AustLit

Summary: Introduction by Phillip Roberts; brief outline of Aboriginal life, antiquity of human occupation of Australia, origins, religious background to art, adaptation to environment, effects of European contact, social organization; (Arnhem Land) moieties, sections, marriage, breaches of marriage law, division of Labour, spirit beliefs; recounts authors first contacts with Yirawala, gives version of Maung myth, notes on cooking geese, reproduces biographical information on Lazarus Lami-Lamitaken from taped letter, Maung myths; Goulburn Is. mortuary ceremony, spirit beliefs; attitude of Yirawala to mining, prospectors and land; Gunwinggu myth on origin of didgeridoo; account of filming expedition to take Yirawala to home territory; versions of 5 myths - Lumah-lumah, the big Maraian man; Namarrgine, the birdman; Gurgurr, the moon man; Booma-booma, the big man; Namorren, the lightning man, each with reproductions of series of bark paintings with relevant notes in margin; profusely illustrated with examples of Yirawalas paintings.