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SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Groups
Aboriginal groups have successfully survived in the harsh Australian
climate for thousands of centuries. Throughout the continent many
groups shared similar characteristics. They lived in communities
that were previously called "tribes" but the term 'group' is more
accurate. In these groups, people shared a sense of community, they
spoke the same language, occupied a recognized territory, and shared
common customs. Each map of the Aboriginal groups may vary as sometimes
territorial boundaries were not clearly defined. Often groups shared
the same regions because their routes over lapped or they shared
the same hunting and gathering areas.
Groups also shared camping areas and ceremonial sites. Many groups
came together to perform ceremonies and because of this many groups
shared similar ceremonial protocols.
Traditional Adnyamathanha people moved around the Flinders Ranges
using the same routes as their ancestors once used. Those routes
are called Dreaming trails and many of their sacred sites were situated
along these tracks which they visited frequently.
These groups came together to trade and hold meetings regarding
issues such as arranging marriages or exchanging information. Due
to the impact of Europeans, the Adnyamathanha people have not been
able to keep all their customs and rules.
Law
Aboriginal society had a strict legal system that was recorded orally
in the Dreaming. The Dreaming established social, moral and religious
values which were taught daily through the use of music, song, dance,
storytelling and daily interactions with each other. As children
grew older they went through various initiation stages where they
were taught more about the laws.
The law was the most important aspect of Aboriginal society as
it dictated rules about food, marriage, family responsibilities,
initiation and keeping the peace. There were set processes for how
things were to be done for example ,the procedures involved when
receiving guests, learning correct dance movements, relations between
genders and the distribution of land.
Rules about food ensured that there was enough food to go around
the whole group. There were rules that dictated who could eat certain
parts of an animal. For example, uninitiated boys were only able
to eat kangaroo meat from the chest and the back between the shoulder
blades. These rules ensured that food was not exploited and was
shared around. Other food taboos were important as they prevented
the exploitation of plants and animals.
This ensured that resources would be available in the future.
Authority
The fully initiated older men
and women held the greatest authority, as they knew the laws very
well. Aboriginal society was not structured in a hierarchy. Instead
people worked in groups and shared the leadership. When disagreements
occurred, the headman of the social group sorted the issues out.
This important position was passed down from father to son as they
shared a totem link to a common ancestor. If there was an issue
that concerned the general community, an informal council would
be put together and usually consisted of only men. There were no
'kings' in Aboriginal society, as many people have been inclined
to believe.
Punishment
In Adnyamthanha society there were two main divisions (moiety) called
Matheri and Arura. It was the responsibility of the moiety to make
sure that people belonging to their group did not commit an offence.
If that did happen, then it was their job to carry out a punishment
because if a punishment was not carried out there would have been
a conflict between the two groups. When a person broke the law they
were denied higher knowledge and ultimately became less important.
Sometimes arguments were sorted out privately.
For example, the people concerned would take it in turns to hit
each other on the head. The first to fall lost the argument.
"Man to man fights they would have with yam sticks. They'd take
it in turns to hit each other over the head…They must have suffered
a tremendous headache afterwards. The…(urngi) would go there and
fix them up. They'd use a lot of emu fat in those days or carpet
snake fat for ointment… You couldn't hit the other person across
the midriff or body or leg, it was cowardly to do that, you'd probably
get killed. You'd have to lay down and say, I've had enough." (Gordon
Coulthard, Port Augusta, 1984 in Education Dept. SA, 1992; p69)
Another form of punishment was to keep a
person in a smoky place and leave them there until they choked.
Usually the lawbreaker was made a social outcast.For example if
a man married a woman who was not of the accepted moiety then she
and her children were would be treated like outcasts.
"That was a cruel thing when I was in Nepabunna. See my husband
was from there but I was from up north. I was an outsider and in
the Aboriginal way the children are classed on the mother's side.
You come from the mother and therefore you're that group and my
daughter was real sick and I didn't know what was wrong but I knew
she was real ill.
