Dreaming, the

Dreaming, the

 or Dream-Time

In the religion of the Australian Aborigines, the mythological time of the Creation. In the Dreaming the environment was shaped and humanized by mythic beings, many of whom took animal or human form. Some could change form at will. They took long journeys and created human life and the social order. In Aboriginal belief, these beings are eternal and continue to exist, although they may have traveled beyond the lands of the people who sing about them or may have metamorphosed into natural features such as rocky outcrops or water holes. The landscape is thus sacred to Aboriginal peoples. See also Australian religion.