Australian Aboriginal Kinship Organizations

by SMTWTFS in Ethnicity, October 21, 2011

Throughout thousands of centuries, Aboriginal bands have productively endured the punitive Australian environment. Often, these bands will come together to barter and create gatherings for matters such as organized marriages ("Indigenous australiana”). These kinship organizations infiltrate every part of the Aboriginal’s social associations and arrangements.

There is very little I can relate between my society and the Aboriginal kinship organizations. I do not call my aunts and uncles, mother or father, but they are known as maternal or paternal, which relates to the words father and mother. For example, the rules between family groups are different within our society, for example; Aboriginal custom is that the husband and mother-in law are not allowed to talk as they think this will avoid tension since they spend so much time together. In our society, this lack of communication would be considered as rude and abnormal. Also, I could not relate to is the rules of marriage. Our society is custom to freedom of choice, but the Aboriginal rely on family collaboration and acceptance when choosing a spouse. Extraordinarily, the rules of kinship keep direction among the Aboriginal, unlike our society, which needs juries, attorneys, and law enforcement to provide directive. Aborigines view life as a sharing experience with not just each other, but also as a common with animals and plants. I believe plenty can be learned from their culture, such as, how one is supposed to behave and understanding the relationships between humans and nature.

REFERENCES

Australian Aborigine. (2011). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43876/Australian-Aborigine

Dudgeon, P., Garvey, D., & Pickett, H. (2000). Working with Indigenous Australians: A handbook for psychologists. Perth, Australia: Gunada.

Egalitarianism. Informally published manuscript, University of Social Science and Humanities, Hanoi National University, Ha Noi, Retrieved from http://anthropologymuseum.net/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=281:egalitarianism&catid=27:bai-nghien-cu-kho-c&Itemid=35

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