Indigenous foragers: Australian Aboriginals

The Indigenous Identity

The term phrase an ’indigenous identity’ was coined during the colonial period to refer to the people who first occupied land in various parts of the world. This reference is generally agreed and accepted by the United Nations to be used when referring to the original inhabitants of land prior to the invasion of foreign settlers. Indigenous peoples share similar characteristics across divisions. For example, they tend to maintain traditional country ties wherever they live. The best-known indigenous peoples include the Inuit of North and South America, the Sami and Aleut peoples of the polar regions, and the Maori communities of New Zealand (Aboriginal & Islanders, 2003). This paper focuses primarily on a special group of the indigenous community, the aborigines of Australia; also referred to as the Australian aboriginal communities. The term ’aborigine’ is used unacceptably today to refer to the first occupants of the Australian continent. Consequently, in this paper, however, it has been used to refer to the indigenous people who inhabited the Australian continent long before the coming of the British colonizers. Specifically, the current research discusses the social lives of the Australian aboriginal communities in its varied aspects.

History and Occupancy

The exact time when the Australian aboriginal communities occupied Australia before the coming of the British colonizers is not known due to the oral preservation of their histories. Some records such as Gracey (2000) have suggested up to 100,000 years. Today, there is a universal agreement in the literature concerning the length of time that the Australian Aborigines have occupied the land. Even these projections are based on mere estimation of facts. The majority of the sources agree that the Aborigines occupied the Australian continent for more than 60,000 years before the invasion by the British colonialists (Gracey, 2000). Since their arrival into Australia, the aboriginal communities occupied the southern regions of the Australian continent where the majority are found to date.

The Identities of the Australian Aborigines

The identities of the Australian aborigines are linked with the African cultures. Over time, the population of the aborigines has continued to dwindle due to cultural invasion which has forced them to change their traditional ways of life drastically. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010b), there are about 560,000 Aboriginal people in Australia presently. At the mention of the aboriginal communities, many associate them with people living in remote forested areas. However, this is not true with the Australian aboriginal communities. Most reside in urban and peri-urban locations across Australia currently. Those occupying the rural and remote areas are estimated to be only about 120,000 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010b). This infers that the majority of the aborigines are urban or near-urban dwellers as opposed to ruralized communities.

Cultural Identity

The aboriginals exhibit a wholly different cultural identity from the rest of the other Australian inhabitants, a fact which distinguishes them from the rest. Although their cultures have been modified immensely due to urban influence and modernization, they still hold certain beliefs which reflect their traditional cultural systems. This paper, however, delves on the traditional cultures as opposed to the modernized cultural practices expressed by the majority of the aboriginal communities today. As Dudgeon, Wright, Paradies, Garvey & Walker (2010) point out, the aboriginal cultures were diverse, numerous and critically dynamic. While some groups have lost their cultural identities along the way, many still exhibit a significant aspect of their traditions, including the ways of life, languages as well as the individual cultural beliefs and practices.

Language

The indigenous languages spoken by the aborigines express a wide dialectical variation even within the same language groups. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010b), there are about 125 identified dialects of the aboriginal communities. However, the majority of these dialects can be used explicitly by as few as 10 to 20 aboriginals rendering them obsolete. A recent study conducted by Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010b) identified only about 13 dialects that can be spoken by at least all age-groups. Despite this identification, the modern linguists have grouped these dialects into a single larger language group referred to as the Pama-Nyungan language group. The Pama-Nyungan language group is a collection of several closely related dialects `widely spoken among the indigenous communities in Australia. Other smaller indigenous languages not falling within this group are often lumped together as non- Pama-Nyungan languages.

Social Organizations

The aboriginals lived in villages defined by the unique cultural practices. These groups (with highly varied cultural practices) were referred to as nations. Language was and is still a significant defining factor used to classify who belongs to which nation. Each nation occupied a clearly defined country (land occupied by a nation was referred to by the Aborigines as ’country’). Consequently, each nation\/ village comprised of 400 to about 1000 persons. Within the countries\/ villages, they were divided into several families known as ’bands.’ A band was made up of 10 to 20 members. Several family bands formed a clan (referred to as a horde) (David, 2008). A horde was defined by a unique dialect but could also speak the dialects of the surrounding hordes. Unlike other traditional communities, the social organization of the aboriginal communities was consultative rather than hierarchical. Administration and justice were dispensed based on the Dreaming Law (the belief system) (David, 2008).

