Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)

Cultural realities and partial truths, gendered ethnographies in Northern Aboriginal Australia, by Sandy Toussaint

eng

Bibliography: leaves 340-359

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 1996.

no index present

non fiction

Cultural realities and partial truths

theses

by Sandy Toussaint

gendered ethnographies in Northern Aboriginal Australia

Introduction -- Texts and other matters : post-modernist claims and counter-claims; Feminist claims and counter-claims; Ethnographic inspirations; Australian Aboriginal gender relations; Regional texts -- The ethnographers' unveiling : Phyllis Kaberry; Several layers of my "self"; Summary -- Historical perspectives of the study region: mapping the research location (s); Climate and terrain; Indigenous and non-Indigenous histories; Race, sex and labour relations; The Federal Pastoral Industry Award -- Kayberry's study and findings, 1939: "Foreword"; "Wielders of the digging stick"; "The social and spiritual background of the Aboriginal child"; "Childhood"; "On the threshold of marriage"' "The laws of marriage and the needs of the individual"; "Rights and duties of women in marriage"; "The functions of women in the larger social groups"; "The spiritual heritage of women"; "Women's ceremonies"; "Women's secret corroborees"; "Aboriginal woman-sacred and profane" -- A study and finding 55 years later: contextualising the research; A demographic and socio-economic profile; A diversity of economies; Identity and affiliations to language and land; The socialisation and nurturance of children; Kinship, social organisation and marriage; Gendered expressions of power and authority; Social conflict and equilibrium; Indigenous religious beliefs and practices -- Further implications post-Kaberry : Christianity: influences and responses; Alcohol: impact and consequences; Summary (the problem of unpredictability) -- Ethnographic comparisons: Kaberry's text: "partial truths"?; Post-modernist and feminist praxis pursued: the results of an experiment; Bring the studies into comparative focus -- Conclusions -- Appendix A: A glossary of Aboriginal terms -- Appendix B: The subsection or "skin" system -- Appendix C: Punggu: a conflict resolution ritual