Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Aboriginal Lore/Answer Key"

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Marn Grook (also spelt marngrook) is an Australian Aboriginal ball game, which is claimed to have had an influence on the modern game of Australian rules football, most notably in the spectacular jumping and high marking exhibited by the players of both games.

Marn Grook, literally meaning "Game ball", was a traditional game played at gatherings and celebrations of up to 50 players by the Djabwurrung and Jardwadjali people of western Victoria.

Eye-witness accounts

Robert Brough-Smyth, in an 1878 book The Aborigines of Victoria, quoted Richard Thomas, a Protector of Aborigines in Victoria, who stated that in about 1841 he had witnessed Aborigines playing the game.

The men and boys joyfully assemble when this game is to be played. One makes a ball of possum skin, somewhat elastic, but firm and strong. The players of this game do not throw the ball as a white man might do, but drop it and at the same time kicks it with his foot. The tallest men have the best chances in this game. Some of them will leap as high as five feet from the ground to catch the ball. The person who secures the ball kicks it. This continues for hours and the natives never seem to tire of the exercise.

In 1889, anthropologist Alfred Howitt, wrote that the game was played between large groups on a totemic basis — the white cockatoos versus the black cockatoos, for example, which accorded with their skin system. Acclaim and recognition went to the players who could leap or kick the highest. Howitt wrote:

This game of ball-playing was also practised among the Kurnai, the Wolgal (Tumut river people), the Wotjoballuk as well as by the Woiworung, and was probably known to most tribes of south-eastern Australia. The Kurnai made the ball from the scrotum of an "old man kangaroo", the Woiworung made it of tightly rolled up pieces of opossum skin. It was called by them "mangurt". In this tribe the two exogamous divisions, Bunjil and Waa, played on opposite sides. The Wotjoballuk also played this game, with Krokitch on one side and Gamutch on the other. The mangurt was sent as a token of friendship from one to another.^&

Tom Wills, who drew up the rules of Australian rules football in 1858-59, was raised in Victoria's western districts and is said to have played with local Aboriginal children.^& He recalled watching a game in which they kicked a possum skin about the size of an orange, stuffed with charcoal.^{[citation needed]}

Marn Grook and the football term "mark"

Some claim that the origin of the Australian rules term "mark", meaning a clean, fair catch of a kicked ball, followed by a free kick, is derived from the Aboriginal word "mumarki" used in Marn Grook, and meaning "to catch".^&^& However, many believe that this is a false etymology and that the term instead came from the practice — in old and/or extinct British football codes — of a player who had caught the ball marking the ground with a foot, to show where the catch had been taken, and calling "mark" to be awarded a free kick. The term mark has been used in modern football codes since the 1830s, notably in rugby football and early Association football (soccer). It is still used in rugby union, in reference to a fair catch by a player who calls "mark" when catching a ball inside their team's 22 metre line.

The "Marngrook Trophy"

In 2002, in a game at Stadium Australia, the Sydney Swans and Essendon Football Club began to compete for the Marngrook Trophy, awarded after home-and-away matches each year between the two teams in the Australian Football League. However, the games are played under normal rules of the AFL, rather than anything approaching Marn Grook.

References

↑ AW Howitt, "Notes on Australian Message Sticks and Messengers", Journal of the Anthropological Institute, London, 1889, p 2, note 4, Reprinted by Ngarak Press, 1998, ISBN 1875254250
↑ http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/MediaRelArc02.nsf/17ed9415cb17e3d34a25682500254734/67d1f54851b3304b4a256965007bb637!OpenDocument&Click=
↑ http://www.footystamps.com/ot_early_history.htm
↑ http://www.aboriginalfootball.com.au/marngrook.html

External links

AboriginalFootball.com, "Marn Grook"

Template:Afl-stub

[1] AW Howitt, "Notes on Australian Message Sticks and Messengers", Journal of the Anthropological Institute, London, 1889, p 2, note 4, Reprinted by Ngarak Press, 1998, ISBN 1875254250

[2] ttp://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/MediaRelArc02.nsf/17ed9415cb17e3d34a25682500254734/67d1f54851b3304b4a256965007bb637!OpenDocument&Click=