Subsistence

Nomadism was the dominant way of life among the Aborigines. The bands moved with their livestock periodically from one region to another in search of good pasture and adequate clean water for their animals (Gracey, 2000). Regular mobility characterizing the nomadic lifestyle meant there was no permanent residence for them. Depending on food availability, the band size could increase several folds. In highly fertile regions, the movement of the bands was highly restricted. A free and elaborate movement was, however, experienced in the arid and semi-arid belts (Gracey, 2000). Other than nomadism, the aborigines also collected edible fruits, roots, and vegetables from the forests for food. The women also tended small kitchen gardens around their villages which they used to supplement animals products and gathered foods.

Hunting and Exchange

Hunting was also practiced both for subsistence purposes as well as for exchange with other bands. Ochre was the currency of exchange used to buy goods of various kinds. The neighboring bands\/ nations traded peacefully with the neighboring ones. Conflicts within the bands or villages and the neighbors were solved amicably by bringing together, the members of the conflicting bands or villages to agree on the most appropriate solutions including the mode of punishment (Gracey, 2000). Such squabbles were however very limited between different territories with strict laws defining peaceful coexistence between different groups. The different bands were linked to the other through marriage and social relationships such as kinship ties.

The Cultural Beliefs and Identity

As mentioned previously, the culture of the aborigines was highly varied, diverse as well as dynamic. Language, belief systems, links to the land, social behavior, and kinship structure determined one’s culture and identity. The belief systems, defined by the dreaming laws, highly defined one’s identity (David, 2008). Although each group had their unique social belief systems, there were several beliefs such as religion and religious practices which unified the entire aboriginal society. The major religious affiliation among the aboriginal communities was the aboriginal religion which was based on the traditions of the land. Currently, only 1% of the Aboriginal people identify with this religion with the majority, 73%, identifying with the Christian religion. A small majority who intermarried with the Islamic communities which came into Australia in late 19th century and the early 20th century subscribe to the Islamic religion (Tatz, 2005). The traditional Aboriginal religion was based on animism (the animist spiritual framework). The dreaming law (also referred to as the ’dreamtime’) taught that the ancestors of the aborigines created the country in which they lived thereafter. As a result, a great reverence for the land is observed in honor of the ancestral creators. This habit is associated with the conservationist characteristic of the aboriginal communities evident to date (Gracey, 2000).

Conclusion

The term ’indigenous’ has been used to refer to the first inhabitants of any region of the world. The indigenous communities exhibited close linkage, reverence, and attachment with the lands in which they lived. The indigenous communities of Australia are referred to as the ’Australian Aborigines.’ The aborigines trace their origins to Africa and are believed to be the earliest and greatest voyagers due to their association with sailing from Africa to Australia. They are believed to have occupied the continent some 60,000 years before the coming of the British colonialists. The main language spoken by the aboriginals is referred to as ’Pama-Nyungan language.’ The aboriginals lived in small villages referred to as country\/ nation defined by unique cultural practices, kinship ties, and language groups. Over time, the aboriginal culture has undergone significant changes in terms of their cultures and way of life due to the influence of urbanization and foreign cultural influences.

References

Aboriginal, A., & Islanders, T. S. (2003). Indigenous by definition, experience, or world view. Bmj, 327, 403-4.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2010b). Population Characteristics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians 2006. (4713.0). Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from

David, B. (2008). Landscapes, rock-art and the dreaming: an archaeology of preunderstanding. THESIS ABSTRACTS 83 OBITUARIES, 79.

Dudgeon, P., Wright, M., Paradies, Y., Garvey, D., & Walker, I. (2010). The social, cultural and historical context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice, 25-42.

Gracey, M. (2000). Historical, cultural, political, and social influences on dietary patterns and nutrition in Australian Aboriginal children. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 72(5), 1361s-1367s.

Tatz, C. (2005). Aboriginal suicide is different: A portrait of life and self-destruction. Aboriginal Suicide Is Different: A Portrait of Life and Self-destruction, xxv.