CIMF 2021: Rainbow Serpent

CIMF 2021 Concert #21 is Rainbow Serpent, on Sunday 9 May from 12:00 pm. Photo: CIMF.

It is generally accepted that the myths of the Rainbow Serpent count amongst the most ancient religious beliefs in the world and continue to have cultural significance around the globe. Yet we also have to acknowledge that it is through the work of Western anthropologists that the English name was coined (“the rainbow-serpent myth of Australia” Alfred Radcliffe-Brown) and that its meaning can differ greatly between the different Indigenous peoples. So it is that the Murrawarri people refer to Mundaguddah as the spirit of the Rainbow Serpent. And the people from Melville and Bathurst Island north of Darwin refer to Ampiji as Rainbow. Yoi is their Dreaming coming from their Ancestors and their Country. Yoi also means to dance. They dance Shark and they dance Crocodile because that’s who they are. In their words:

“Some of us dance Crocodile, some of us dance Jungle Fowl, or Shark – and some of us dance Rainbow. When we dance Rainbow, and when the old people sing, we become that Ancestor, Ampiji the Rainbow Serpent. Ampiji lives in the waterhole and in the sea and we have to be careful not to make him angry. When the sun hits the rain he wakes up and curves across the sky.“

For First Nations people, the story of the Rainbow Serpent is past, present and future (everywhen).

The details

What: CIMF 2021 Concert #21: Rainbow Serpent
When: Sunday 9 May 2021, 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm
Where: National Gallery of Australia – Fairfax Theatre
Cost: $60 concession, $65 adult. Tickets available at TryBooking.