[3] ttp://www.footystamps.com/ot_early_history.htm

[4] ttp://www.aboriginalfootball.com.au/marngrook.html

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Australian Aboriginal [[kinship]]''' refers to the system of [[law]] governing social interaction, particularly [[marriage]], in traditional Aboriginal culture. It is an integral part of the culture of every [[List of Indigenous Australian group names|Aboriginal group]] across Australia.
+'''Marn Grook''' (also spelt ''marngrook'') is an [[Australian Aborigine|Australian Aboriginal]] ball game, which is claimed to have had an influence on the modern game of [[Australian rules football]], most notably in the spectacular jumping and [[Mark (Australian football)|high marking]] exhibited by the players of both games.
-The main element is the division of [[clan]]s within the same language group into ''skin groups'', or  [[moiety|moieties]]. In its simplest form, clans are divided into two skin groups. There may be four divisions (see [[Martu (Indigenous Australian)|Martu]]), while more complex systems can be divided into eight (see [[Pintupi]] and below).
+Marn Grook, literally meaning "Game ball",  was a traditional game played at gatherings and celebrations of up to 50 players by the [[Gunditjmara|Djabwurrung]] and [http://www2.visitvictoria.com/displayObject.cfm/ObjectID.00043955-3A4A-1A66-88CD80C476A90318/vvt.vhtml Jardwadjali] people of western [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]].
-The system dictates who may [[marry]] whom – it is always [[taboo]] to marry into your own skin group – creating strong [[incest]] avoidance laws and strong bonds across [[clan]]s through [[exogamous]] relations. While it can be determined at birth who will marry whom, [[love marriage]]s were not uncommon, so long as they were within the skin system.
+== Eye-witness accounts ==
+[[Robert Brough-Smyth]], in an [[1878]] book ''The Aborigines of Victoria'', quoted Richard Thomas, a [[Protector of Aborigines]] in Victoria, who stated that in about [[1841]] he had witnessed Aborigines playing the game.
+:''The men and boys joyfully assemble when this game is to be played. One makes a ball of [[possum]] skin, somewhat elastic, but firm and strong. The players of this game do not throw the ball as a white man might do, but drop it and at the same time kicks it with his foot. The tallest men have the best chances in this game. Some of them will leap as high as five feet from the ground to catch the ball. The person who secures the ball kicks it. This continues for hours and the natives never seem to tire of the exercise.''
+In [[1889]], anthropologist [[Alfred Howitt]], wrote that the game was played between large groups on a [[totemic]] basis &mdash; the white [[cockatoo]]s versus the black cockatoos, for example, which accorded with their [[Australian Aboriginal kinship|skin system]]. Acclaim and recognition went to the players who could leap or kick the highest. Howitt wrote:
+:''This game of ball-playing was also practised among the [[Kurnai]], the [[Wolgal]] ([[Tumut]] river people), the [[Wotjoballuk]] as well as by the [[Wurundjeri|Woiworung]], and was probably known to most tribes of south-eastern Australia. The Kurnai made the ball from the [[scrotum]] of an "old man [[kangaroo]]", the Woiworung made it of tightly rolled up pieces of [[possum|opossum]] skin. It was called by them "mangurt". In this tribe the two [[Australian Aboriginal kinship|exogamous divisions]], Bunjil and Waa, played on opposite sides. The Wotjoballuk also played this game, with Krokitch on one side and Gamutch on the other. The mangurt was sent as a token of friendship from one to another.<ref>AW Howitt, "Notes on Australian Message Sticks and Messengers", ''Journal of the Anthropological Institute'', London, 1889, p 2, note 4, Reprinted by Ngarak Press, 1998, ISBN 1875254250</ref>
