News / Dreaming stories
The Story of the “Seven Sisters”
Few stories capture people’s imagination like that of the “Seven Sisters”.
The Seven Sisters Story is told by aboriginal people all over Australia. The stories vary from area to area, but one common factor is that the Seven Sisters are always watchful or running away from the unwelcome advances of a male (Orion).
In NSW, the sisters are called Mayi-mayi. Mayi-mayi were chased by a man called Wurunna. He succeeds in catching two of the women by using trickery. Eventually they escape and rise up into the sky forming the star constellation we know as Pleiades.
In the Kimberley area, the Seven Sisters were chased by the Eagle Hawk. He pursued them into the heavens where we now know the women as the star constellation called Pleiades and the Eagle Hawk as The Southern Cross.
In the Lake Eyre area, the ancestor male who tried to capture one of the women was prevented by a great flood.
In Central Australia, the women (who formed Pleiades) had been up in the sky for some time. They decided it may be safe to come back down to Earth. They made camp in a sheltered cave surrounded by a grove of wild figs. Nirunja, the man of Orion, saw them leave and followed them down to Earth. He made a screen to hide behind and from here he could watch the women without being seen. That night when the women went to sleep he entered the cave and wanted to lie down with them. But the women woke and once more they escaped him by going up into the sky. He, Nirunja, followed. He continues to pursue them in the heavens as the star constellation Orion. On a clear night you can look up into the sky and see Pleiades and Orion close by. He will never give up.
There are many myths about the Seven Sisters, and this story forms an important part of women’s ceremonies all over Australia.
What is the Dreamtime?
The Dreamtime or Dreaming for Australian Indigenous people refers to the time when the Ancestral Spirits moved across the land and created life and significant geographic formations and sites.
Aboriginal people tell Dreaming stories to pass on important knowledge, cultural values, belief systems and law to later generations. These stories are passed on through a number of different ways – Ceremonial body painting, song and dance being the most common. By maintaining a link with the Dreamtime and Dreaming stories of the past to the present, a rich cultural heritage is created.
In many of the Dreaming stories, the Ancestral Spirits came to earth in human form and as they moved through the land, they created the animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains and all other formations and beings that we know today. These Ancestral Spirits also formed the relationships between Aboriginal people, the land and all living beings.
Once the Ancestral Spirits had created the world, they transformed into trees, stars, rocks, watering holes and other land formations or objects. These are recognised today as the sacred places and sites of Aboriginal culture.
Dreamings allow Aboriginal people to understand their place in traditional society and nature, and connects their spiritual world of the past with the present and the future.
