Australian Tribes Research Articles

The Totemism Hypothesis in the Origin of Religion: A Critical Study in the Light of the Islamic Faith

This study discussed the totemic hypothesis in the origin of religion using a descriptive critical approach. It included an analysis of the fundamental concepts it used, the methodology followed, and its most notable results, presenting a methodological scientific critique of them. The study revealed that Durkheim's hypothesis is based on the concept of religion in its social dimension, which is based on the existence of the sacred in society, and on the concepts of collective conscience and social phenomena. He relied on his studies about ethnographic information related to certain Australian tribes dominated by a totemic social system. After analyzing that system, he concluded that totemism is the first form on which religion was established and that religion is a social phenomenon, i.e., created by society. In the context of discussing and evaluating the hypothesis, the study showed numerous methodological errors, the most important of which are: not accurately defining the concept of religion and relying on relative ethnographic observations, accurate or not, then generalizing the results without scientific evidence. In addition, the results obtained by the totemic hypothesis, the most important of which is that religion is of human origin, are rejected in the Islamic perception. This is due to it colliding with the grand faith facts in the Islamic belief, and that religion is of divine origin.

The Survival of Aboriginal Australians through the Harshest time in Human History: Community Strength

AbstractIntroduction: Aboriginal People have inhabited the Australian continent since the beginning of time, but archaeologists and anthropologist’s state there is evidence for approx. 51,000 to 71,000 years of continual habitation. During this time, the Australian continent has experienced many environmental and climatic changes i.e. fluctuating temperatures, ice ages, fluctuating CO2 levels, extremely high dust levels, high ice volume, high winds, large scale bush fires, glacial movement, low rain fall, extreme arid conditions, limited plant growth, evaporation of fresh water lakes, and dramatic sea level fluctuations, which have contributed to mass animal extinction.Method: The skeletal remains of Aboriginal Australians were examined for evidence of bone spurring at the calcaneus, which may be indicative of fast running which would assist survival. The skull and mandible bones were examined for signs evolutional traits related to survival. Aboriginal culture, knowledge of medical treatment and traditional medicines were also investigated. Discussion: Oral story telling of factual events, past down unchanged for millennia contributed to survival. Aboriginal Australians had to seek refuge, and abandon 80% of the continent. Physical ability and athleticism was paramount to survival. There is evidence of cannibalism by many Aboriginal Australian tribes contributing to survival. The Kaurna People exhibited evolutionary facial features that would have assisted survival. Kaurna People had excellent knowledge of medicine and the capacity to heal their community members.Conclusion: The Australian continent has experienced many environmental and climatic changes over the millennia. Navigating these extremely harsh, rapidly changing conditions is an incredible story of survival of Aboriginal Australians. The findings of this investigation suggest that Aboriginal Australians survival methods were complex and multi-faceted. Although this paper could not examine every survival method, perhaps Aboriginal Peoples knowledge of flora and fauna, for nourishment and medicine, was paramount to their survival.

Elementary Forms of Religious Life: Conclusion

In 2018, Elementary Forms Press will be releasing the Russian translation of Emile Durkheim’s seminal oeuvre Elementary Forms of Religious Life (originally published in 1912). In his Conclusion, Durkheim revisits the key epistemological questions raised at the beginning of the book. He summarizes his findings obtained as a result of the analysis of ethnographical descriptions of the religious beliefs of Australian tribes. He proves that his approach to the study of totemism is also relevant for more complex societies. According to his analysis, religious life is the expression of the collective life as such, and is manifested via collective actions. He explains the origins of the individual cult and the universal nature of religion, the two phenomena that at first glance seem to contradict his main argument about the social nature of religion. Durkheim then approaches modern life and demonstrates the historical nature of religious life, i.e., the fact that there will always be a need for a way to express the collective feelings and representations of any society. Finally, Durkheim discusses the relationship between science and religion, and studies the social origins of the categories of thought. In considering these issues, Durkheim goes beyond the framework of sociological theory of religion, and reaffirms the fundamental character of his research once again. The Conclusion is supplemented with introductory remarks by Dmitry Kurakin, who provides the social-theoretical keys for understanding the contemporary relevance of Durkheim’s work, and gives an overview of the main terminological dilemmas during the translation process.

