Partly out of interest for Cape York as we just finished a road trip to the tip of Australia and back, and mostly for the real insights into aboriginal culture back in the early 1900s to 1960s.
Totally shattered some of my ignorant ideas that aboriginals didn't own their land (they sure did, passed from father to son), they were forced to live in houses by white people (they adapted very well to the changing times, a house beat a humpy anytime,especially in the wet season. At on
I loved this book.
Partly out of interest for Cape York as we just finished a road trip to the tip of Australia and back, and mostly for the real insights into aboriginal culture back in the early 1900s to 1960s.
Totally shattered some of my ignorant ideas that aboriginals didn't own their land (they sure did, passed from father to son), they were forced to live in houses by white people (they adapted very well to the changing times, a house beat a humpy anytime,especially in the wet season. At one point they hoped for a cyclone to destroy their shacks so the government would build them new, proper houses), Christianity led them to lose their own culture (yes and no, the core concepts of heaven and hell are so similar they didn't mind using the English words for them and mixed with their own beliefs). I could go on...
Some parts are heavy going with long stories of aboriginal myths, if you persevere through these there is so much to gain from this book, lots of hunting, fighting, loving and more.
Essential reading if you are an Australian.
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I must confess I did not finish this book, just found it could not hold my intrest. It did have some intresting points in it, and the photo's within were good, but I was just not able to 'get into' the book.