The Rainbow Serpent
Rainbow Serpent, Jimmy Pike, unknown date
The Rainbow Serpent is an extremely common figure in Aboriginal Australian cultures, religions and folklore. Although not every single tribe recognizes it, it is widely considered one of the most common and recognizable figures. The Rainbow Serpent is also known sometimes by different names as there can be multiple serpents or just one depending on a specific tribe’s culture. These names include; Yingarna, Murngin, Witij/Wititj, Magalim, among many others. Regardless of the name, The Rainbow Serpent is seen as a common “uniter” of Aboriginal people, and a figure that keeps the peace between different tribes (Taçon, Wilson, Chippindale 1996).
Cave painting at Rainbow Serpent Shelter, Mount Borradaile in Western Arnhem Land, Northern Australia. c. unknown date
The Rainbow Serpent has many different depictions and forms but the most common is a serpent-like figure with the head of a kangaroo, body of a snake, and the tail of a crocodile. Some other depictions also include it having body parts of a “crocodile (jaws and teeth), catfish (barbels), emu (chest bulge), and barramundi (tail)” (Taylor 1990). However, an interesting theory has come around about the origin of what The Rainbow Serpent might be based off of. Authors Taçon, Wilson, and Chippindale analyzed different traditional artworks of The Rainbow Serpent and found that a striking similarity many of these artworks have is that they resemble a pipefish. They explain that “the rising sea-levels during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition had a profound physical and cultural impact on the peoples of greater Arnhem Land” (Taçon, Wilson, Chippindale 1996). These rising sea levels exposed Aboriginal people who resided more inland to pipefish around the same time that depictions of The Rainbow Serpent were beginning to appear in artwork.
The Rainbow Serpent's Powers:
The Rainbow Serpent is seen as a god of creation, among many other things. The Rainbow Serpent is described as a deity that traveled through Australia creating rivers along its path as well as mountains (Taçon, Wilson, Chippindale 1996). However, they also have the power of destruction. The Rainbow Serpent can control whether it rains or not, as well as how hard it rains and whether there will be a flood or not. Brumbaugh describes that “rain shows that [The Rainbow Serpent] is active… people do not discuss it when it is raining” (Brumbaugh 1987). It decides what the weather will be depending on how it has been treated, incentivizing Aboriginal people to not upset it. Additionally when it is upset and moves around it causes earthquakes as well.
The Rainbow Serpent is the deity of water and all water related events, and because of this it resides in watering holes across Australia during dry months. The Rainbow Serpent commonly moves from different watering holes so it is not seen, and when it does move it creates a rainbow from the previous watering hole to the next. This is the way Aboriginal people originally explained why rainbows exist, similarly to many other cultures and religions (Taylor 1990). It also resides in the Bush sometimes outside of watering holes in trees or other locations where it plays tricks on people who are in its territory. The Rainbow Serpent may cause people to get lost, or scare away prey that hunters are tracking.
In some cultures The Rainbow Serpent also plays a major role in death and a form of “reincarnation” of a soul. When an older male dies, they can be buried in a hollowed out and carved log which The Rainbow Serpent then “swallows” the soul of the deceased. Later on in initiation ceremonies where males reach sexual maturity The Rainbow Serpent then “regergitates” the soul of the deceased into the newly initiated male (Taylor 1990). This forms a beautiful relationship between the deity and Aboriginal people who celebrate this ceremony.
Hollow log coffin with ancestral snake design, by an unknown Djinang artist, c. late 1970s
Relationship With Women:
The Rainbow Serpent has an interesting relationship with human fertility. The Rainbow Serpent is not only the deity of creation when it comes to water and land, but actual human conception as well. It has the power to determine whether a woman will get pregnant or not. As Brumbaugh describes “[It] may make women pregnant, eat an unborn child and leave one of its own, or come unseen between a couple having intercourse in the bush to give its child instead” (Brumbaugh 1987). Because of this Aboriginal people have an interesting relationship with this deity. The Rainbow Serpent has its own interests in mind, and can be in opposition to what Aboriginal people want. Women and others immensely respect The Rainbow Serpent because of its ability to give or take away children.
However, this relationship isn’t just a one way streak. In some cultures women are able to appease The Rainbow Serpent and get what they want out of it. As stated before The Rainbow Serpent is the deity of creation and fertility, so the women must go through the proper rituals to get pregnant. One ritual is to sing to it while approaching a watering hole, to show your respect and declare your intentions, they then “will take a handful of earth and rub it onto their bodies, so that [it] can smell them” (Wroth 2022). Once these rituals are done they can drink from the watering hole where afterwards they can get pregnant.