Wood anatomy of Australian mirbelioids and allies (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae)

Detailed wood anatomical data for 22 species from 11 genera belonging to the tribes Bossiaeeae, Mirbelieae and Hypocalypteae (Fabaceae, subfamily Papilionoideae) are presented. No wood traits to distinguish clearly between the three tribes were found. On the contrary, they share a common character, namely, short vessel elements (distinctly shorter than in the tribe Baphieae, their sister group). This may be interpreted as a synapomorphy for the three tribes. The presence of numerous strongly branched protuberances in chambers of the vestured intervessel pits is seemingly an ancestral condition for this group. The occurrence of tanniniferous tubes in some Daviesia and Gastrolobium species is coherent with a close relationship between the mirbelioid clade and Hypocalypus, the only legume genus where these structures have previously been reported. The accumulation of tannins in ray cells can start at an early stage of their differentiation. The formation of tanniniferous tubes is seemingly a result of uneven elongation of ray cells with and without tannin deposits. In general, wood anatomical characters support the hypothesis (originally proposed in the pre-DNA era, based on morphological, cytological and chemical data) that the monotypic South African tribe Hypocalyptieae has the Australian tribes Bossiaeeae and Mirbelieae as its closest relatives, rather than Cape genistoid legumes.

Reclaiming the Wasteland: Samson and Delilah and the Historical Perception and Construction of Indigenous Knowledges in Australian Cinema

Reclaiming the Wasteland: Samson and Delilah and the Historical Perception and Construction of Indigenous Knowledges in Australian Cinema

An interim key to the Western Australian tribes and genera of Myrtaceae

An interim key to the Western Australian tribes and genera of Myrtaceae

Talcopsaltriini, a new tribe for a new genus and species of Australian cicada (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae)

A new tribe, Talcopsaltriini, subfamily Cicadinae, is described to accommodate Talcopsaltria olivei, n.gen., n.sp. a species recorded from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Relationships of the Talcopsaltriini are discussed and comparisons made with allied tribes. A modified key to Australian tribes of the subfamily Cicadinae is provided. The terms anterior and posterior cranial depressions are introduced for two structures on the head previously unnamed. MouldS, M.S., 2008. Talcopsaltriini, a new tribe for a new genus and species of Australian cicada (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae). Records of the Austalian Museum 60(3): 207–214. © The Author, 2008. Journal compilation © Australian Museum, Sydney, 2008 Records of the Australian Museum (2008) Vol. 60: 207–214. ISSN 0067-1975 doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.60.2008.1496 A new Australian cicada from north-eastern Queensland has proved to be so different from other known species that it warrants not only a new genus but also a new tribe. Talcopsaltria olivei n.gen., n.sp. is described and placed in a new tribe Talcopsaltriini, subfamily Cicadinae. This new tribe is compared with allied tribes. The following abbreviations are used: AM, Australian Museum, Sydney; AE, collection of A. Ewart, Caloundra; JO, collection of J. Olive, Cairns; MSM, collection of M.S. Moulds, Kuranda; PH, collection of P. Hutchinson, Perth; QM, Queensland Museum, Brisbane.

A comprehensive analysis of microsatellite diversity in Aboriginal Australians

Indigenous Australians have a unique evolutionary history that has resulted in a complex system of inter and intra-tribal relationships. While a number of studies have examined the population genetics of indigenous Australians, most have used a single sample to illuminate details of the global dispersal of modern humans and few studies have focussed on the population genetic features of the widely dispersed communities of the indigenous population. In this study we examine the largest Aboriginal Australian sample yet analysed (N = 8,868) at fifteen hypervariable autosomal microsatellite loci. A comprehensive analysis of differentiation indicates different levels of heterogeneity among indigenous peoples from traditional regions of Aboriginal Australia. The most genetically differentiated populations inhabit the North of the country, in particular the Tiwi of Melville and Bathurst islands, Arnhem Land (itself divided into West and East Arnhem), and Fitzmaurice regions. These tribal groups are most differentiated from other Aboriginal Australian tribes, especially those of the Central Desert regions, and also show marked heterogeneity from one another. These genetic findings are supportive of observations of body measurements, skin colour, and dermatoglyphic features which also vary substantially between tribes of the North (e.g. Arnhem Land) and Central Australian regions and, more specifically, between the Tiwi and West and East Arnhem tribes. This study provides the most comprehensive survey of the population genetics of Aboriginal Australia.

