Clouds

Science, Story, and Spirit in Indigenous Communities of Victoria and Beyond

Clouds are among the most visible and dynamic features of the sky. Scientifically, they are composed of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere, forming when air cools and water vapour condenses. Yet for Indigenous peoples worldwide, clouds are more than meteorological phenomena — they are ancestral presences, messengers, and living parts of Country.

In Victoria, Indigenous communities such as the Wadawurrung, Wurundjeri, Gunditjmara, and Taungurung peoples observed clouds not only to forecast weather but to read signs from Ancestral Beings. Clouds guided ceremony, expressed creation stories, and connected people to both land and sky (Rose, 1996; Broome, 2005; Hamacher & Norris, 2011).

The Science of Clouds

Composition

• Clouds form when warm air rises, cools, and condenses into minute droplets or ice crystals.

• They remain aloft through air currents, with their structure shaped by wind, temperature, and humidity (Bureau of Meteorology, 2023).

Types of Clouds

• Cumulus – fluffy, white forms linked to fair weather.

• Cirrus – thin, wispy clouds at high altitudes.

• Stratus – low, grey layers associated with drizzle or rain.

• Cumulonimbus – towering anvil-shaped clouds bringing storms, thunder, and lightning.

Why We See Shapes

The human brain exhibits pareidolia — a tendency to perceive familiar figures or faces in random patterns (Ramachandran & Hirstein, 1999).
In Indigenous cosmology, however, these shapes are not random. Figures seen in the clouds are often ancestral spirits or law beings, revealing themselves to the people below.

Clouds in Victorian Indigenous Communities

Ancestral Beings

• Clouds were viewed as the smoke, breath, or cloak of spirit beings. Among the Kulin Nations, sky stories describe Bunjil (the wedge-tailed eagle creator) watching over people from above (Clark, 1990; Howitt, 1904).

• Clouds signalled the presence of ancestors returning to guide or warn the living, especially during ceremonies or times of natural change.

Weather Knowledge

• The Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri read cloud patterns to predict rain, storms, and seasonal change (WTOAC, 2021).
  Cumulonimbus clouds in summer were interpreted as manifestations of thunder spirits.

• In Gunditjmara Country, low grey clouds were connected with eel migration and water cycles, linking the sky to freshwater ecology (McNiven & Bell, 2010).

Ceremony and Creation

• Clouds often marked transitions within ceremony. Rising smoke from sacred fires merging with the clouds symbolised songs and prayers ascending to the ancestral realm (Rose, 1996; Neale, 2017).

• At Lal Lal Falls, stories of Bunjil and Mindi the serpent join clouds, rain, and river as parts of an eternal cycle of creation and renewal (Clark, 1990).

Australia-Wide Indigenous Perspectives

• Arnhem Land (Yolŋu): Clouds are linked to wangarr — ancestral forces. Thunderclouds are expressions of serpent beings like Bäru and Ngalyod (Morphy, 1991).

• Central Desert: Rainmaking ceremonies involved singing clouds into existence; cloud formation signified renewal in arid Country (Green, 2010).

• Noongar (Western Australia): Clouds mark transitions between six ecological seasons, guiding movement and ceremony (Hansen & Horsfall, 2015).

International Indigenous Perspectives

• Māori (Aotearoa/New Zealand): Clouds (kapua) are messengers of Ranginui, the Sky Father; certain patterns foretell fish migration or planting seasons (Durie, 1998).

• Andean Peoples (South America): In Inca cosmology, clouds carried messages from Apus (mountain spirits) and guided agricultural cycles (Gonzales & Salazar, 2013).

• Sámi (Scandinavia): Clouds were seen as spirit paths of reindeer-herding ancestors, signalling guidance and protection (Helander-Renvall, 2010).

• Native American Plains Nations: Clouds were interpreted as buffalo, eagles, or horses — omens of abundance or warnings of storms (Cajete, 2000).

