ANÁLISIS DE LA OBRA TEATRAL DE ANA DIOSDADO

Aboriginal women were, at first, kept very much apart from the colonists by Aboriginal men.

There is no part of the behaviour of these people, that has puzzled us more, than that which relates to their women. Comparatively speaking we have seen but few of them, and those have been sometimes kept back with every symptom of jealous sensibility; and sometimes offered with every appearance of courteous

familiarity. (Tench 1979:49)

Hunter noted that the women 'had always shewn a desire, as much as possible, to avoid us' (Hunter 1968:56). However, in February 1790, an Aboriginal woman interceded on the part of a convict who was about to be killed by a group of Aboriginal men.

A convict who had been employed to strike the sting ray, with another, on the flats, having gone on shore, engaged in some quarrel with the natives, who took all his clothes from him, severely wounded and would inevitably have killed him, but for the humane, friendly, and disinterested interference of one of their own women, who happened to be present. (Collins, vol. 1, 1975:77)

In the early establishment of permanent relations with the Aboriginal population, the colonists used Boorong in an attempt to influence other Aboriginal women to visit the settlement. They hoped the women would bring the men into the colony. In mid September 1790, Phillip instructed Boorong to encourage Bennelong's wife, Barangaroo, to visit Sydney. However, the experiment failed and resulted in Boorong wanting to return to her own people (Tench 1979:184). Phillip even went so far as to attempt to contract a marriage for Boorong via Bennelong. Phillip's

object was to attach Boorong's husband to the colony and to recruit Aboriginal people into the settlement.

With the lowering of the physical and social barriers between Aboriginal people and colonists many of the male colonists focussed their attention on Aboriginal women. They wrote of their horror at the way in which Aboriginal men treated women and criticised the casual way in which women were beaten for 'trifling offences', 'prostituted' to the colonists and swapped amongst themselves.

The women seem to be under the greatest subjection to the men, and, if we may judge from the number of them that come in, with broken heads, which the men boast of having given them, they are most cruelly treated, - Inclination, whim or caprice seems to be the only tye of the man to the woman who cohabits with him, as they are often known to turn off one - woman and take up with another, and, very lately, one of them made the Governor a gift of his thin Ding/wife/ and carried off with him another woman that was there. (Campbell 1791)

Some Aboriginal women formed liaisons with colonists on their own initiative (Collins, vol. 1, 1975:126). One man's wife 'frequently visited Sydney, and was said to have granted favours to several of the convicts' (Phillip 1968:334).

Male colonists experienced mixed feelings about their involvement with Aboriginal women. Some men saw the women as 'an antidote to all desire' (Campbell 1791) while others made fast friendships with particular individuals. William Dawes filled his notes with references to the young woman, Patye, who taught him the Sydney Language and who he taught to speak and read English. The sentences he collected from her are as much a record of their friendship as they are linguistic data.

Aboriginal domestic violence was a major source of culture shock for the

colonists. In an effort to alleviate their mystification they repeatedly wrote about the violence and frequently attempted to intervene.

Opportunities were not now wanting to shew that the women are in general treated very roughly; for Colebe brought his wife to visit Governor Phillip, and though she was big with child, and appeared to be within a very few days of her

time, there were several wounds on her head, which she said he had lately given her. He seemed to be pleased that she could shew her marks, and took some pains to to inform the governor that he had beat her with a wooden sword.

.. .B annelong... brought his w ife.. .she appeared to be very ill, and had a fresh wound on her head, which he gave Governor Phillip to understand she had merited, for breaking a fiz-gig and a throwing stick. The governor's reasoning with him on this subject had no effect; he said she was bad, and therefore he had beat her. Neither could it be learned what inducement this woman could have to do an act which she must have known would be followed by a severe beating; for Bannelong either did not understand the questions put to him or was unwilling to answer them. When these people had finished their breakfast, they all went to the hospital to get the women's heads dressed; for, besides Bannelong's wife, a woman who was a stranger had received a blow on the head which had laid her scull bare. (Phillip 1968:319)

The behaviour of Aboriginal men towards their women was a great puzzle to the colonists. They could not reconcile what they saw as extremes of attitude— men able to beat their wives savagely and yet also be tender with them. 'Bannelong's wife one day complaining of a pain in the belly, went to the fire and sat down with her

husband, who, notwithstanding his beating her occasionally, seemed to express great sorrow on seeing her ill' (Phillip 1968:316).

