AY Honors/Aboriginal Lore/Answer Key

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. 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. 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.

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

Yolŋu life is divided into two moieties: Dhuwa and Yirritja. Each of these is represented by people of a number of different groups, each of which have 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 skin group system, made more so by distinct prefixes for male and female skin names:

Male skin name	Can only mary	Female skin name	Can only marry
Tjapaltjarri		Napaltjarri
Tjapangati	Nampajinpa	Napangati	Tjampitjinpa
Tjakamarra		Nakamarra
Tjampitjinpa	Napangati	Nampitjinpa	Tjapangati
Tjapanangka		Napanangka
Tjungurrayi		Nungurrayi
Tjupurrula		Napurrula
Tjangala		Nangala

Lardiil

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

Ngarrijbalangi - Rainbird, shooting star, egret
Bangariny - Brown hark, turtle
Buranyi - Crane, salt water, sleeping turtle
Balyarriny - Black tiger shark, sea turtle
Burrarangi- Lightning, rough sea, black dingo
Kamarrangi- Rock, pelican, brolga, red dingo
Kangal - Barramundi, grey shark
Yakimarr - Seagull, barramundi, grey shark

Each Lardiil person belongs to one of these groups. Their paternal grandfather will always be the same sking group as them. For example, a Balyarriny will have a grandfather as Balyarriny too. Each person is also required to marry on strict laws: a Ngarrijbalangi can only marry a Burrarangi, a Bangariny to a Yakimarr, a Buranyi to a Kangal and a Balyarriny to a Kamarrangi.

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.

References

Binnion, Joan (1979) The Lardil People of Mornington Island (Student Handbook), Aboriginal Community College, Port Adelaide.
Ausanthrop
Central Land Council