The Symbolism of Clouds

Figures and Shapes

• Children in Victoria were taught to see kinship in the sky — animal or human forms in the clouds embody ancestral teaching.

• Cloud shapes symbolised moral and ecological law: an eagle cloud reminded people of Bunjil’s authority, while a serpent cloud recalled water law and balance (Rose, 1996; Neale, 2017).

Connection to Water

• Clouds express the cycle of life — rain falls, rivers flow, water evaporates, clouds reform. This eternal rhythm mirrors Indigenous creation stories linking sky, land, and water as one living system (Broome, 2005).

Spiritual Journeys

• Clouds served as pathways between worlds. When a person died, their spirit was believed to travel upward into the clouds before joining the stars, reuniting with ancestors (Howitt, 1904; Neale, 2017)

Modern Science and Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous and scientific understandings of clouds intersect in ways that enrich both perspectives:

• Indigenous observers predicted weather and ecological change long before meteorology existed (Green & Raygorodetsky, 2010).

• Cloud knowledge, paired with modern data, strengthens local climate forecasting and resilience strategies (CSIRO, 2022).

• Cultural education programs led by Elders teach young people to “read the sky,” sustaining identity and environmental literacy (WTOAC, 2021; Neale, 2017).

Conclusion

Clouds embody both science and spirit. In physics, they are formed by condensation and atmospheric forces; in Indigenous knowledge, they are living signs of ancestors, spirit beings, and Country’s cycles.

For Indigenous communities in Victoria, clouds are read as messages — shaping ceremony, weather prediction, and cosmological law. This mirrors other Indigenous worldviews worldwide, where clouds carry memory, story, and spirit.

Recognising Indigenous cloud knowledge deepens our understanding of meteorology and cultural continuity, revealing that the shapes in the sky are not only weather patterns but ancestral language written in air and light.

References

• Broome, R. (2005). Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

• Bureau of Meteorology (2023). Clouds and Weather Patterns. Canberra: Australian Government.

• Cajete, G. (2000). Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers.

• Clark, I.D. (1990). Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900. Melbourne: Monash Publications.

• CSIRO (2022). Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change Adaptation. Canberra: CSIRO Publishing.

• Durie, M. (1998). Te Mana, Te Kāwanatanga: The Politics of Māori Self-Determination. Auckland: Oxford University Press.

• Gonzales, E. & Salazar, P. (2013). Sky, Mountain and Rain: Inca Cosmology and Ecology. Lima: Andean Heritage Press.

• Green, D. & Raygorodetsky, G. (2010). ‘Indigenous Knowledge of Climate Change.’ Climatic Change, 100(2), pp. 239–242.

• Hamacher, D.W. & Norris, R.P. (2011). ‘Bridging the Gap through Australian Indigenous Astronomy.’ Australian Journal of Social Issues, 46(1), pp. 45–64.

• Hansen, K. & Horsfall, N. (2015). Noongar Seasons and Climate Knowledge. Perth: South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council.

• Helander-Renvall, E. (2010). ‘Animism, Personhood and the Nature of Reality: Sámi Perspectives.’ Polar Record, 46(1), pp. 44–56.

• Howitt, A.W. (1904). The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. London: Macmillan.

• McNiven, I.J. & Bell, D. (2010). ‘Fishers and Farmers: Historicising Aboriginal Aquaculture and Agriculture in Victoria.’ Aboriginal History, 34, pp. 165–193.

• Morphy, H. (1991). Ancestral Connections: Art and an Aboriginal System of Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

• Neale, M. (2017). Songlines: The Power and Promise. Canberra: National Museum of Australia Press.

• Ramachandran, V.S. & Hirstein, W. (1999). ‘The Science of Art: A Neurological Theory of Aesthetic Experience.’ Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6(6–7), pp. 15–51.

• Rose, D.B. (1996). Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal Views of Landscape and Wilderness. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.

• Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC) (2021). Sky and Weather Knowledge of Wadawurrung Country. Geelong: WTOAC.

Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025

Magic Lands Alliance

Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land and community.

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Copyright of MLA – 2025

Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.