Yingana and Ngalyod, Edward Blitner, unkown date
Use of Art:
The Rainbow Serpent, like many other significant Aborignal deities, is prevalent in art. Aboriginal people often made rock wall paintings and bark paintings of The Rainbow Serpent, even dating back to 6,000 years ago (Taçon, Wilson, Chippindale 1996). Aboriginal art plays an extremely important role in telling stories and explaining history. Because Aboriginal languages were only spoken, art was their main way of recording their beliefs and history. This art is physical art of course, but also applies to traditional Songspirals and dances that tell important stories. The Rainbow Serpent is very commonly seen in these forms of art. Researchers with permission from local Aboriginal people are sometimes able to get up close with rock wall art to examine when the art was made which tremendously helps make a timeline of when Aboriginal people began to believe in The Rainbow Serpent.
Kurtal Documentary:
This section is not about The Rainbow Serpent, but an Aboriginal serpent spirit that is relevant to the discussion. In Maher’s documentary Kurtal Snake Spirit she educates the audience about both a place, spirit, and song named Kurtal. Kurtal was a “Maparn,” someone knowledgeable about medicine, who was searching for a home (Maher 2003). While on that journey to find a home he became Kurtal, an Aboriginal snake spirit. The documentary features Spider, an Aboriginal man who is one of the last people who knows the songspiral Kurtal, which tells the spirit’s story. Spider also sings to Kurtal, who resides in a watering hole. Many of the Aboriginal people shown in this documentary have deceased relatives who’s spirits now reside with Kurtal in the watering hole (Maher 2003).
They do not see Kurtal, but they speak with him and know that he is there. People do not walk past the watering hole at night, especially with a torch or firestick because Kurtal might “grab [them] and throw [them] inside the water hole and never [let them] come back” (Maher 2003). Spider makes sure to cry out and speak to Kurtal when he is approaching to let him hear them and know their intentions. Spider organizes and performs a ritual so that Aboriginal people may meet Kurtal. This involves speaking to him, and pouring water onto the men’s heads “so that [Kurtal] will recognize them,” later he also throws water onto the women’s legs (Maher 2003). This is a beautiful ceremony where many Aboriginal people meet Kurtal and feel an overwhelming sense of emotion because of it. Spirits like Kurtal and The Rainbow Serpent are extremely important to different Aboriginal cultures. They often tell stories about how that culture’s people came to be, and offer advice on what those people should be doing to honor that.
Learn More:
https://www.aboriginal-art-australia.com/aboriginal-art-library/rainbow-serpent/
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/rainbow-serpent Note that this source is not specifically about The Rainbow Serpent but Australian snakes that may have inspired some of the designs of The Rainbow Serpent.
https://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/articles-and-news/the-rainbow-serpent/
https://sacredland.org/song-for-the-rainbow-serpent/
References
Brumbaugh, Robert. 1987. “The Rainbow Serpent on the Upper Sepik.” Anthropos 82(1):25–33., from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40462298.
Gunn, Robert, Bruno David, Jean-Jacques Delannoy, and Margaret Katherine. 2017. “The Past 500 Years of Rock Art at Nawarla Gabarnmang, Central-Western Arnhem Land.” The Archaeology of Rock Art in Western Arnhem Land, Australia 303–28., from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1zgb356.16
Global Arts, Cultures and Design. 2022. “Australia's Rainbow Serpent.” National Museums Scotland. Retrieved December 5, 2022 (https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/global-arts-cultures-and-design/mythical-creatures/mythical-creatures/australias-rainbow-serpent/.).
Linklater, Scott. 2022. “Rainbow Serpent in Aboriginal Art & Culture.” Artlandish Aboriginal Art. Retrieved December 5, 2022 (https://www.aboriginal-art-australia.com/aboriginal-art-library/rainbow-serpent/.).
Maher, Michelle. 2003. Kurtal - Snake Spirit. Documentary Educational Resources. Retrieved December 5, 2022 (https://www.kanopy.com/en/video/48868).
Taylor, Luke. 1990. “The Rainbow Serpent as Visual Metaphor in Western Arnhem Land.” Oceania 60(4):329–44., from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40332450.
Taçon, Paul S. C., Meredith Wilson, and Christopher Chippindale. 1996. “Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land Rock Art and Oral History.” Archaeology in Oceania 31(3):103–24., from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40387039.
Wroth, David. “Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime Story.” Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery, Japingka Aboriginal Art, 31 Jan. 2022, https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/articles/rainbow-serpent/.