ABSTRACT
Use of the term ‘creationist’ as a description of non-Western beliefs poses similar problems to using terms such as ‘feudalism’ or ‘witchcraft’. Indigenous Australian traditions embody what can, nonetheless, be translated as a ‘creationist’ theory of being, in the sense that indigenous knowledge contends the world was shaped, during a primordial time or condition, by the actions of sentient beings who combined the character of animals and humans. The heroes’ prototypical actions created features of the landscape, provided a precedent for social interaction and laid the basis for people’s rights to land.