My in-laws wouldn't even help me to bring the body back to Nepabunna
from Adelaide and I couldn't get down there (to Adelaide) because
I just had a baby. Molly had a tumour. She fell off the shed and
hit her head and we left it and it turned into a tumour. Not long
ago I went to Adelaide and…found her grave.She died in 1939. I couldn't
get down to her funeral or anything." (Ruth Mackenzie, Port Augusta,
1984 in Education Dept. SA, 1992; 69)
Now a days the Adnyamathanha people still marry according to the
marriage customs. However they have become more accepting. For example
there have been occasions when people from the group married Europeans
or people from other Aboriginal groups. When this happens they are
merely placed in the correct group.There was a close relationship
between the law and the Dreaming spirits (Nguthuna) and this was
tied together by the Dreaming.
The Aborigines believed that the spirits were everywhere in their
lives and they would know if a law had been broken.If the law was
broken that meant living outside the law and consequently that meant
going against the spirits and living outside the Dreaming. This
was a frightening thought as the Dreaming was almost like a lifeline.
Kinship
As the Dreaming played a major
role in society, the relationships of the Adnyamthanha people with
each other and the land were deeply spiritual. In Adnyamathanha
society there were two main divisions (moieties) called Matheri
(the south wind) and Arura (the north wind) which underpinned the
marriage system and all interactions in Adnyamthanha society. A
person's moiety was inherited from the mother, for example, if the
person's mother was Arura then that person was also Arura. People
had many responsibilities to their moiety. For example if a member
of their moiety had died, the members of that moiety had to perform
certain rituals.
One of the outcome of this system was the
prevention of marriage between close relatives. Adnyamthanha people
today still know their moiety and many still marry according to
their traditions. "The next generation will say "Moiety, what's
that?" and we'll explain, what it means, where it started. We even
know the place where it started, that's going back in history."
(Lynch Ryan 1989 in Education Department of SA 1992: 70)
Around the Flinders Ranges region, a woman was required to marry
outside her group and live with her husband's family. An Aboriginal
family usually consisted of a man, his wife or wives, their children
and other relatives. The woman retained her spiritual ties with
her land of birth as well as her husband's culture. Each relation
had particular duties and obligations to fulfill. Parents were responsible
for providing food for their children as well as looking after their
personal needs. However, punishments were administered by uncles
and aunts (the father's sisters are aunts and the mother's brothers
are uncles) who were also responsible for the child's education.
Parents were often called ngami (mother) and vapi (father). According
to the Kinship system, siblings of the same sex were regarded as
equal. A father's brother was also regarded as a "father" to a child
and were also called "vapi". The mother's sisters were all regarded
as "mothers" who were called "ngami". A brother's children would
be regarded as sons and daughter, while a sister's children were
regarded as nephews and nieces. This extended to the grandparents.
"Vapapa" was used for both the grandfather and the grandchild (girl/boy).
Each child was given specific names dictated by their order of birth,
regardless of gender. "In the old days we educated the kids from
when they were babies. When the mother and father grows them up,
they're told all the time, day by day, what to do and how to do
it, who's your relations because in the traditional way, you've
got to know exactly who they are and where they are so they can
do things right when they come to the (initiation) ground. They
have to know if they're north wind or south wind." (Lynch Ryan,
Port Augusta, 1989 in Education Dept. SA, 1992; 76)
Roles
Roles of Men and Women
As well as encouraging social expressions
such as songs, dance, art, storytelling and artefact making, the
Dreaming also taught customs such as the role of men and women in
society, and sacred and public activities. The role of men and women
often depended on their initiation stage, their amount of knowledge
or the amount of experience they had. Women had authority and influence
in decision making, however, men had over riding power. Aboriginal
groups shared a common attitude as they saw no need to store reserves
of goods when it could be easily obtained from the land.
Material gains were not as important as ensuring
the survival of the group. Their success that has lasted for thousands
of years relied on individual family members carrying out their
specific duties. The women of Adnyamathanha society were in charge
of food gathering which made up most of the group's food supply
and ensured a balanced diet. When a woman had children she was unable
to travel large distances and could not accompany the men. Children
and the elderly usually accompanied the women. The group usually
collected fruits, vegetables, insects and hunted small animals such
as lizards and snakes.
