A Litany for Land single work   criticism  
Issue Details: First known date: 1988... 1988 A Litany for Land
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Until recently the southwest Aboriginal people, who usually speak of themselves as Nyungars, have been considered to be a people who have lost their Aboriginal spiritual heritage or whose knowledge of things of the spirit is a diluted (or worse still, made-up and inauthentic) tradition. This chapter is premised on the understanding that all people continually generate and maintain meaning. A loss of meaning and knowledge was not presumed when I first sat down with Nyungar people. Rather I simply asked them to share with me and teach me how they made sense of their existence. I have sought to show here how Nyungar people read country and see themselves in relation to their ancestors and to the land, in the context of the attempt to prevent the desecration of a small brook on the edge of the city of Perth in Western Australia.'  (Introduction)

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. 227-249
Last amended 18 Apr 2019 05:49:51
227-249 A Litany for Landsmall AustLit logo
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