A glossary of frequently used terms, specific to Aboriginal culture used in the descriptions of paintings on this site. (TO RETURN TO PREVIOUS PAGE PLEASE USE THE BACK BUTTON ON YOUR BROWSER!).

• The Dreaming: the creation time equivalent to Genesis in the Christian bible when ancestral spirits, through their actions, created the world and the principles and laws which govern both culture and nature. The Dreaming can also be seen as the spiritual dimension of contemporary Aboriginal life, accessed through ceremonial activity (painting, singing, dancing, all aspects of storytelling).
  
• The Dreamtime: refers specifically to the "creation time" aspect of the Dreaming, i.e. the ancestral past when the world was brought into being and the land was imbued with ancestral power.
• A Dreaming: a specific creation mythology centered around specific places in the landscape. These stories travel from place to place much like traditional Aboriginal people of recent times connecting the country through story and song. These stories also have protagonists which are totemic in nature plants and animals, and natural elements (wind, fire rain, stars) who once had human attributes and are related to various skin groups who have custodial responsibilities for these stories.
• Skin Names: