Mythologis
The Aboriginal Mythology Book: The Rainbow Serpent, Wandjina, Baiame, and the Dreamtime Stories of the World's Oldest Tradition

Australian Aboriginal Mythology

The Aboriginal Mythology Book: The Rainbow Serpent, Wandjina, Baiame, and the Dreamtime Stories of the World's Oldest Tradition

60,000 Years of Unbroken Ancestral Memory

The world's oldest continuous mythology. From the Rainbow Serpent to the Wandjina cloud spirits, explore the Dreamtime stories that have mapped Australia for 60,000 years.

150 pagesPDFEnglishMythologis Library

$14.99

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Inside this book

What you will read

  • 11 chapters, primary sources
  • Instant PDF download
  • Original ink illustrations
  • Inline citations to original texts
  • Designed for print quality
See all chapters  +
  1. 01The Dreaming: Time Before Time
  2. 02The Rainbow Serpent and the Shaping of the Land
  3. 03Wandjina: The Cloud Spirits of the Kimberley
  4. 04Baiame, Bunjil, and the Sky Fathers
  5. 05The Mimi Spirits and the First Teachings
  6. 06Tjukurpa: The Law Written in the Landscape
  7. 07The Bullroarer and the Voice of the Ancestors
  8. 08Songlines: Walking the Stories Across the Desert
  9. 09Initiation, Ceremony, and the Passing of Knowledge
  10. 10The Stolen Generations and the Fight to Preserve the Stories
  11. 11The Oldest Mythology: What Survives Today

About this book

About this Australian Aboriginal mythology guide

The oldest mythology still being told: 60,000 years of Dreamtime stories from the Rainbow Serpent to the Wandjina spirits.

Australian Aboriginal mythology is the oldest continuous mythological tradition on Earth. For sixty millennia, the Dreamtime stories have been told without interruption: the Rainbow Serpent who shaped the rivers and waterholes, the Wandjina spirits with halo-like heads who bring the monsoon rains, Baiame the sky father who gave the first laws, Bunjil the eagle creator who made the land and its people. Every rock, every tree, every waterhole has its story in the Tjukurpa, the ancestral law that connects the first humans to walk Australia to the present day.

This book draws on recorded oral traditions, anthropological field studies, and the published collections of Aboriginal elders. You will read how the Rainbow Serpent (known as Wagyl in the southwest, Ngalyod in Arnhem Land) carved the landscape in the Dreaming, how the Mimi spirits taught the first people to hunt and paint, how the bullroarer's hum carries the voice of the ancestors across the desert. Each chapter cites the source: which language group, which elder, which published collection.

Eleven chapters with original ink illustrations and inline citations to primary sources.

What you will discover inside

  • How the Rainbow Serpent shaped every river and waterhole in the Dreaming
  • What the Wandjina cloud spirits reveal about the monsoon and the first laws
  • Why Baiame the sky father gave the sacred ceremonies to the first people
  • The role of Bunjil the eagle creator in making the land and its animals
  • How the Mimi spirits taught hunting, painting, and survival in the stone country
  • What the bullroarer's hum means in Aboriginal ceremony and initiation rites

Australian Aboriginal mythology book at a glance

TraditionAustralian Aboriginal mythology
Chapters11 chapters
Length150 pages
SourcesDrawn from the primary sources, cited inline
Reading levelBeginner-friendly. Every name and place is explained from scratch
FormatPrint-quality PDF
DeliveryPDF within 24 hours

Formats and editions

EditionWhat you getPrice
Instant PDFPrint-quality download, readable on any device. PDF within 24 hours.$7.99
PaperbackA paperback edition is on the way. Sign up on this page to hear when it lands on Amazon.Coming soon

About the author

Guillaume Henry, founder of Mythologis

Guillaume Henry

Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Mythologis

Guillaume Henry founded Mythologis to make the world's mythologies readable without losing what makes them strange. Every Mythologis book draws on the primary sources first, cross-references multiple translations, and avoids inventing details that aren't in the originals.

More about the author

Keep exploring Australian Aboriginal mythology

Prefer to read before you buy? These free, fully sourced guides cover the same gods, myths and sources you will meet in the book.

Read the complete Australian Aboriginal mythology guide

Questions about the Australian Aboriginal mythology book

When will I receive my PDF?

Within 24 hours of purchase. Your download link arrives in your inbox automatically.

Is this book based on primary sources?

Yes. The book cites recorded oral traditions from Aboriginal elders, anthropological field studies by Strehlow, Spencer and Gillen, Berndt and Berndt, and published collections such as those by Daisy Bates, Roland Robinson, and the Yirrkala community. Each Dreamtime story includes the language group and region where it was recorded, with references to the standard published collections so you can read further.

How long is the book?

Eleven chapters, around 150 pages depending on the final layout. Designed to be read in evenings or in one long sitting.

Is this book for beginners or specialists?

Beginners welcome. The book explains every name, place, and concept from scratch. Specialists will find the source citations and translation notes useful for further reading.

Will there be a paperback on Amazon?

The PDF is available immediately. A KDP paperback edition follows once the book has been validated by readers.

Why are there so many different names for the Rainbow Serpent?

Aboriginal Australia has over 250 distinct language groups, each with its own name for the Rainbow Serpent and its own regional Dreamtime stories. Wagyl in the southwest, Ngalyod in Arnhem Land, Yurlungur in northeast Arnhem Land: the same ancestral being, different names. This book explains the regional variations and what they share in common.

What formats is this book available in?

Every title is available as an instant PDF, downloaded the moment you buy it: the link appears on the confirmation page and lands in your inbox. Selected titles also have a paperback edition on Amazon. Where the paperback is not out yet, you can sign up to be notified the day it does.

What is the return policy?

The PDF is delivered instantly by Mythologis. If a download ever fails or a file looks wrong, get in touch and we will make it right. Paperbacks bought on Amazon are handled under Amazon's own returns and refund policy.

Can I order from outside the United States?

Yes. The PDF is a digital download, so it works instantly anywhere in the world, with nothing to ship. Where a paperback edition exists, it is sold across Amazon's international marketplaces, with shipping rates and delivery times depending on your country.

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