-This system is invaluable, especially during [[drought]] or lack of resources, having [[cousin]]s and skin sisters and brothers in other clans. It also creates obligations to care for those people in their time of need. Even in [[Marn Grook|traditional ball games]], teams were divided along these lines.
+[[Tom Wills]], who drew up the rules of Australian rules football in [[1858]]-59, was raised in Victoria's western districts and is said to have played with local Aboriginal children.<ref>http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/MediaRelArc02.nsf/17ed9415cb17e3d34a25682500254734/67d1f54851b3304b4a256965007bb637!OpenDocument&Click=</ref> He recalled watching a game in which they kicked a [[possum]] skin about the size of an orange, stuffed with charcoal.{{citation needed}}
-Each skin group has certain [[totem]]s associated with it. Some Aboriginal groups, such as the [[Yolngu]], include plants, animals and all aspects of the environment, as part of their respective skin groups.
+== Marn Grook and the football term "mark" ==
+Some claim that the origin of the [[Australian rules]] term "[[Mark (Australian football)|mark]]", meaning a clean, [[fair catch]] of a kicked ball, followed by a [[free kick]], is derived from the Aboriginal word "''mumarki''" used in ''Marn Grook'', and meaning "to catch".<ref>http://www.footystamps.com/ot_early_history.htm</ref><ref>http://www.aboriginalfootball.com.au/marngrook.html</ref>  However, many believe that this is a [[false etymology]] and that the term instead came from the  practice &mdash; in old and/or extinct [[football|British football codes]] &mdash; of a player who had caught the ball ''marking'' the ground with a foot, to show where the catch had been taken, and calling "mark" to be awarded a free kick. The term mark has been used in modern football codes since the 1830s, notably in [[rugby football]] and early [[Association football]] (soccer). It is still used in [[rugby union]], in reference to a fair catch by a player who calls "mark" when catching a ball inside their team's [[22 metre line]].
-A person of the same skin group, of the same generation, is called "brother" or "sister". There are names for maternal aunts and uncles and different names for paternal aunts and uncles. Additionally, there are strong [[Australian Aboriginal avoidance relationships|avoidance relationships]] that need to be observed based on this system.
+== The "Marngrook Trophy" ==
-==Some common kinship terms==
+In [[2002]], in a game at [[Stadium Australia]], the [[Sydney Swans]] and [[Essendon Football Club]] began to compete for the '''''Marngrook Trophy''''', awarded after home-and-away matches each year between the two teams in the [[Australian Football League]].  However, the games are played under normal rules of the AFL, rather than anything approaching Marn Grook.
-{{main|Australian Aboriginal English}}
-*''Aunty'' and ''uncle'' are used as terms of address for older people, to whom the speaker may not be related.
+==References==
-*''Brother'' and ''sister'' include close relatives of the same generation, not just siblings.
+<div class="references-small"><references /></div>
-*''Cousin'' includes any relative of one's own generation.
-*The combinations ''cousin-brother'' and ''cousin-sister'' are used to refer to biological cousins.
-*In south-east Queensland, ''daughter'' is used to refer any woman of one's great-grandparents' generation. This is due to the cyclical nature of traditional kinship systems.
-*''Father'' and ''mother'' include any relative of one's parents' generation, such as uncles, aunts, and in-laws.
-*''Grandfather'' and ''grandmother'' can refer to anyone of one's grandparents' generation. ''Grandfather'' can also refer to any respected elderly man, to whom the speaker may not be related.