Phylogeny of Eulophidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), with a reclassification of Eulophinae and the recognition that Elasmidae are derived eulophids

SummaryEulophidae is a large and biologically varied family of parasitoid wasps, traditionally split into four subfamilies; Elasmidae is a uniform (single genus) and morphologically distinct family of wasps that are thought to be related to Eulophidae. The D2 region of the 28S rDNA gene (≈ 560 bp) of eighty‐seven species of eulophid, three species of elasmid and sixteen outgroup species in five families was sequenced. Cladograms were constructed, and the results compared with conclusions drawn from morphological studies. The gene was most informative at the level of subfamily and tribe. The monophyly of both Eulophinae and Tetrastichinae is supported; that of Entedoninae and Euderinae is less clear. Results indicate that Eulophinae is a derived group within Eulophidae, rather than an ancestral group as previously thought, and thatElasmus, the sole genus of Elasmidae, belongs within this subfamily. The tribes of Eulophinae are reassessed and only three accepted: Eulophini (including Euplectrini and Elachertini), Elasmini and Cirrospilini LaSalle trib.n. for Bouček's Ophelimini withOphelimusandAustralsecodesexcluded. Three small Australian tribes, Anselmellini, Ophelimini and Platytetracampini, are removed from Eulophinae and Entedoninae, respectively, but their exact relationships and subfamily status cannot as yet be decided. Another tribe, Keryini, known from a single Australian genus, is excluded from both Eulophinae and Eulophidae.

Problems of Ethnosemiotics

In researching exchange as an "integral social fact," Mauss and his school, as well as Hocart and Needham, came to the conclusion that in ancient times there existed a nondifferentiated society, in which the exchange of social and material values (including "the exchange of partners"—i.e., spouses—according to Lévi-Strauss), ritualized mutual relations, and activity equivalent to the arts in contemporary society are regarded as virtually indistinguishable from one another. At the present time, it is possible to believe that in phylogenesis (species history), development of human sign systems takes place by means of a growth in the number of various systems breaking away from some hypothetical single system.1 Such a universal or integral sign system simultaneously had functions that partially corresponded to those that would later be performed by linguistic, ritual, religious, scientific, and artistic systems. Natural language, the language of gestures, and other kinds of information, later becoming specialized as individual arts, writing, and so on, belong to the realm of this universal system.2 Early religion and early mythology constituted its content. One of the important ethnological discoveries is the establishment of the unity of early religion and early science. An analogue of this "syncretic" (in the spirit of Veselovskii's definition of the early syncretism of the arts)3 sign system is the comparably universal system identified by Mauss in early exchange: "This early form of exchange is not exclusively or in its very essence economic, but places us before what he (Mauss—V.I.) correctly refers to as an "integral social fact," that is, a fact laden simultaneously with social and religious, magical and economic, utilitarian, feeling-oriented, legal, and moral meaning."4 In describing a society of such an "integral" type, one ought to avoid attempts to transfer to it that specialization of functions (including esthetic ones) that have evolved in contemporary societies thanks to the long-term development of sign systems that comprise culture as a whole. It is obvious that those functions that are divided among the spheres of religion, medicine, dance, drama, and certain other arts in any European society are combined into one in the séances of a Siberian or American Indian shaman.a In exactly the same way, the rules regulating exchange (in the broad sense indicated) among certain Australian (and, to some extent, North American Indian) tribes may be essential for the geographic distribution of labor and its products,5 the establishment of preferential or prescriptive marital unions, and the definition of a spatial model of the composition of the tribe and the structure of the world, as reflected in monuments of the arts as well. As has been established in the latest works of ethnologists, a society with "obligatory" rules for marital unions is characterized by the unity of its system of relationships, which can be seen to differing extents in the realm of "symbolic classification," i.e. in the fundamental semiotic oppositions of the male—female, right—left, red—black, etc. type,6 and in the realm of social organization, this type of society is an example of an "integral social system"; therefore, isolating the economic, political, legal, and religious frameworks may be incorrect, and even inconvenient for description. More likely, the subject of our examination is an integral process organized within the framework of a unified schema of symbolic classification.7 Specifically, in a society with a dual organization, this latter is directly reflected in paired semiotic oppositions associated with two phratries, their two mythical (twin) forefathers,8 and so on. These oppositions determine the structure of the world and the set of ritual actions and restrictions through which all social life is regimented.