The women knew their environment very well
and could tell which foods were available during each season.
"The men used to cook the kangaroos and the
women made damper. Women used to go hunting when they had no children.
When they've got children, they're always home to look after the
children. They never used to leave their children. Our mothers used
to go around and dig rabbits with a crowbar and carry their babies
on their backs with a blanket. One on their back and one of their
front there. That's what they used to do. There were eight children
in our family; I'm the only one that's left. A lot of people was
here. (Gertie Johnson, Nepabunna, 1989 in Education Department SA,
1992: 122)
Daily Life
The hunting, gathering and preparation of food was a regular activity
as well as teaching the children their kinship relations and the
protocols that belonged to each group member. At times when food
was plentiful, Adnyamathanha people spent their spare time spinning
hair or fur for string, treating animal skin to make cloaks, making
artefacts, collecting water, telling stories, dancing or singing.
The Adnyamathanha community was very social. Young people looked
after the physical needs of the older people and the older people
looked after the education of the young.
Childhood
Babies
As the expectant mother prepared
to give birth to the child she moved away from the camp and no one
was allowed to be present except for the doctor and other women
experienced in childbirth. The extended family helped to care for
the child Once a baby was born it was breastfed. This sometimes
lasted until they were four years old.
A mother did not conceive another baby if
she was still breast feeding her previous child. This was because
while a child was still breast feeding it always had to be carried
and it would be difficult to have another child at the same time
unless other women in the group agreed to help raise the children.
This custom helped women space a few years before the birth of the
next child.
Young children are never told about childbirth and it is only after
puberty that girls were educated in the reproductive process. Soon
after birth a child's marriage would be arranged. Children learnt
from their elders as all the relatives helped to educated the child.
They learnt by observing their surroundings and imitating other
people. As soon as they are born they have a place in society and
they interact with the whole group. They are taught who their relatives
were and everyone's place in the kinship system.
In the Adnyamathanha society young children were not submitted
to physical punishment like smacking nor were they yelled at. Those
things came later when they were older and were expected to know
better. Gradually, as they grew older they were given a basic knowledge
of behaviour, law, animals, the land and much more. Consequently
punishments became more severe. They learnt from stories but the
stories were adapted to suit their level.
The children usually picked an older relative who would look out
for them and as the bond strengthened the older relative would pass
down many stories. " We'd tell stories on t he ground too, draw
it on the ground. Tracks too. Tracks were something that we really
had to take notice of. The old people showed us. At night time they'd
show us the tracks and in the day time when we used to go out hunting
and tracking kangaroos or whatever, they used to show us the tracks
and when there's a big mob of tracks they'd say "That's the one
we've got to follow because that was the last one here." We used
to say "How do you know that it's the last track?" and they'd say
"That's the freshest track because the old tracks have had beetles
walking on the top of the track and only knock around before the
sun comes up." (Lynch Ryan, Port Augusta, 1989 in Education Department
of SA, 1992:81)
Games
Children often learnt things by
playing games. A common game was the string game where a piece of
string was joined into a circle and twisted around each finger.
The person would make shapes while telling a story. Through games
children were able to learn the stories very well. These games also
helped to develop handy skills that would be useful in the future.
Other games taught children to throw with speed, an accuracy which
would later come in handy while hunting.
One game involved rolling a piece of bark
into a ball and as the ball rolled past, the children had to hit
it with a stone. Another game was placing a stick on the ground
and the children would have to bounce a 'wava' (special stick) off
it and mark the ground where it landed. The other kids would them
try to beat that mark. This game required a lot of accuracy to hit
the stick. Duck stone was also played.
This is where the children have to stand behind a line and one
person, who is the camel, stands near the duck which is an object
on a peg approximately 6 meters opposite the line. Everyone has
to try and knock the 'duck' with a rock if they miss they have to
retrieve their rock without getting caught by the camel. If the
'duck' is knocked the camel has to replace it on the peg before
continuing to tag the other children. The tagged children also become
camels and the game continues until there are no more behind the
line.
