The dreaming is creation myths believed by the Aboriginal people. It is a cultural teaching that is passed on from elders and is everything that is apart of their lives, these stories are their beliefs of how the world and humans were formed, its their understanding of what is around them.

The dreaming has differednt meanings for all aboriginal people. It is of knowledge, faith and way of living that has derived from the stories of creation in which they believe. This dominates all spiritual aspects of aboriginal life, these stories are what they live their lives by. Its sets out the structures of their community and sets out the rules of behaviour and ceremonies which are practiced in order to maintain their lives and connection with the land.

These creation stories goverened their lives and if they did not live by the rules set by their tribes they were punished.

The Dreamtime is also used to explain the time when the earth, humans and animals were created. Aboriginal people also refer to dreaming as their own dreaming or their communitites dreaming. This is why the dreaming stories vary thoughout Australia. Each Aboriginal tribe have their different versions on the same theme.This is because each tribe had their own individual beliefs that goverend their lives. This is similar to how every different aboriginal community in australia spoke a different tongue, this is because they goverened their lives by different rules and almost different beliefs which affected both their language and creation myths.

The dreamtime stories cover many topics and themes such as the creation sacred places, landforms such as Uluru, people, animals and plants. Their are also stories of language, the ocean and fire. In more recent stories it goes on to tell of the arrival of Europeans in Australia, so the difference with alot of other creation stories that only focus on the creation of the world and humans the dreamtime goes further and almost tells history.

Living close to the land and nature theIndigenous Autsralians believed that during the dreamtime, ancestral spirits came to earth and moved the land to create mountains, rivers and lakes. Each community has a place where they believe the spirits have been and where they rest. Their dreaming (myths) are about how people learnt languages and dance and how they came to know about fire and the land. To aboriginal people the dreaming comes from the land and it was their duty not to own the land but to look after it.

The rainbow seprent is a common feature in aboriginal dreamtime stories, and is one most people will recognise. It is represented as a large snake creature. This creature features in most stories associated with water such as lakes, rivers, billabongs and lagoons. It is a protector, it protects the land and its people. But can also be quite destructive if not treated with respect.

The rainbow serpent is also a common theme in alot of aboriginal art, this art can date back 6000 years to rock paintings. The serpent is a powerful symbol to aboriginal people as they believe that it is their protector and supporter. Most paintings of rainbow serpents illustrate the creation of land forms and landscape.