The Gift of the Rainbow Serpent

In the time of Dreaming, when the world was still asleep and nothing grew or moved, the Rainbow Serpent lay resting beneath the earth. After a long slumber, she finally awoke and emerged, stretching her enormous body. As she traveled far and wide, she left behind long, curving paths from her body that wound across the land. Once her journey was complete, she returned to the place where she had first appeared.

When she came back, the Rainbow Serpent called out to the frogs, "Come out!" The frogs slowly crawled out of the earth, their bellies heavy with water they had saved during their deep sleep. The Rainbow Serpent, seeing their swollen bellies, began to tickle them. As the frogs laughed, the water spilled from their mouths and flowed across the land, filling the winding paths the Rainbow Serpent had left. And this was how the rivers, lakes, and streams were born.

With water now covering the land, plants and trees began to grow, bringing new life to the earth. The animals, who had also been sleeping, woke up and began to follow the Rainbow Serpent across the land. They were happy to be alive and found places where they could live and thrive. Some animals made their homes in the rocks, others roamed the open plains, and some lived in the trees or soared through the sky. Each creature belonged to a tribe, and they all had their own way of living and finding food.

To keep peace among the creatures, the Rainbow Serpent made laws that everyone had to follow. However, not all animals obeyed, and soon some began to argue and cause trouble. The Rainbow Serpent warned them, saying, "Those who keep my laws will be rewarded. I will make you into humans and give you special powers. But those who disobey will be punished and turned into stone, never to walk the earth again."

The creatures who broke the Rainbow Serpent’s laws were transformed into mountains and hills, their bodies becoming the stones that dot the land. But those who listened to her were turned into humans, each with their own special totem. The totems were animals, birds, or reptiles that represented the form they once had. There were tribes for kangaroos, emus, snakes, and many other creatures.

The Rainbow Serpent also made sure that everyone would always have enough food. She declared that no man should eat the animal that was his totem, but only the animals from other tribes. In this way, the land and its creatures remained balanced, and no one would ever go hungry.

For generations, the tribes lived in harmony on the land that had been gifted to them by the Rainbow Serpent, who they called the Mother of Life. They knew that this land would always belong to them and that no one should ever try to take it away. The Rainbow Serpent had given them life, and in return, they followed her laws and protected the world she had created.