Dreaming

See also: dreaming

English

Proper noun

the Dreaming

1. (Australian Aboriginal mythology) The time of the shaping of the physical and spiritual world by the ancestors; the events or beliefs connected to these times. [from 20th c.]
   • 2006, Alexis Wright, Carpentaria, Giramondo, published 2012, page 124:

     The men in this moving mirage of battered vehicles felt they had well and truly followed the Dreaming.

Usage notes

This term is increasingly used in favor of Dreamtime, as the latter term implies that the occurrences of the Dreaming are fixed in the past, which is inaccurate to traditional Australian Aboriginal beliefs, which hold that the Dreaming occurs "everywhen" and continues to hold relevance in the present and future.

Synonyms

• Dreamtime

Derived terms

• dreaming site
• dreaming track

Translations

time of creation — see Dreamtime

See also

• songline

Anagrams

• dearming, margined, mid-range, midrange