A Study of the Spatial Aspects of the Acculturation in the Torres Strait Islands

Abstract

This paper is a study of the spatial aspetcs of acculturation in relation to economic, social, political and religious transformations in the Torres Strait Islands. These islands are situated between Australian continent and New Guinea Island (9°20′S-10°45′S), which have transformed their culture since the mid-nineteenth century.The foundamental social unit, “clan” society, used to be organized by totemic clanship, stable and independent, though its spatial structure was loose. And as a larger social unit there existed, “island” society, which was loosely combined by the exogamous marriage system and the mutual relationships of economic complement and cooporation in the wartime. That was the secondary social unit. Furthermore, the third social unit “The Torres Strait Islands” society, consisted of the island groups which used to be called “-laig” area.In the latter half of the nineteenth century, however, the clans were gradually grouped, localized and integrated in politics, religion and military alliance not only through the internal factors, the development of private land holding and the change of marriage and inheritance systems, but also through the outer impacts, the development of cash economy, increase of wage labourers, Christianization and strengthening of Queensland State Government's control. And yet, at this stage, the island society did not possessed the quality of foundamental social unit.It seems that the island society has developed into a foundamental unit of society because its integration has been more strengthened since the turn of the century. Nowadays, however, the society is still unstable and heteronomously integrated, for lack of its internal substantiality under the political and economic control by white men. On the other hand, the traditional clan-ship, which has been transformed into extensive kin-groups, still remains at the foundation of such social and economic systems as marriage, family, land occupancy. The abovementioned kin-groups might be called sub-society because they lack social integration. “The Torres Strait Islands” society, as the secondary social unit, has weakened the autonomously cooperative relationships among islands and strengthened dependence on the white men's society. because each island is separately connected with the political, economic and cultural systems of Australia.Thus, The Torres Strait Islands has lost its multi-layered circle structure based on “clan”, but, today, it has the social structure extended by the outer impacts and intensified its subordinaton to Australia, as found in colonialized society in common.