Arnhem Land: Its History and Its People

Ronald Murray Berndt, Catherine Helen Berndt

F. W. Cheshire, 1954 - Aboriginal Australians - 243 pages

Fieldwork 1946-47, 1949-50; Briefly outlines social organization of coastal people (Maung, Wulamba, Balamumu); Place of indigenous religion in Aboriginal society; Detailed account of alien contact in N.E. and W. Arnhem Land (Baijini (or preMacassans, Malayans etc.)); Effect of traders on ceremonies, material culture (pottery, art etc.) and song cycles; Depopulation - prevalence of venereal disease; Details of song cycle of Gumaidj group describing settlements of Macassans along N. Aust. coast with place names; Aborigines knowledge of peoples of the East India Archipelago - uncorporated in the Badu song cycle; History of European contact, details of murders and their repercussions, government policy; Position of the missions & their part in culture contact, disorganization of camp life through military contact; Detailed bibliographical references.

Contents

• Background 1: 3
• The Arnhem Land Aborigines: 8
• Alien Contact in NorthEastern Arnhem Land: 14

Bibliographic information

• Title: Arnhem Land: Its History and Its People
• Authors: Ronald Murray Berndt, Catherine Helen Berndt
• Publisher: F. W. Cheshire, 1954
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Nov 28, 2006
• Length: 243 pages