Snakes and the Australian Aborigine

Australian aborigines have lived in Australia for more than 50 000 years. Snakes are an important to the Aboriginal Dreamtime legend. The Rainbow Serpent helped make many of the things in the early Australian landscape. It was a giant snake that had different names in different tribes. Snakes are an important traditional food for many Aboriginal groups. The older Aboriginal people are able to tell the difference between snakes that look alike. Younger Aboriginal can not do this. At Lockhart River the people still catch and eat file Snakes from the lily ponds. We dive in and catch the snakes break their necks and throw them on the bank. Later we cook them on the fire and when the skin swells up they are ready to eat.

William Butcher, Herberton Secondary, Australia

References

Richard Shine Australian Snakes - a Natural History Reed Books, 1991, p 172

Picture original drawing by William Butcher, Herberton, Queensland, Australia, 1996