-*''Poison'' refers to a relation one is obligated to avoid. See ''[[Mother-in-law language]]''.
-*The term ''second'', or ''little bit'' in northern Australia, is used with a distant relative who is described using a close kinship term. For example, one's ''second fathers'' or ''little bit fathers'' are men of one's father's generation not closely related to the speaker. It is contrasted with ''close'', ''near'' or ''true''.
-*A ''skin'' or ''skin group'' are sections which are determined by the skin of a person's parents, and determine who a person is eligible to marry.
-*''Son'' can refer to any male of the next generation, such as nephews.
-The skin group classification is [[cyclical]] in nature, changing with each [[generation]]. Non-Aboriginal people are often confounded to hear Aborigines refer to their great-[[grandmother]] as their [[daughter]], or their great-[[grandaughter]] their mother. They are actually referring to the fact that those relatives are in the same skin group, as well as acknowledging the cyclical nature of the system.
-For traditional Aborigines, this system is a major foundation of their existence and way of viewing the world. As such, if a non-Aboriginal person is around their culture for any extended period, they must be [[adoption|adopted]] so they may be assigned a skin name and interact in the "proper way" with the group, knowing whom to avoid, whom to call sister, etc.
-Many Aboriginal groups, particularly in the southeast of Australia, have lost this knowledge due to their [[Stolen generation|forced removal]] to [[mission (station)|mission]]s and [[orphanage|children's homes]], where many language groups mixed with each other, and Aboriginal language and cultural practice was forbidden.
-Below are a few examples of different kinship systems from across Australia:
-==Systems with two skin groups==
-===Pitjantjatjara===
-The [[Pitjantjatjara]] of northern [[South Australia]] have two [[moiety]] groups:
-:'''''ngana nt arka''''' (lit. we-bone) 'our side'
-:'''''tjanamilytjan''''' (lit. they flesh) 'their side'
-However, they do not use skin names.
-===Yolŋu===
-For the [[Yolŋu]] of north-east [[Arnhem Land]], life is divided into two skin groups: ''Dhuwa'' and ''Yirritja''. Each of these is represented by people of a number of different groups, each with their own lands, languages and philosophies:
-:::{| class="wikitable"
-|- bgcolor=#efefef
-! Skin name
-! Clan groups
-|-
-|'''''Yirritja'''''
-| Gumatj, Gupapuyngu, Wangurri, Ritharrngu, Mangalili,<br/>Munyuku, Madarrpa, Warramiri, Dhalwangu, Liyalanmirri.
-|-
-|'''''Dhuwa'''''
-|Rirratjingu, Galpu, Djambarrpuyngu, Golumala, Marrakulu,<br/>Marrangu, Djapu, Datiwuy, Ngaymil, Djarrwark.
-|}
-A ''Yirritja'' person must always marry a ''Dhuwa'' person and vice versa. If a man or woman is ''Dhuwa'', their mother will be ''Yirritja''.
-Kinship relations are also mapped onto the lands owned by the Yolngu through their [[hereditary]] [[estates]] – so everything is either ''Yirritja'' or ''Dhuwa'' – every fish, stone, river, etc, belongs to one or the other [[moiety]].
-==Systems with eight skin groups==
-===Lardiil===
-The [[Lardiil]] of [[Mornington Island]] in the [[Gulf of Carpentaria]] also have eight skin groups, shown here with some of their totems:
-{{sectstub}}
-::{| class="wikitable"
-|- bgcolor=#efefef
-!Male skin group
-!Totems
-!Can only mary<br/>female skin group
-!Children will be
-|-
-|Ngarrijbalangi
-|''Rainbird, shooting star,<br/>egret''
-|Burrarangi
-|Bangariny
-|-
-|Bangariny
-|''Brown hark, turtle''
-|Yakimarr
-|Ngarrijbalangi
-|-
-|Buranyi
-|''Crane, salt water, <br/>sleeping turtle''
-|Kangal
-|
-|-
-|Balyarriny
-|''Black tiger shark,<br/>sea turtle''
-|Kamarrangi
-|
-|-
-|Burrarangi
-|''Lightning, rough sea,<br/>black dingo''
-|Ngarrijbalangi
-|
