T here are two m ain p o in ts h ere w hich m ak e it im p o ssib le to a s s ig n single id e n titie s. O ne difficulty lies in th e A boriginal concept of 'bo u n d ary '. The o th er is th a t group id en tity is highly flexible, an d th a t the b a s is of difference in one context m ay be th e b a s is of sim ilarity in an o th er. Before an y correlations can be attem p ted , A boriginal concepts of 'b o u n d ary ' an d 'identity' m u s t be un d ersto o d .
Rose (1984) devotes a c h a p te r of h e r d o cto ra l th e s is to th e q u estio n of 'b o u n d aries' in th e V ictoria River d istrict. She found th a t th e re are 'levels of inclu sio n ' from sm aller to larg er socio- geographical u n its , a n d w hile w e stern -sty le b o u n d a rie s c a n be d ra w n to id en tify a n d s e p a ra te th e g e o g ra p h ic a l e x te n t of different u n its of social o rg an isatio n , A borigines th em selv es do n o t th in k of th e ir id en tity or th eir lan d a s being b o u n d ed in th is way. R ath er, th ey th in k of th e ir re la tio n sh ip to different socio geographic u n its on th e b a sis of th e ir rela tio n sh ip to D ream ing beings a n d th e sites w here those D ream ings w ere active in th e la n d sca p e. D ream ing m aps, like d e se rt acrylics, are connections betw een places. W hen th in k in g a b o u t th e sp a tia l rela tio n sh ip s of d ifferen t social g ro u p s, a n im agery of n etw o rk s is far m ore suitable th a n an im agery of bounded territories.
Networks
E ach V ictoria River Aboriginal p erso n is th e cen tre of a series of in te rc o n n ec tin g netw orks. One of th e se n etw o rk s is c o n stitu te d by tra d e rela tio n sh ip s betw een n eig h b o u rin g groups. A nother is form ed th ro u g h affinal and k in sh ip ties a n d th e th ird c o n sists of travelling and localised D ream ings.
Trade Links
Cerem ony, m arriag e an d tra d e are n o t really se p a ra te system s, b u t tra d e can be trac ed far m ore extensively so I will deal w ith trad e as a se p arate topic here. In p re-co n ta ct tim es a rich array of goods were p a sse d from region to region via a com plex netw ork of tra d e relatio n sh ip s, know n as W inan. B undles of boom erangs (plain an d hooked), fighting picks an d sto n e knife blades, cakes of kaolin clay, and cakes of fine red ochre from a q u arry on B anka B a n k a S tatio n cam e from th e s o u th -e a s t an d w ere tra d e d n o rth an d w est (Map 1). Softwood shields a n d coolam ons, balls of h a ir string, cakes of spinifex resin, an d d e se rt sp e a rs cam e o u t of the inland d esert to be p assed on to th e n o rth .
O ut of th e w est cam e incised p earl shell o rn am e n ts, to be se n t s o u th -e a s t, a n d n o rth w a rd s. B u n d les of bam boo s p e a r sh a fts, 'bullet' or 'goose' sp e ars, m angrove-tipped sp e ars, an d cylindrical sp earth ro w ers cam e from th e saltw ater co u n try of Port K eats and Daly River, to co n tin u e so u th -e a st, s o u th , so u th -w est a n d w est. From th e V ictoria River valley itself, large sto n e 'leilira' b lad es w ere q u a rrie d a n d fixed to bam boo s p e a rs h a f ts before being trad ed to th e so u th an d so u th -ea st. In addition to m aterial goods, inform ation in th e form of cerem onies - song, dance, a n d body designs - were also traded.
M any of th e s e tra d e item s bore a rtw o rk s w h ich m ig h t have influenced local a r t styles, alth o u g h th e re is no clear evidence th a t th is h ap p e n ed in th e V ictoria River d istric t. Som e of th ese exotic goods influenced th e c o n te n t of rock a r t in a s m u c h as
trad e d item s are som etim es depicted in th e a rt (eg see Plates 42, 62).
At th e p re s e n t tim e in th e V ictoria River valley, a n abbreviated form of th e tr a d itio n a l tra d e sy ste m is still in o p e ra tio n . B oom erangs, bam boo sp e a r-sh a fts (Plate 121) and, occasionally, m an g ro v e-tip p ed sp e a rs, b u lle t sp e a rs, ochre cak es an d p earl sh e lls still move along th e W inan tr a d e ro u te s . N o n -sacred cerem onies, revealed to a n individual by a D ream ing being while th e individual is asleep, are also legitim ate tra d e item s. Sacred o b je cts are still re g u la rly tra d e d in th e c o n te x t of g en d er- re stric te d ritu al.
Exactly how th is system operated prior to E u ro p e an settlem en t is difficult to d eterm in e. A ccording to one A boriginal in fo rm an t, tra d e goods trad itio n ally followed a convoluted ro u te from group to group acro ss th e landscape. M athew s (1901: 83-84) sta te s th a t V ictoria River people m ade periodic jo u rn e y s over long d istan ce s
for tra d e pu rp o ses:
th e natives of the U pper V ictoria travel ea stw ard s to N ew castle W aters; th e n ce n o rth e rly to Daly W aters, B irdum C reek a n d K atherine River, re tu rn in g by way of D elem ere a n d G regory C reek. R e sid e n ts of th e W ickham River go w estw ard to th e Negri a n d Ord Rivers, w hich they ru n down a long way, com ing back by A uvergne on th e B ain es, a n d th e n c e u p th e V ictoria River h o m e ...th e jo u rn e y s ... are m a rk e d by good feeling a n d festive corroborees th ro u g h o u t'.(see m ap s 1, 2 an d 3)
T h ese d ay s, goods are m oved e q u iv a le n t d is ta n c e s by m o to r vehicle or, on rare occasion, by aeroplane.
