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'''Bush bread''', or '''seedcakes''', refers to the [[bread]] made by [[Australian Aborigines]] for many thousands of years. The bread was high in [[protein]] and [[carbohydrate]], and helped form part of a balanced traditional [[diet]].[[Image:Aboriginal grinding stones.jpg|thumb|250px|Aboriginal [[millstone]] - vital in making flour or pastes for bread.]]
+
'''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.
  
−
With the arrival of Europeans and pre-[[mill]]ed white [[flour]], this bread-making process all but disappeared, although the tradition of cooking bread in hot coals continues today.
+
The main element is the division of [[clan]]s within the same language group into ''skin groups'', or  [[moiety|moieties]]. The simplest system involves division into two skin groups. There can be four divisions, while more complex systems are divided into eight groups.
  
−
Bread-making was a woman's task. It was generally carried out by several women at once, due to its labour-intensive nature. It involved collecting seasonal [[grain]]s, [[legume]]s, [[root]]s or [[nut]]s, and preparing these into [[flour]] and then [[dough]], or directly into a dough.
+
The system dicates 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. It is often determined at birth who will marry whom. However, [[love marriage]]s were not uncommon, so long as they were within the skin system. This can prove invaluable 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.
  
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===Bread-making from grains===
+
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.
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Seeds varied depending on the time of year and the area in Australia that the people lived. In [[Central Australia]], [[native millet]] (''Panicum decompositum'') and [[spinifex]] were commonly used. [[Wattleseed]] could also be used in the flour mix.
 
  
−
Women harvested the fully ripe, dry seeds of the plant by beating the grass (or pod-laden trees with sticks in the case of wattleseed) to dislodge the seeds. Some species were eaten at the green stage but dried seeds were by far more common.
+
A person of the same skin group, of the same generation, is called "brother" or "sister". There are also names for maternal aunts and uncles and paternal aunts and uncles. Additionally, there are strong [[avoidance relationships]] that need to be observed based on this system.
  
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In the [[Kimberley region of Western Australia]], women observed that, after the [[dry season]], many seeds would be gathered around the opening of [[ant]]s' nests. The ants had effectively collected and [[husk]]ed the seed for them, and they were able to collect this seed, making their job a lot easier. After allowing the grain to dry, they could begin to prepare the flour.
+
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.
  
−
====Making the flour====
+
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.
−
After the grain was collected, it needed to be [[winnowing|winnow]]ed, which was often done using the [[coolamon]], the multi-purpose carrying vessel.  
 
  
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Once the grain was winnowed, it was ground using a [[millstone]], to create [[flour]]. Millstones have been discovered which have proven to be as old as 50,000 years. The flour was then mixed with water to make a [[dough]] and placed in hot ashes for baking. The results could be small buns, today referred to as [[johnny cake]]s, or a large loaf, known today as [[damper (food)|damper]]. Damper appears to be a mix of this traditional style of bread-making and European-style bread-making.
+
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 was forbidden.
  
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The dough could also be eaten raw. Cooking was a good way to prepare the bread if the group was about to travel for some time. [[Image:Damper (food).jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Damper (food)|Damper]] is cooked in hot coals in the way traditional Aboriginal bread has been for eons.]]
+
Below are a few examples of different kinship systems from across Australia:
  
−
===Bread-making from other plant products===
+
==Systems with two skin groups==
−
Bread could also be made from [[root]]s and [[corm]]s of plants. In the [[Top End]] of Australia, people such as the [[Yolngu]] used the [[lotus root]] and wild [[taro]]. These were ground, then mixed to a paste to make bread.
 
  
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[[Water lily]] seed bread was also popular in the [[Top End]]. The two species of water lily used were ''Nelumbo nucifera'' and ''Nymphaea macrosperma''. During the early part of the [[dry season]], water lilies were an important part of the diet, with seed pods eaten raw or ground into paste.
+
===Pitjantjatjara===
 +
The [[Pitjantjatjara]] of northern [[South Australia]] have two [[moiety]] groups:
  
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Women had expert knowledge of how to "de-toxify" certain plant foods. The [[seed]]s of the [[cycad]] palm, ''Cycas media'', are highly carcenogenic when raw and require elaborate treatment includuing shelling, crushing, leaching in running water for up to five days, then cooking. After this they are made into small loaves, which can keep for a number of weeks.
+
:'''''ngana nt arka''''' (lit. we-bone) 'our side'
 +
:'''''tjanamilytjan''''' (lit. they flesh) 'their side'
  
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In [[Queensland]], the people of the [[Tamborine National Park|Mount Tamborine]] area used the [[Bunya Pine]] cone ([[bunya nut]]), endemic to the area, to make bread in this way.
+
However, they do not use skin names.
  