Trade
The Adnyamathanha group were part of a society which extended to
other Aboriginal groups. These groups met occasionally and traded
ideas and gifts. When a gift was presented to a person that person
was obliged to present a gift in return. Trade was extremely good
for those who did not have the resources to produce goods like certain
types of ochre for example. The Adnyamthanha landscape provided
them with abundant resources. The Adnyamathanha people did not really
need to trade out of necessity but rather they traded to build relationships
with other groups. Through trade they could acquire goods that were
different from those made in the Flinders Ranges. Sometimes the
goods were of a higher quality or simply couldn't be made easily.
Other groups would sometimes journey into the Adnymathanha land
to obtain resources. It was this way that new ideas, songs and dances
were usually introduced.
The Flinders Ranges was renowneds for its supply of Red ochre which
was considered to be very sacred as it represented the life blood
of the spirit ancestors. Many groups had dreaming trails that led
to this supply of ochre.
Dreaming trails were journeys that re enacted the travels of the
Ancestors. Along these trails, sites both sacred and non-sacred
could be found where the individual could communicate to the ancestors.
By communicating with the ancestors, the individual was able to
renew his or her strength. Many dreaming stories disclosed information
on the whereabouts of precious resources like red ochre and certain
minerals. There were rules to be observed when other groups passed
each other on the Dreaming trails. For example, the visiting group
was required to send messengers ahead to declare the groups intentions.
If this was not done then an ambush would occur which sometimes
led to the death of the members of both groups save one person.
Another rule of etiquette usually required the visiting group to
leave a gift at the mine when seeking ochre. Red ochre was sacred
and it served many purposes which included healing and magic.Pituri
was widely traded because of its stimulating properties like narcotic
which is similar to tobacco. Sometimes it was used as a poison to
stun animals, when hunting for example the Aboriginal people would
put it in the water holes to stun the animals that drank. Red ochre
was sometimes traded for pituri. The Adnyamathanha also traded artifacts
such as grindstones and other crafts and in return they would get
boomerangs, spears, wooden object and tomahawks.
Initiation and Marriage
Initiation and marriage Initiation
consisted of many ceremonies that taught people the fundamentals
of their culture. When a girl reached puberty she was taken away
by a group of older women to be initiated. The women who attended
these ceremonies held high status in society as they possessed the
most knowledge. These women were not bound by restrictions or taboos
like the younger women . Boys began their first stages of initiation
as they entered manhood in a ceremony called 'Vardnapa.'
At the start of the ceremony both men and
women were allowed to be present but as the ceremony progressed
the women were excluded. As the boy grew older he would take on
a mentor which was usually the boy's uncle. This was apparently
a difficult time for both the boy and mentor as several Dreaming
stories speak of conflict between the two over taboos. The boy was
allowed to marry if he had passed all the tests.
Children had to undergo many stages of initiation
before they were considered adults. Once adulthood had been reached
initiation ceremonies still continued. People became respected elders
when they had passed all the tests and had proved that they were
capable of obeying and keeping the laws. Consequently they were
given more knowledge and their status grew. The elders of the group
were the most respected and most powerful people in the group. Only
a select group of men were permitted to acquire special knowledge
and power to become an urngi or doctor man. He had powers that could
bring rain or droughts and other phenomenon. Many patients have
praised the extraordinary powers wielded by these doctors for example,
many people claim they cured broken limbs and banished migraines
for ever. Some people believed that mura( brown goshawk or collared
sparrowhawk) had the ability to steal children's spirit and the
urngi (doctor) could retrieve that spirit.
Marriage
It was against the law to elope or marry against authorization.
There are very complex marriage laws that are not clearly understood
by many non-indigenous people, many books have been unsuccessful
in explaining these laws thoroughly or some have refused to attempt
an explanation as they are difficult to understand.
"The marriage ceremony was carried out by the girl's ngamarna
(uncle of the mother's moiety) placing a firestick on the ground
between the promised couple. This symbolized the binding in marriage.