Monograph of the Monistriini and Petasidini (Orthoptera : Pyrogomorphidae)

A numerical taxonomic study is made of the endemic Australian tribe Monistriini auct, in relation to the African and Indian Poekilocerini. It is concluded that the genera Petasida and Scutillya are phenetically as removed from the remainder of the Monistriini auct. as the Poekilocerini are from either; a new tribe Petasidini is erected to accommodate them. The two Australian tribes are revised comprehensively, with descriptions, figures, and keys of the 14 species. One new genus, Parastria, with new species P. reticulata, and a new species Monistria consobrina, are recognized. Extensive intraspecific geographical variation is described for most of the species and numerous geographical races discriminated. Distributions are documented by means of detailed maps. Biological information is presented when available. A small percentage of macropterous individuals occurs in several species of the mainly brachypterous genus Monistria; evidence is presented for regarding these as in part a kentromorphic phenomenon, but gregariousness has not been observed. Any one species has a limited range of host plants, many of which contain toxins. It is suggested that these are sequestered in the haemolymph as a defence against diurnal vertebrate predators and advertized by the usually aposematic coloration. An origin of the two Australian tribes from a common ancestor with the Poekilocerini is hypothesized for the Cretaceous period, throughout most of which Western Australia and India were in contact or near-contact. A 'lenticular organ' observed on the antennae of all the species has been found to occur widely in the Acridoidea.

A possible geneaology of Australian marriage systems morphisms in ‘matrimonial class’ systems

In this paper, using the most common marriage rules occuring in primitive tribes, we construct a 16 classes model. The corresponding group of order 16 yields by morphic images quotients of order 2, 4 or 8. One observes among the Australian tribes several societies corresponding to those quotient groups; we make the assumption that distinct societies could have a unique origin, in which different collapsing of classes have appeared.

Mrs Bates and Mr Brown: An examination of Rodney Needham's allegations

In his paper 'Surmise, discovery and rhetoric' (1974), Rodney Needham made three allegations about his predecessor, Radcliffe-Brown: that he had, first, claimed to have 'discovered' the Kariera system, when it had already been known and recorded by a number of previous writers, second, 'mutilated beyond recovery' Mrs Daisy Bates' manuscript on the Aborigines of Western Australia which had been entrusted to him for comment and revision, and, third, included in his own publications the research and writings of Mrs Bates without her permission and without due acknowledgement. For those unfamiliar with the known facts concerning RadcliffeBrown's sojourn in Australia in the years 1910-1911, and his transactions with Mrs Bates, here follows a brief account. Since 1904 Mrs Bates had been employed by the Western Australian Government to study and report on the languages and customs of the fast vanishing Aborigines of the state. Even before 1904 she had already accumulated a considerable store of knowledge about some of them, particularly those living in the areas near the coast, north-east from Roebourne and Port Hedland to Broome and Beagle Bay, so that she had a ten-year store of knowledge when Radcliffe-Brown arrived. From 1907 to 1910 she was writing a book for the Government about her findings, and sending the completed chapters to Andrew Lang in England for comment. Lang, in turn, showed some of this manuscript to Radcliffe-Brown, who arrived in Perth in late September, 1910. Mrs Bates was seconded by the government to join his expedition, with the arrangement that her writings would be included in the reports of the expedition and probably published by Cambridge University Press, so saving the government the cost of publication. Mrs Bates and Mr Brown (as he then was) were in the field together for six months, first on the mainland and then on Bernier and Dorre Islands, until their mounting incompatibility made co-operation no longer possible. Radcliffe-Brown returned to the mainland and worked for a further six months on the cattle and sheep stations of the area around Carnarvon and Port Hedland, and returned to England early in 1912. Mrs Bates did some months fieldwork around Peak Hill and then returned to Perth; the government took this opportunity to terminate her employment, and later handed back to her her manuscript to publish herself. In 1912 and 1913 Radcliffe-Brown published three papers as a result of his research in Western Australia, and in 1930-31 his important long paper on the social organization of Australian tribes appeared in

