This ` Rainbow Serpent ' is generally and variously identified by those who tell ` Rainbow Serpent ' myths , as a snake of some enormous size often living within the deepest waterholes of many of Australia 's waterways ; descended from that larger being visible as a dark streak in the Milky Way , it reveals itself to people in this world as a rainbow as it moves through water and rain , shaping landscapes , naming and singing of places , swallowing and sometimes drowning people ; strengthening the knowledgeable with rainmaking and healing powers ; blighting others with sores , weakness , illness , and death .
It shows itself to people in this world as a rainbow as it moves through water and rain , shaping landscapes , naming and singing of places , swallowing and sometimes drowning people ; strengthening the knowledgeable with rainmaking and healing powers ; blighting others with sores , weakness , illness , and death .