It was not clear how easy or how possible divorce was: it has been
reported that, if the marriage failed, divorce could occur if the
uncle threw away the firestick (not the original) as a signal."
(Tunbridge, 1985:14 in Education Department of SA, 1992, p76)
"By the time a man gets to twenty, he'd be married or before eighteen,
he might be a married man. After he gets married he's be still under
the control of the older people. You can't please yourself whatever
you do. No divorce in the old days. One's got to die first. They'd
say that he left that firestick because he died. They'd say 'Can
we get another man or woman to replace his light. She might have
little kids coming up and they might feel sorry for the kids. They'll
trace it back through the records and there might be a widowed man.
The man can't say 'No I don't want that woman, I don't like her.'
He's under the gun barrel then. The woman can't say 'Oh, what do
they want to send him over for, I don't want him,'Even if he's a
hundred years old, she can't say nothing. They'd say 'Here's your
man, here's your firestick'. She can't knock it back, he can't knock
it back. It works out most of the time." (Lee Wilton, Leigh Creek
South, 1989 in Education Department of SA, 1992, p76)
Because it was possible for a man to have more then one wife, there
were sometimes conflicts between older men (who may have younger
wives) and younger men. Very often there was jealousy.
Ceremonies
Ceremonies were a means of connecting with the spiritual world.
Ceremonies and rituals included the use of paintings, songs, dancing,
music, dramas, storytelling, making and handling sacred objects.
In the ceremonies, songs and dances were to be performed accurately.
Some ceremonies required the use of body painting and decorations
with ochre, charcoal, lime and feather down. The use of red ochre
was important in ceremonies as it represented the Adnyamathanha
blood. Some people had specific designs depending upon their role
in the ceremony.
Much of their spare time was devoted to planning
these ceremonies. Some were short but some could last up to a few
days. People were able to reinforce kinship ties through the planning
of the ceremonies. Traditional Adnyamathanha ceremonies ceased in
the late 1940's under pressure from missionaries who wanted to promote
their own beliefs. Adnyamathanha people today use more contemporary
forms of music to express their connections with the land, for example,
the songs of Buck Mckenzie.These have taken the place of traditional
ceremonies and song cycles.
A member
of the University of Adelaide took a recording of Adnyamathanha
men in 1966. This is the description of the song: "The singers were
in their sixties apart from one old man who was over 100 years old.
With all the songs there is a lengthy regular rhythm with accompanying
beat, sometimes including chest tapping, for most of the verse.
The voice is low and rich with sometimes a croaking or almost a
hoarse quality." (Education Department of S. A. 1992: 92)
Initiation ceremonies
were big affairs and often involved the extended family. It was
a good time for large groups to meet and exchange information, discuss
such things as marriage arrangements and settle disputes. Ceremonies
were often used to control the land, for example, rain making. Unfortunately
these ceremonies ceased when the Europeans came and placed the Aborigines
in missions or imposed Western religious beliefs upon them.
Funeral
Burials
were carefully prepared out of fear of displeasing the spirit world.
The burial service was prepared by members of the deceased's moiety.
The people of the opposite moiety could have nothing to do with
it and they were not allowed to attend the service or talk about
the death. When the body was buried it was stretched out and the
limbs placed together. Then it was buried approximately two metres
deep, away from the campsite. The head was laid to the south and
a windbreak, made of earth, wood and leafy branches was built around
the head in a semi circular shape.
The mourners of the
opposite moiety applied lime over their faces where as the mourners
of the same moiety covered their faces with black (possibly carbon
or manganese). During the two weeks of mourning the mourners had
to travel in a zigzag route to and from the grave in order to prevent
the spirits following the mourners. Fires were lit and special chants
were sung to ward off the spirits. The Adnyamathanha people believed
that when the spirit left the body it would travel to a place to
be cleansed thus allowing it to return to its own country.
Once the person had died their name was never used for a long time
and sometimes never again. This tradition is still followed today
but because of the radical changes since the coming of Europeans
they have found it difficult to continue this tradition causing
much anguish on their part.
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