The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator God, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion of many Aboriginal Australian peoples. Much like the archetypal mother goddess, the Rainbow Serpent creates land and diversity for the Aboriginal people, but when disturbed can bring great chaos.
Australian Aboriginal rock painting of the "Rainbow Serpent".
Wonambi naracoortensis and Thylacoleo
Sidney Nolan's Snake (1970-72), held at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, is a giant Rainbow Serpent mural made of 1620 painted panels.
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands.
An Eastern Arrernte man of the Arltunga district, Northern Territory, in 1923. His hut is decked with porcupine grass.
Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923
Arnhem Land Aboriginal dancers in 1981
Arnhem Land artist Glen Namundja painting at Injalak Arts