Sorcery in an Australian Tribe

This article compares how sorcery operates among the Lardil of Mornington Island, Northern Queensland with beliefs and practices in other Australian tribes and then examines several relevant theoretical issues. Sorcery has been examined with a cosmological, or sociology of perception, approach by Evans-Pritchard (I937) and with a relationship approach by Marwick (I952, I965). In theory there is nothing hindering one from using both these and other interpretations simultaneously. In this article I use the relationship approach, concentrating on the relationship between sorcerer and victim, because} although the relationship approach has often and fruitfully been used to analyze sorcery and witchcraft in African tribes, it has never been used for an Australian tribe. That sorcery has not received much attention from present day Australianists is surprising because its occurrance in other parts of the world, especially Africa, has. It was often mentioned, though usually briefly, in the early ethnographic literature on the Australian Aborigines. Spencer and Gillen (I899) describe different sorcery techniques (e.g., bone pointing and singing weapons and wounds) among the tribes of Central Australia. They mention some cases of social conflict (e.g., marital disputes) culminating in sorcery and also describe how obtain mystical power and counteract some sorcery practices. Warner (I937) describes sorcery among the Murngin and presents several case histories collected from self-confessed sorcerers. Elkin (I 946) discusses men who were believed to possess exceptional mystical powers, but (Elkin I938:308) was more concerned with healers than with reputed evil doers, which may account for his claim that sorcerers are very rare. My fieldwork at the Gulf of Carpentaria (Mornington Island, Doomadgee, Aurukun, and Weipa) in Northern Queensland and my reading of the ethnographic literature suggest that Elkin's claim is erroneous. Perhaps he means that the role of medicine man is institutionalized, men rarely admitting to being sorcerers. Nevertheless, belief in sorcery is widespread among the Australian Aborigines and death and misfortune are often attributed tO sorcery. Inter aliv, the many reports of inquests support the view that sorcery is ubiquitous, for they are held tO determine what caused the death of the deceased and who was the sorcerer responsible. I describe below Lardil sorcery beliefs and practices and some case histories. Thirty seven sorcery cases are analyzed for the relationship of the reputed sorcerer and believed victim in terms of the kinship system, in generation terms, and in terms of the local social organization. Suspected sorcerers fall into two main categories (affines and classificatory brothers) and conflict between people standing in these relationships often revolve around women.

Australian Kin Classification.

This study aims to resolve the century-old debate about the nature of Australian aboriginal societies and the comparability of their structures with the structures of other tribal and kinship-based societies. It begins with a critical evaluation and refutation of the claims that Australians are 'ignorant of physical paternity' and therefore cannot have systems of kin classification. Professor Scheffler then demonstrates that systems of kin classification are a common feature of Australian languages and that, contrary to the theory proposed by A. R. Radcliffe-Brown and others, variation in the rules of interkin marriage does not account for variation in systems of kin classification. This was the first monographic treatment of the subject since Radcliffe-Brown's classic work, The Social Organization of the Australian Tribes, published in 1931, and is much more comprehensive and synthetic in its coverage of the range of variation in Australian systems of kin classification. It applies the concepts and methods of structural semantic analysis to a broad range of ethnographic and linguistic data, and demonstrates how they resolve one of anthropology's oldest and most perplexing theoretical puzzles.

Comments on the double helix kinship model

American EthnologistVolume 7, Issue 1 p. 190-192 Free Access comments on the double helix kinship model H. W. Scheffler, H. W. Scheffler Yale UniversitySearch for more papers by this author H. W. Scheffler, H. W. Scheffler Yale UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: February 1980 https://doi.org/10.1525/ae.1980.7.1.02a00150Citations: 3AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. References Cited Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. 193031 The Social Organization of Australian Tribes. Oceania Monographs 1. Sydney. Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. 1951 Murngin Social Organization. American Anthropologist 53: 37– 55. Rose, F. G. G. 1960 Classification of Kin, Age Structure, and Marriage Amongst the Groote Eylandt Aborigines: A Study in Method and Theory of Australian Kinship. New York: Pergamon Books. Scheffler, H. W. 1977a On the Rule of Uniform Reciprocals in Systems of Kin Classification. Anthropological Linguistics 19: 245– 259. Scheffler, H. W. 1977b Kinship and Alliance in South India and Australia. American Anthropologist 79: 869– 882. Scheffler, H. W. 1978 Australian Kin Classification. Cambridge Studies in Social Anthropology, No. 23. London: Cambridge University Press. Von Wright, G. H. 1971 Explanation and Understanding. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Citing Literature Volume7, Issue1February 1980Pages 190-192 ReferencesRelatedInformation

