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Nicolas Peterson Nicolas Peterson i(A92448 works by)
Born: Established: 1941 ;
Gender: Male
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1 y separately published work icon Vitality and Change in Warlpiri Songs Georgia Curran (editor), Linda Barwick (editor), Nicolas Peterson (editor), Valerie Napaljarri Martin (editor), Simon Japangardi Fisher (editor), Sydney : Sydney University Press , 2024 27280751 2024 anthology essay

'Warlpiri songs hold together the ceremonies that structure and bind social relationships, and encode detailed information about Warlpiri country, cosmology and kinship. Today, only a small group of the oldest generations has full knowledge of ceremonial songs and their associated meanings, and there is widespread concern about the transmission of these songs to future generations.

'While musical and cultural change is normal, threats to attrition driven by large-scale external forces including sedentarisation and modernisation put strain on the systems of social relationships that have sustained Warlpiri cultures for millennia. Despite these concerns, songs remain key to Warlpiri identity and cultural heritage.

'Vitality and Change in Warlpiri Songs draws together insights from senior Warlpiri singers and custodians of these song traditions, profiling a number of senior singers and their views of the changes that they have witnessed over their lifetimes. The chapters in this book are written by Warlpiri custodians in collaboration with researchers who have worked in Warlpiri communities over the last five decades.

'Spanning interdisciplinary perspectives including musicology, linguistics, anthropology, cultural studies, dance ethnography and gender studies, chapters range from documentation of well-known and large-scale Warlpiri ceremonies, to detailed analysis of smaller-scale public rituals and the motivations behind newer innovative forms of ceremonial expression.

'Vitality and Change in Warlpiri Songs ultimately uncovers the complexity entailed in maintaining the vital components of classical Warlpiri singing practices and the deep desires that Warlpiri people have to maintain this important element of their cultural identity into the future.' (Publication summary)

1 Women’s Yawulyu Songs as Evidence of Connections to and Knowledge of Land : The Jardiwanpa Mary Laughren , Georgia Curran , Myfany Turpin , Nicolas Peterson , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: Language, Land and Song : Studies in Honour of Luise Hercus 2017; (p. 419-449)

'Luise Hercus has always had a keen interest in Australian Aboriginal songs and collaborated with musicologists both in the field and in her analysis. Her examination of lyrics and the relationship between songs and the people who sing them encompasses a vast area of Australia. Her work on songs from the ‘Corner Country’ reveal performance as a culmination of social exchange, and her examination of the lyrics reveal Aboriginal people’s detailed knowledge of country (Beckett & Hercus 2009). Her work in the Simpson Desert region documents songs with ancestral themes as well as contemporary events (Hercus & Koch 1996, 1999; Hercus 1994: 91–101; 1995). In many parts of Australia where knowledge of Aboriginal languages is scarce, Hercus’s work on songs provides vital clues to the history, language and culture of such regions (Hercus 1992, 1997). Her linguistic documentation of Wemba Wemba in Victoria (Hercus 1969) finds songs that relate to the gender based totems of this area. How songs reflect and reproduce the beliefs, cultural practices and experiences of the people who sing them is a theme of Luise Hercus’ work that is explored in this paper.' (Introduction)

1 'Studying Man and Man's Nature' : A History of the Institutionalisation of Aboriginal Anthropology Nicolas Peterson , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Wentworth Lectures : Honouring Fifty Years of Australian Indigenous Studies 2015; (p. 102-124)
1 2 y separately published work icon Experiments in Self Determination Histories of the Outstation Movement in Australia Nicolas Peterson (editor), Fred Myers (editor), Acton : Australian National University Press , 2015 9014506 2015 single work criticism
1 Lester Richard Hiatt 1931-2008. Nicolas Peterson , 2008 single work obituary (for L. R. Hiatt )
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 1 2008; (p. 143-145)

'Les Hiatt was the doyen of the Australian anthropological community, held in high regard by anthropologists both here and abroad. His sudden and unexpected death in London on 12 February 2008 came as a great shock to his many friends and colleagues' (Introduction)

1 1 y separately published work icon Donald Thomson : The Man and Scholar Bruce Rigsby (editor), Nicolas Peterson (editor), Canberra : Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia , 2005 Z1808426 2005 single work biography 'Donald Thomson's contributions in advocacy of Aboriginal rights, his contributions to ornithology, ecology and for his journalism earned him a spot in the public eye in the 1930's and 40's. This volume is a first assessment of Thomson's life and work.' Source: Libraries Australia. (Sighted 20/09/2011).
1 [Review Essay] Writing from the Fringe : A Study of Modern Aboriginal Literature Nicolas Peterson , 1992 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 2 1992; (p. 104-105)

'Mudrooroo Narogin was presented the 1992 Stanner Award at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies on 15 July for this book. The award was given for

a significant work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, making a major contribution to the promotion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and identity, being an important contribution to greater awareness and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and identity.'  (Introduction)

2 2 y separately published work icon Donald Thomson in Arnhem Land Donald Thomson , Nicolas Peterson , Melbourne : Currey O'Neil , 1983 Z1233721 1983 single work autobiography

'In 1932 Japanese pearl fishermen came ashore in the Caledon Bay area of Arnhem Land and raped several Yolngu women. In retaliation they were fatally speared by Yolngu men who were gaoled and sentenced to death. Anthropologist Thomson convinced the government to set up a commission to investigate and subsequently they were released.' (Libraries Australia)

'Thomson recorded his experiences in newspaper and academic articles, private papers and extended reports to the government. Nicolas Peterson brings this material together as a compelling, highly personal narrative in Thomson's own words. It is a narrative that names all the Aboriginal people involved, presenting them as individuals in a way no other writings of the time do. Through it all Thomson's passionate commitment to Aboriginal rights as defender, critic and advocate, shines through.' (Melbourne University Publishing).

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