In The Economic, Social, Spiritual and Political Spheres of Aboriginal Life
In The Economic, Social, Spiritual and Political Spheres of Aboriginal Life
Reciprocity is an underlying principle expressed throughout Aboriginal societies. The first thing to recognize when considering any aspect of Australian Aboriginal Society is that this is not one single social group but rather a society interwoven by more than five hundred social groups. Many attributes of each society are different from group to group. There are different languages, life styles, customs, and practices. There are certain core beliefs and customs that do cross the continent and appear universal. Reciprocity is a learned behavior. This is easy to see when you consider the differences between children and adults. Like children everywhere, Aboriginal children are self-centered and demanding. Generosity and an openhanded readiness to share is highly developed in the Aboriginal cultures so that it becomes an item of high social status, the primary measure of a man and a source of self esteem. . Although reciprocity is general practice among the Aboriginal societies in Australia, the manner of its practice may vary among the different social groups. It is important to consider that Aboriginal culture is vastly different from European culture. Unlike other civilizations, in the Aboriginal culture, the focus is on being, doing and achieving. European culture focuses on acquisition and possession of objects. By practicing reciprocity and placing an emphasis upon generosity, more time is free to enjoy and perfect the spiritual and artistic practices of life.
In Australian Aboriginal society, reciprocity supplants the European trade method. Aboriginal people are successful hunters and gatherers, well adapted to their environment. Prior to settlement by Europeans, their knowledge of how to harvest from the land, including a system of preservation taboos allowed the environment to support a greater density of Aboriginal people than of the Europeans who came after. Because of this, the various Aboriginal groups had the potential to focus less of their attention on survival sustenance and more on what Western culture would call leisure. Without an unproductive business sector to support, more of each individual’s labor contributes to the group. This logical social structure maximizes each person’s worth, and adds to the benefits enjoyed by being part of a social group.
Reciprocity and generosity are core values throughout Aboriginal societies, but the way they are practiced varies from group to group. In some groups it is felt that it is impolite to directly ask for something. In those social systems they believe that people should know their obligation to share and be sensitive enough to “read” when some needs something they have. is not always correct. Among the Murngn People it is acceptable to make a direct demand such as “I want to owe you five dollars,” . Elsewhere the practice may appear more open handed; however, there are undercurrents less easily detected by outsiders. One of the difficulties encountered with this system is that lazy people can take advantage of the more industrious members of society. The Anbara People of Arnhem Land have a strong societal demand for generosity. While on the surface this places additional stress upon the most productive members of this society, they have evolved a strategy to circumvent exploitation. They eat during food gathering so that they consume the majority of their efforts before they return to camp. In this way, they can practice open-handed generosity without compromising themselves. This solves the problem without changing the core social values.
The amount of travel varies from group to group. While some groups lead a completely nomadic existence and carry all their possessions with them, others travel less and go from one established campsite to another. There are also Aboriginal Societies that live in “substantial huts” and possess tools and other goods that preclude casual freedom of movement. This was especially true of those groups that live along a salt or fresh water coastline. Settled people tend to possess different tools and implements than a more mobile society. Drying racks, fishing traps, and grind stones are a few of the tools that would be left behind if a group wanted to be fully available to travel. If a group uses an established campsite these implements would be left behind when the group travels to its next location.
Seasonal growth and migration patterns present cyclical opportunities. A harvest season might draw several dozen or even hundreds of Aboriginals from various social groups to partake in the abundance. These gatherings also facilitate the exchange of stories, practices, goods and materials. Depending on the size and desirability of the harvest opportunity groups from many miles away might journey to a particular location. Although reciprocity is an open-handed practice throughout the Aboriginal cultures the way reciprocity it works out cross culturally employs a great deal of diplomacy. These practices involve testing, asserting and substantiating behavior whose standards and practices vary from society to society.
Within each society, there are individuals who like to travel more than others do. These people help effectuate the transference of goods, raw materials, and ideas. While not traders in the classic European sense they do carry items of value along with ceremonial practices language and social customs to distant groups, but there was no system of currency. . This is true in Tasmania as well as Australia where technological advancements and ceremonial practices swept through a region carried by the traders. .
