TheTywerrengeas an Artefact of Rule

The (Post) Colonial Life of a Secret/Sacred Aboriginal Object

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2156331
AutoresPhilip Batty (Museums Victoria, autor correspondente)
Ano2014
Volume25
Fascículo2
Páginas296-311
Data de publicação2014-03-15
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoHistory and Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0275-7206 • E-ISSN: 1477-2612
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02757206.2014.882833
OpenAlexW2052118118
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas7
Referências citadas9

In this article, I examine an Aboriginal ritual object, the secret/sacred tywerrenge which in many respects lies at the heart of Central Australian Aboriginal religious belief. Given its ritual power, the tywerrenge has always held a special place in the administrative rationalities of both colonial and post-colonial authorities. For certain missionaries, the tywerrenge was seen as an object to be eliminated as it constituted an impediment to Aboriginal "salvation". For early anthropologists such as Baldwin Spencer, they offered material evidence supporting social evolutionist theories regarding the "staged" transformation of "primitive" religious beliefs into science. More recently, tywerrenge have been subject to an intensive regime of inspection and evaluation by government authorities, museums, and land councils. Indeed, they have come to play a significant role in the enforcement of Australian law under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act since the possession of a tywerrenge can decide the ownership of traditional lands. In short, these religious objects—and the beliefs associated with them—have been co-opted and employed by a variety of authorities in order to achieve a range of governmental ends. In this sense, tywerrenge have been transformed into instruments of colonial and post-colonial rule.Keywords: AboriginalRitualMissionsGovernment

Colonialism · Indirect rule · Object (grammar · Political science · Possession (linguistics · Power (physics · Sociology · Subject (documents · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Law · Philosophy