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===Some names for bush bread in [[Australian Aboriginal languages]]===
+
===Yolŋu===
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* ''Bunup''
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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==
 +
 
 +
===Pintupi===
 +
The [[Pintupi]] of the [[Western Desert language|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:
 +
 
 +
:::{| class="wikitable"
 +
|- bgcolor=#efefef
 +
!Gender
 +
!Skin name
 +
!Can only mary
 +
!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, Napangangka
 +
|-
 +
|'''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 [[patrimoiety]] and a [[matrimoiety]], a father's and a mother's skin group.
 +
 
 +
===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
 +
 
 +
==See also==
 +
*[[List of Indigenous Australian group names]]
 +
*[[Noongar classification]]
 +
*[[Indigenous Australians]]
 +
*[[Warlpiri#kinship|Warlpiri kinship]]
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
*[http://katherineartgallery.com.au/index.php?page=Rachel_Rennie Bush Bread artwork]
+
*Binnion, Joan (1979) ''The Lardil People of Mornington Island (Student Handbook)'', Aboriginal Community College, Port Adelaide.
−
*[http://www.japingka.com.au/exhibitionView.cfm?exhibitionID=2 Grass seed artwork]
+
*Hansen, Kenneth C. and Lesley E. Hansen, 1979, ''Pintupi/Luritja kinship'', Alice Springs, NT, Institute for Aboriginal Development.
−
*[http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/linkages/IntegratedUnits/aboriginal/tech_learn02.html Aboriginal Technology]
+
*[http://ausanthrop.net/research/kinship/ Ausanthrop kinship tutorial]
−
*[http://www.sydney-australia.biz/history/ Australian History]
+
*[http://www.ausanthrop.net/research/kinship/kinship2.php Ausanthrop]
−
* Peterson, Nicholas, ''[[Donald Thomson]] in Arnhem Land'', Melbourne University Press ISBN 0522850634, pp168-9.
+
*[http://www.clc.org.au/ourculture/kinship.asp Central Land Council]
  
−
[[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture]]
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[[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture|Kinship]]
−
[[Category:Australian Aboriginal terms]]
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[[Category:Anthropology|Australian Aboriginal kinship]]
−
[[Category:Bushfood]]
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[[Category:Sociology|Australian Aboriginal Kinship]]
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[[Category:Australian cuisine]]
+
[[Category:Indigenous Australians|Kinship]]
−
[[Category:Breads]]
+
[[Category:Marriage|Australian Aboriginal Kinship]]

Revision as of 01:35, 24 September 2006

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 Aboriginal group across Australia.

The main element is the division of clans within the same language group into skin groups, or moieties. The simplest system involves division into two skin groups. There can be four divisions, while more complex systems are divided into eight groups.

The system dicates who may marry whom – it is always taboo to marry into your own skin group – creating strong incest avoidance laws and strong bonds across clans through exogamous relations. It is often determined at birth who will marry whom. However, love marriages were not uncommon, so long as they were within the skin system. This can prove invaluable during drought or lack of resources, having cousins and skin sisters and brothers in other clans. It also creates obligations to care for those people in their time of need.

Each skin group has certain totems 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.

A person of the same skin group, of the same generation, is called "brother" or "sister". There are also names for maternal aunts and uncles and paternal aunts and uncles. Additionally, there are strong avoidance relationships that need to be observed based on this system.

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.

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 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 forced removal to missions and children's homes, where many language groups mixed with each other, and Aboriginal language 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:

Skin name Clan groups
Yirritja Gumatj, Gupapuyngu, Wangurri, Ritharrngu, Mangalili,
Munyuku, Madarrpa, Warramiri, Dhalwangu, Liyalanmirri.
Dhuwa Rirratjingu, Galpu, Djambarrpuyngu, Golumala, Marrakulu,
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

Pintupi

The Pintupi of the 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:

Gender Skin name Can only mary 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, Napangangka
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 patrimoiety and a matrimoiety, a father's and a mother's skin group.

Lardiil

The Lardiil of Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria also have eight skin groups, shown here with some of their totems: Template:Sectstub

Male skin group Totems Can only mary
female skin group 		Children will be
Ngarrijbalangi Rainbird, shooting star,
egret 		Burrarangi Bangariny
Bangariny Brown hark, turtle Yakimarr Ngarrijbalangi
Buranyi Crane, salt water,
sleeping turtle 		Kangal
Balyarriny Black tiger shark,
sea turtle 		Kamarrangi
Burrarangi Lightning, rough sea,
black dingo 		Ngarrijbalangi
Yakimarr Seagull, barramundi,
grey shark 		Bangariny
Kangal Barramundi,
grey shark 		Buranyi
Kamarrangi Rock, pelican, brolga,
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

See also

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.
  • Ausanthrop kinship tutorial
  • Ausanthrop
  • Central Land Council
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