Reciprocity is interwoven completely into the social fabric of Aboriginal life. Reciprocity, operates between groups as well as within them and strongly reinforces personal relationships as well as group relationships. In this way it serves as a system of checks and balances to maintain social equilibrium . Although the way it may play out from group to group differs, the thread of reciprocity runs through all levels of social interaction. Music and dance, kinship systems, art forms and ceremonies are dramatically between some regions. However, the differences are less important than the similarities that bring groups together for ceremonies, for trade, and to intermarry. This coming together and exchange preserves the myths, and song lines and exchange cycles that extended across the continent. There is no one Aboriginal society. Each region tends to foster a unique style. The people in different regions also generally emphasize their own identity and distinctness.. One of the consistencies of Aboriginal social structure is the concept of reciprocity. Every meal, every daily harvest and hunt provide opportunities for group members to display their capability for generosity. Reciprocity is incorporated in day-to-day living and as a function of ceremonial circumstances. In addition to everyday life where food is shared, people have obligations to make gifts to acknowledge events and celebrations. Initiation is an example when a man is initiated he makes those who initiate him. When a people get married, they exchange gifts with each other and their new families. Usually the economic value of the gift is unimportant: the purpose of giving and receiving is to reinforce social bonds. . Balancing reciprocal kinship and individual obligations as well as reciprocal obligations across larger groups are important factors in determining the parties to a marriage. . When Australia was colonized most of the Aboriginal population lived in small, semi-nomadic, family based, groups who followed seasonal travel patterns to take advantage of harvest and migration opportunities. . Sharing within family groups is traditional in most parts of the world. Many small communities also have informal neighbor helping neighbor barter systems extant, often without even considering them as such. Rural American “barn raisings” where the community comes together to help with a special project, knowing that everyone do the same and help them out when they need it. Formal trade generally takes place and gains structure as the size of the community expands. This did not occur in Australia. “Reciprocity and sharing were and still are important characteristics in Aboriginal society. Sharing along the lines of kinship and family remains an important cultural value “
Spiritual and religious factors shape Aboriginal life. They way these factors operate they foster the concept of reciprocity Just as there is not one single Aboriginal social group, there is no single religion as well. . However, there are some core concepts that run through all Australian Aboriginal religious practices and link them together.
“For a beginning, it would be enlightening to situate Australian Aboriginal religion in the context of what one scholar calls "primal" religions. Primal religious are typical of tribal societies, that is societies which depend upon reciprocity and exchange, and which have generalized functions so that there is no specific religious organization, or institutions, no specific and separate economic or political organization, etc.” .
The earliest missionaries and anthropologists did not appreciate how different the Aboriginal approach is. Because of that, they did not immediately grasp the complexity of the Aboriginal socio-religious system. In Aboriginal life, everything is sacred. Australian Aboriginal societies do not separate the sacred and the profane as do Western cultures. There is no the common assumption that religion represents the social ideals in microcosm because everything is interwoven in Aboriginal life. There is no notion that religion exists to serve and reflect the society as a whole since it is an integral part of life. In the Aboriginal culture, this is reversed and instead it would be more correct to say that their society is established to support the religion rather than the religion exists to support the society. This concept is a complete reversal of common Western thought that demands a separation of church and state. Reciprocity is integral to this interwoven existence.
Reciprocity and generosity are among the determining factors in establishing the society’s leadership structure. Aboriginal societies exhibit both egalitarian and hierarchical tendencies. There are no chiefs and no centralized institutions for formal ongoing political or control. An egalitarian ethos predominates, its influence depends the individual group but they are essentially classless;,” . Because social decisions are made based upon a consensus of the group and not unilaterally by one individual leader having a stable reputation for fairness and generosity is important to establish credibility. “no society is entirely egalitarian, the degree of social stratification within different indigenous societies can vary considerably,“ . Within a particular Aboriginal group, reciprocity and generosity were frequently seen as the ultimate value of a person. . When making social decisions the group members that enjoy the greatest respect from the community are the ones the society looks to for guidance in making group decisions. It is a simple pattern that the people who do the most for a community get the most respect. Since reciprocity and generosity are among the qualities most respected in an individual it makes them determining factors in establishing the society’s leadership structure. When a decision needs to be made within the group, the individuals have their separate viewpoints and considerations. People with particular skills may have more weight put to their opinion; an example would be the groups best hunters if the topic of game and migration were an issue. However, across the board for all decisions the opinions that would carry the most weight would come from the people who would carry the most weight as demonstrated by their generosity and reciprocity.
Conclusion
Reciprocity is an underlying principle expressed throughout Aboriginal societies. Alain Testart found that “the idea of reciprocity is fundamental in Australian Aboriginal Societies (although) inequities are also inherent in the kinship system itself”. The classificatory system of kinship (kinship system) is used traditional Aboriginal society. The kinship system governs inter-personal relationships using a complex and intricate system of rules. It is based upon an expanded concept of family along with a concomitant extension of family rights and obligations. . This adds to the understanding Australian Aboriginal Society is not one single social group but rather a society interwoven by more than five hundred social groups. These separate groups have differences, similarities and a few strong common elements. Reciprocity is one of these. This core practice cuts across societal and geophysical barriers and affects other life styles, customs, and practices and permeates the fabric of society throughout the continent.
It is important to consider that reciprocity is a learned behavior. Aboriginal children are not born with an intrinsic sense of generosity and knowledge of the benefits of reciprocity. They are just as demanding, selfish and self-centered as anyone else’s children anywhere else. Generosity and an openhanded readiness to share is something they are taught because it contributes to a successful culture and societal structure. Aboriginal culture focuses on being, doing, and achieving. This makes it diametrically different from European culture that focuses upon the acquisition and possession of objects. Because there is social status placed on what you give rather than what you have with the emphasis on generosity Australian Aborigines have more free time to enjoy and perfect the spiritual and artistic practices of life.
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