-|-
-|Yakimarr
-|Seagull, barramundi,<br/>grey shark
-|Bangariny
-|
-|-
-|Kangal
-|''[[Barramundi]],<br/>grey shark''
-|Buranyi
-|
-|-
-|Kamarrangi
-|''Rock, pelican, [[brolga]],<br/>red dingo''
-|Balyarriny
-|
-|}
-Each Lardiil person belongs to one of these groups. Their paternal [[grandfather]]'s skin group determines their own; so a Balyarriny man or woman will have a Balyarriny grandfather. A Ngarrijbalangi person can only marry a Burrarangi, a Bangariny a Yakimarr, a Buranyi a Kangal and a Balyarriny a Kamarrangi, and vice versa for each.
-Once a person's skin group is known, their relationship to any other Lardiil can be determined. A Ngarrijbalangi is a 'father' to a Bangariny, a 'father-in-law' to a Yakimarr and a 'son' to another Bangariny, either in a social sense or purely through linearship.
+== External links ==
+* [http://www.aboriginalfootball.com.au/marngrook.html AboriginalFootball.com, "Marn Grook"]
-===Pintupi===
+[[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture]]
-The [[Pintupi]] of the [[Western Desert (Australia)|Western Desert]] have a complex kinship system, made more so by distinct prefixes for male and female skin names; "Tj" for males, "N" for females. The [[Warlpiri]] system is almost the same:
+[[Category:Australian rules football]]
+[[Category:Sport in Australia]]
+[[Category:Traditional football]]
+[[Category:Australian Aboriginal terms]]
-:::{| class="wikitable"
-|- bgcolor=#efefef
-!Gender
-!Skin name
-!First marriage</br> preference
-!Children will be
-|-
-|'''Male'''
-|Tjapaltjarri
-|Nakamarra
-|Tjungurrayi, Nungurrayi
-|-
-|'''Female'''
-|Napaltjarri
-|Tjakamarra
-|Tjupurrula, Napurrula
-|-
-|'''Male'''
-|Tjapangati
-|Nampitjinpa
-|Tjapanangka, Napanangka
-|-
-|'''Female'''
-|Napangati
-|Tjampitjinpa
-|Tjangala, Nangala
-|-
-|'''Male'''
-|Tjakamarra
-|Napaltjarri
-|Tjupurrula, Napurrula
-|-
-|'''Female'''
-|Nakamarra
-|Tjapaltjarri
-|Tjungurrayi, Nungurrayi
-|-
-|'''Male'''
-|Tjampitjinpa
-|Napangati
-|Tjangala, Nangala
-|-
-|'''Female'''
-|Nampitjinpa
-|Tjapangati
-|Tjapanangka, Napanangka
-|-
-|'''Male'''
-|Tjapanangka
-|Napurrula
-|Tjapangati, Napangati
-|-
-|'''Female'''
-|Napanangka
-|Tjupurrula
-|Tjakamarra, Nakamarra
-|-
-|'''Male'''
-|Tjungurrayi
-|Nangala
-|Tjapaltjarri, Napaltjarri
-|-
-|'''Female'''
-|Nungurrayi
-|Tjangala
-|Tampitjinpa, Nampitjinpa
-|-
-|'''Male'''
-|Tjupurrula
-|Napanangka
-|Tjakamarra, Nakamarra
-|-
-|'''Female'''
-|Napurrula
-|Tjapanangka
-|Tjapangati, Napangati
-|-
-|'''Male'''
-|Tjangala
-|Nungurrayi
-|Tjampitjinpa, Nampitjinpa
-|-
-|'''Female'''
-|Nangala
-|Tjungarayyi
-|Tjapaltjarri, Napaltjarri
-|}
-Each person therefore has a [[patriline|patrimoiety]] and a [[matriline|matrimoiety]], a father's and a mother's skin group.
-==See also==
-*[[Australian Aboriginal avoidance relationships]]
-*[[Australian Aboriginal English]]
-*[[List of Indigenous Australian group names]]
-*[[Noongar classification]]
-*[[Indigenous Australians]]
-*[[Warlpiri#kinship|Warlpiri kinship]]
-==References==
-*Binnion, Joan (1979) ''The Lardil People of Mornington Island (Student Handbook)'', Aboriginal Community College, Port Adelaide.
-*Hansen, Kenneth C. and Lesley E. Hansen, 1979, ''Pintupi/Luritja kinship'', Alice Springs, NT, Institute for Aboriginal Development.
-*[http://ausanthrop.net/research/kinship/ Ausanthrop kinship tutorial]
-*[http://www.ausanthrop.net/research/kinship/kinship2.php Ausanthrop]
-*[http://www.clc.org.au/ourculture/kinship.asp Central Land Council]
-[[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture|Kinship]]
+{{afl-stub}}
-[[Category:Anthropology|Australian Aboriginal kinship]]
-[[Category:Sociology|Australian Aboriginal Kinship]]
-[[Category:Indigenous Australians|Kinship]]
-[[Category:Marriage|Australian Aboriginal Kinship]]
-[[Category:Australian Aboriginal terms|Kinship]]