Making love in this country is always prefaced by a beating, which the female seems to receive as a matter of course. The native girl who still resided

occasionally at the clergyman's had been absent two days when she returned with a bad wound on the head and some severe bruise on her shoulder. The girl whose life Governor Phillip had saved returned with her; she also had a wound on her head, and one of her arms was much bruised by a blow with a club. The story they told was that two men who frequently visited the settlement wanted to sleep with them, and, on their refusing, had, as usual on such occasions, beat them most unmercifully. (Phillip 1968:339)

The colonists often interfered in Aboriginal intersexual relations. In November 1790, Tench recorded two examples of such interference, both involving Bennelong. Bennelong threatened to punish his wife for breaking fishing equipment and the colonists successfully prevented him from carrying out his intention. His wife took full advantage of the colonists' intervention on her behalf and assumed a manner of reproach for which he husband would normally punish her further.

During our absence, Barangaroo had never ceased whining, and reproaching her husband; now that he was returned, she met him with unconcern, and seemed intent on her work only: but this state of repose did not long continue: Baneelon eyeing the broken fish-gig, cast at her a look of savage fury, and began to

be demolished about her head, had we not interposed to pacify him. Nor would we quit the place until his forgiveness was complete, and his good humour restored...elated at his condescension, and emboldened by our presence, and the finery in which we had decked her, she in turn assumed a haughty demeanour, refused to answer his caresses, and viewed him with a reproaching eye. (Tench

1979:190)

The second incident was very violent and the colonists' intervention almost caused a rift between themselves and Bennelong and his supporters. In late 1789, Bennelong captured the daughter of a Botany Bay man with a view to punishing her for injuries she and her father had inflicted on him. Although Bennelong claimed he was going to beat her severely, not kill her, his constant use of the word 'kill' made the Governor nervous that he might well murder the girl. Bennelong used the word 'kill' in the sense that it was commonly used in Irish English84 and it is very possible that Baneelon acquired that usage from the large number of Irish people in the colony at the time (Troy 1991). Bennelong made a point of visiting the governor's residence to tell him of his plans which prompted Phillip to accompany him in an attempt to divert him. The Aboriginal community did not attempt to stop

Bennelong, because he was acting under Aboriginal law, and were angry when the colonists thwarted him (Phillip 1968:319-21). After several days the dispute ended peacefully, although the colonists were even more determined to impress their social values on the Aborigines.

In mid 1791, Bennelong and his kin again aroused Phillip's anger through attempting to abduct the same girl. Phillip commented in exasperation 'the savage

84The following conversation between George Borrow and an Irishman provides an example of this usage:- '"And suppose I were to refuse to give you a blessing?"..."Och, your reverence will never refuse to bless the poor boys."..."But suppose I were to refuse?"..."Why in such a case, which by the bye is altogether impossible, we should just make bould to give your reverence a good big

bating."... You would break my head?"..."We would, your reverence."..."You would really put me to death?"..."We would not, your reverence."..."And what"s the difference between killing and putting to death?"..."Och, sure there"s all the difference in the world. Killing manes only a good big bating, such as every Irishman is used to, and which your reverence would get over long before matins, whereas putting your reverence to death would prevent your reverence from saying mass for ever and a day'" (Borrow 1955:217-219). Eric Partridge, the noted lexicographer of'slang , observed that the Anglo-Irish and jocular item kilt was 'generally a gross exaggeration and merely meant severely hurt, beaten, defeated' (Partridge 1984:646). A.P. Elkin, a famous anthropologist of Aboriginal societies, observed that Aboriginal people used words borrowed from English such as 'kill', 'enemy' and 'bad' without the extreme meaning they had for English-speaking people. "'To kill" probably meant merely to strike or beat, as distinct from "kill 'im dead'" (Elkin, in Hunter 1968:434).

ferocity of these people shews itself whenever they find themselves thwarted' (Phillip 1968:349). The governor's residence became a regular asylum for

Aboriginal people escaping attack from other Aboriginal people (Phillip 1968:349- 50).