FROM MEN TO GODS AND BACK AGAIN

This book is really about how man has come to understand himself so far as he actually has. Its German title, quoted above, is difficult to express in English, not by reason of any intrinsic verbal difficulty, but just because the corresponding phrase is not used in English: Numinous Mixed Form. The compound Mischgestalt is peculiarly German; it is based on the observed fact that in some cultures divine beings are represented as differing from men, not simply in being superhuman but as being part animal, bird, reptile, (or any non-human shape) and partly human. The Egyptian god Anubis is one such: he is human in shape but has the head of an animal, a jackal or dog. This is the Mischgestalt, translated here as (MF). Actually the term is used to cover a multitude of non-human or partly human forms, including the variable forms of the Great Ancestors in Australia and other primitive beliefs. In the higher religions the deity does not have a form at all, and is incapable of being imaged or described at all as the Jewish, Islamic and Christian God. The second commandment forbids the making of any image of God. There is no Gestalt at all, much less a Mischgestalt. In other religions, the deity or deities may be partly human and partly non-human. This is what the author means by form, and the book enquires into the historical problem as to how the concept of such mixed forms arose, and how old they are, their psychological or other explanation. Among modern primitives, the author deals especially, by way of example, with the religion of the Aranda in Central Australia, because this is especially well documented. Had he been writing in Australia he could have included other tribes as well, all of which appear to represent a very ancient thought pattern. Amongst the Aranda, as amongst other Australian tribes and peoples elsewhere, the totemic ancestors may be now human, now non-human, and change from one to another without losing

An analysis of the marriage structure of the murngin tribe of australia

This article concerns interrelated variables in the subsystems that produce the next generation in particular societal systems of various Australian tribes. Special attention is directed to the Murngin tribe. Previous analytic approaches have been static, employing group theory. This literature is critically reviewed and then a dynamic analysis is suggested as an improved procedure. In this approach tribal marriage structures are analyzed, and not merely delineated, graphically. The dynamics result from the evolution of societies from one homomorphic structure to another. Foundations are laid using such analytic methods to study marriage structures that are less rigid than those of the Australian tribes.

Genetic and socio-cultural differentiation in the aborigines of Arnhem Land, Australia.

AbstractFour tribes of Arnhem Land were surveyed for dermatoglyphics; based on pattern intensity indices, total ridge‐counts, and a distance statistic combining the two, it was shown that the tribes can be arranged into western (Tiwi, Gunwinggu) and eastern (“Murngin” and Andilyaugwa) groups. This substantiates observations made on Arnhem Land by linguists and social anthropologists.From a survey of allele frequency traits of blood factors and P.T.C. tasting, distance statistics were computed between the four tribes. These confirmed the relative isolation of the extreme Arnhem Land tribes. Distance statistics were also computed between the four tribes and two Central Australian tribes, the Aranda and Wailbri. The Aranda and “Murngin” were relatively close together agreeing with theories that the Aranda are derived from a not too remote southwards migration from north Arnhem Land, as supported by linguistic data.Correlations between the biological, geographical and linguistic distances were positive, and generally agreed with the expectation that socio‐cultural and linguistic barriers are important in regulating gene flow between populations. This study emphasizes the need to consider biological distances in association with ecological and socio‐cultural factors.

SOME FACTORS AFFECTING RESIDENCE AMONG THE TIWI

TN Volume I of Oceania I attempted to explain the nature of Tiwi residence under -*• Aboriginal conditions. Now, 40 years later, I am still trying to explain it, but I am doing so not because my previous attempts at explanation were obscure, as some might think. I prefer to believe that the difficulty some of my colleagues have in understanding Tiwi residence results from their tendency to think of Australian tribes as always following rigid rules of residence. People either had to belong to and live in the local groups of their father or their mother. Whatever the case on the mainland, this was certainly not true of the Tiwi. Tiwi men and Tiwi women usually changed their residences several times during their lifetime, and such changes were frequently from one local group to another. If I had to choose a single adjective to categorize Tiwi residence, it would be opportunist. Tiwi residence was opportunistic , especially for men, but also for older women. This paper is an attempt to analyse some of the more common forms which such opportunism took and some of the factors in the culture which made such opportunism possible, or even unavoidable.