Cirrus@Austlit

'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)