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Location:
Australia
Description:
The Rainbow Serpent appears in art and stories across Australia. Rainbow
serpents usually live in areas of water. The rainbow serpent is a
common figure in creation myths, but the stories about these serpents are very varied.
Another common theme is being the spirit protecting the land. Rainbows are often
considered to be a rainbow serpent.
Ngadjonji Volcano
These events happened long in the past, before the rainforest had grown
and the land was just scrub. There was two men of the Ngadjonji tribe who had
been newly initiated. They angered the Rainbow Serpent by breaking a taboo. This
caused a volcanic eruption, forming three craters. These became Lake Eacham,
Lake Barrine and Lake Euramo.
A 1964 storyteller described the eruption as follows: "the camping-place began to change,
the earth under the camp roaring like thunder. The wind started to blow down, as if a
cyclone were coming. The camping-place began to twist and crack. While this was happening
there was in the sky a red cloud, of a hue never seen before. The people tried to run
from side to side but were swallowed by a crack which opened in the ground..."
Other Dragon Stone Pages:
Selected References: Cowan, James (1992);
Hulley, Charles (1999); Huxley, M. (1994); Reed, A. W. (1999)
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