'Examines a Christian religious movement which began among the Yolngu people of Elcho Island, Arnhem Land, in 1979: the nature of the movement; its leaders; influence of the missions; the prevailing social conditions; the relationship between the movement and traditional belief systems. Bos concludes that the movement provided an amended ideological foundation for new social conditions resulting from mission and wider European contact. More broadly, Aboriginal Law, embodied in the Dreaming, facilitates social change by maintaining open-ended symbols subject to reinterpretation, thus allowing social cohesion during periods of change.' (abstract thesis)
