While researching Aboriginal dragon mythology, I came across this video. I thought our readers would enjoy a read along while we’re all cooped up in isolation.
The story and illustrations are by an Aboriginal artist from the Lardil group of Northeastern Australia, Dick Roughsey. He lived from 1920 – 1985. He grew up both with his Lardil family and at a Presbyterian mission school on Mornington Island. Although he learned the Lardil ways of life and ceremonies, he was not officially initiated into the group due to the missionaries asking the elders to stop the initiation ceremonies. Later he became a poet and artist who supported the preservation of the Lardil culture. He is especially well-known for his children’s books, including this one.
The book is read by “That Story Guy”, a primary school teacher in Queensland, Australia who is passionate about reading aloud.
I love being read to, and I love hearing stories from cultures around the world. This format, with the beautiful pictures, really engaged me. I hope you find some joy in it, too.
Koji A. Dae
Koji is a dreamer, a mother, and a writer in that order. The first short story she clearly remembers writing involved fairies losing their wings, and ever since then mythology has found different ways to creep into her storytelling.
[…] episode two, we touched on the Rainbow Serpent of Aboriginal mythology, and I shared The Rainbow Serpent by Dick Roughsey. In this book, people existed without anything else. The Rainbow Serpent comes along and creates […]