Marriage Links
A m ong A boriginal people, m arriag e is a re la tio n sh ip betw een g roups a n d co u n tries; it m u s t ta k e place acro ss a b o u n d a ry of difference. M arriages are group concerns, for th e issu e is th a t of e sta b lish in g re la tio n sh ip s w hich will (people hope) c a rry on to fu tu re g en e ra tio n s. In th e V ictoria River d istric t m a rriag e s are
arranged by adults; the practice is said to be 'traditional'. Girls are p ro m ised before p u b e rty by th e ir fath e r an d by th e ir m o th er's brother; th e h u s b a n d to be is u su a lly considerably older th a n the prom ised girl, often in h is th irties. The h u s b a n d is obliged to go an d live w ith th e fam ily of h is prom ised wife in th e ir country. W hen h is wife is fully m a tu re he h a s the right to tak e h e r to live in h is own country. D uring th is period of bride-service he w orks for h e r family an d le a rn s a b o u t th e sacred places, designs, and objects w hich belong to th a t country. W hen h is wife goes to live in his country, she in tu rn learns ab o u t his country.
H u sb a n d an d wife (and th ro u g h th em th e ir close relations) have r ig h ts to e a c h o th e rs ' c o u n try . T h is d o es n o t c o n s titu te ow nership, b u t gives th e m occupation, travelling, a n d h u n tin g rights.
It is reaso n ab le to hypothesize th a t prior to invasion, w hen th e p o p u la tio n w as m u c h m ore den se, m arriag es w ere likely to be a rra n g e d w ith in a fairly re stric te d geographical sp h e re . At th is tim e , h o w ev e r, m a r r ia g e s a r e o fte n a r r a n g e d b e tw e e n com m unities one h u n d re d kilom etres or m ore d ista n t. A lthough m arriages are now m ore extensive th a t th ey m ay once have been, th e p a tte rn s seem to have rem ained stable.
The b o u n d a rie s of difference across w hich a m arriage is arranged can be th a t of family area, language area, an d environm ental zone. W ithin an y given family, m arriages will be co n tracted to different c o u n trie s , th u s e x te n d in g th e fam ilies' tie s in n u m e ro u s directions. In addition, som e m en have two or th ree wives an d the w om en need n o t be from the sam e country.
W hile o w n e rsh ip r ig h ts a re in h e rite d from o n e 's p a r e n ts , in d iv id u als have ac ce ss to n u m e ro u s co u n trie s beyond th o se of th e ir m o th e r an d fath e r. F a th e r's wife’s co u n try (the co u n try of th e ir half-siblings), s p o u s e 's co u n try , a n d sib lin g s's sp o u se 's co u n try are all co u n tries in w hich people have rights to visit, live, and learn.
In r e tu r n for receiving a wife a m a n m u s t w ork for h is in-law s, an d w hen the tim e com es he m u st p u t h is b ro th er-in -law (wife's
brother) th ro u g h initiation. Initiation ta k e s place in th e country of th e novice. If th e two fam ilies come from different ecological zones, th e in itiatio n ritu a l from one zone will be perform ed in the o th e r, b u t a t th e very le a s t th e s e c o u n trie s /g r o u p s will be involved: novice’s fa th e r's co u n try , novice's m o th e r’s country, n o v ice's b ro th e r-in -la w 's c o u n try . At th e co m p letio n of th e in itia tio n cerem ony, th e in itia te is ta k e n on a n extended trip th ro u g h h is b ro th e r-in -la w 's co u n try , th u s te a c h in g him a b o u t c o u n try w ith w hich he h a s a relatio n sh ip th ro u g h h is sister, and from w hich h e will eventually receive a wife.
By p ro m isin g a wife, one co u n try lo ses a m em b er to a n o th e r cou n try . E ventually, th is im balance will be re d re sse d w hen th e receiving gro u p gives a wife in r e tu rn . M arriage a rra n g e m e n ts th u s crea te new n etw o rk s of re la tio n sh ip s b etw een people an d co u n tries.
D rea m in g L ink s
T h ro u g h in h e rite d affiliations to localised D ream ings, groups of people s h a re id e n tity w ith each o th e r, w ith p a rtic u la r p la n ts, a n im a ls or n a tu r a l p h e n o m e n a , a n d w ith p a rtic u la r tra c ts of co u n try . Localised D ream ing-identified g ro u p s located w ithin a p a r tic u la r 's k in co u n try ' s h a re a com m on id e n tity w ith th a t country. E ach localised D ream ing-identified p erso n an d group is re la te d to sim ila r in d iv id u a ls a n d g ro u p s th ro u g h a com m on rela tio n sh ip to a travelling D ream ing. Travelling D ream ings, as I have d escrib ed above, regularly ch an g ed th e ir sk in category or lan g u ag e, c re a tin g m ajo r fe a tu re s of th e social a s well as th e physical landscape.
As a g en eral rule, all people w hose c o u n try is w ith in th e a re a w here a travelling D ream ing spoke a p a rtic u la r language identify w ith th a t a re a a n d th a t language. People w ho identify w ith a