or plants, and no animals or people. There was nothing on the surface of the earth, but underground many things were asleep. One of these was the Rainbow Serpent.
One day she woke up and came up into the sunlight. She slithered around and travelled a long way, leaving long winding tracks in the earth. When she was tired she curled her body around, making a circle-shaped hollow, where she slept.
She moved on again and finally came back to the place where she had started her journey. She called to the frogs who were still sleeping underground, “come out!” The frogs woke up and came out very slowly. Their bodies were heavy because they’d drunk lots of water before they went to sleep.
The Rainbow Serpent tickled their tummies and they laughed. Water ran from their mouths into the tracks that she’d made in the earth. The water ran everywhere and became lakes and rivers.
Grass and trees grew because of the water, and then more animals woke up and came up from underground into the sunlight. They followed the Rainbow Serpent as she slithered from place to place. Some began to live in rocks and others on the wide plains, while some lived in trees and some flew in the air.
The Rainbow Serpent or Mother of Life - Part 2 >>>
