AustLit logo
A Grammar of Exchange single work   criticism  
Issue Details: First known date: 1988... 1988 A Grammar of Exchange
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The modality for exchange, which Aborigines promote in the fringe camps of Darwin and in camps of that city's hinterland, is no new creation. It belonged to the hunter-gatherer forebears of the fringe dwellers of today. Handed down through generations, the modality is a heritage preserved intact. Hence I deal with cultural continuities in a world of material change. Furthermore, the Aborigines I know are well acquainted with whitefella notions that govern the use of cash, promote the work ethic and turn labour into a creature of the market. I have taped long conversations in which speakers take turns to produce a recitative of comparison, dealing point by point with differences between whitefella practice and their own. Well supported by argument, the conclusion to one such conversation was issued thus: 'You see Basil, you jus work for wages. You always jus workin for wages. We fella got that money blackfella style:'  (Introduction)

Notes

  • Includes bibliography

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Being Black: Aboriginal Cultures in 'Settled' Australia Ian Keen (editor), Canberra : Aboriginal Studies Press , 1988 9108245 1988 selected work criticism

    'Being black brings together the results of research by a range of renowned anthropologists focusing on the social life of people who used to be labelled 'part-Aborigines' or 'urban Aborigines'. The research cover issues like the basis of identity; the ties of family; the structure of communities; ways of speaking; beliefs and feelings about country, and attitudes to the past.' (Source: Publisher's website)

    Canberra : Aboriginal Studies Press , 1988
    pg. 159-177
Last amended 18 Apr 2019 05:47:24
159-177 A Grammar of Exchangesmall AustLit logo
X