Turtle Dreaming Card with Dreamtime Story

Turtle Dreaming There are thirteen large segments on a Turtle shell which represent the thirteen moons which make up the lunar year. There are 28 small outer segments around the edge of the shell which represents the 28 days between new moons. In the Dreaming, turtle was a man, a well-known storyteller. He travelled to many different tribes, sharing his stories and music. Turtle enjoyed being on the move. He became restless whenever he stayed too long in one place. One time he visited a tribe who lived on an island, out at sea. Because turtle could not swim, he was helped to the island by two of the tribe’s strongest swimmers. Turtle stayed for some time. Eventually, he felt it was time to go, but the tribe asked him to stay for a special corroboree. Turtle agreed, on the condition that the tribe would teach him to swim. But, when no one came forth to honour this agreement, turtle realised he was being tricked. He began to plan his escape. The following night, at the corroboree, he played music, but he had previously made sure that both of his clapping sticks were broken. The tribe offered him other sticks, but he insisted that they must be made from the wood of a tree, which grew only on the mainland. The two strong swimmers were sent to the mainland to float back a log from this tree. That night, when the tribe was asleep, instead of making the clap-sticks, turtle quietly rolled the log into the water, and began to paddle to the mainland. Suddenly, two tribesmen awoke, sensing something was wrong. They saw the floating log not far from shore. In an instant they grabbed their spears and threw them at the log. Turtle immediately placed his body under the log for protection. The Great Spirit, feeling sorry for turtle, turned the log into a shell that covered his body. This protected him, so that he could swim in safety. When he finally reached the shore, he was no longer a man, but a creature we all know, called the turtle. Although he could no longer tell his stories, he could still travel from place to place, and be safe and free.