Thinawan (Emu) dreaming - Patricia Cerminara

Acrylic on canvas - Framed (850mm x 700mm)

This place is our thinawan dreaming. Look and you will see that Emus were more than just birds to Aboriginal people. Emus were creator spirits that soared through the skies above, looking over the land. These birds were incredibly helpful, the Emu in the sky helped Aboriginal people predict what was happening in the world around us.

Dream time stories tell us how the emu flew and looked over the land. The position of the Emu in the night sky indicated to Aboriginal people when to hunt emus or collect their eggs. The emu's shape and angle changed throughout the year, and dark spaces appeared around its body as it moved.