archaeology of yindjibarndi religion phil d

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Philip James Davies

P/O Box 710 Karratha, WA

6714

0429 110451 08 91821035

Heather Burke

Research Methods in Archaeology

2 0 7 9 3 6 2

6

Research Proposal

08/11/10

8512A

[email protected]

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

FOR

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF YINDJIBARNDI RELIGION: EVIDENCE OF

RELIGIOUS CULTURAL PRACTICES FOR A DISCRETE HUMAN

COMMUNITY IN THE PILBARA

FOR

RESEARCH METHODS IN ARCHAEOLOGY

ARCH 8512A

ASSIGNMENT SIX

Due Date: 08/11/10

Philip Davies

Email Address: [email protected]

Student number: 2079362

Department of Archaeology – Flinders University

Topic Coordinator – Heather Burke

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 2 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question Assignment Six: Research Proposal Working Title: The Archaeology of Yindjibarndi Religion: Evidence of religious cultural practices for a discrete human community in the Pilbara

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to explore the idea that the Yindjibarndi people practice a religion,

and to examine this notion to see if it can be proven via the archaeological record within the

current known Yindjibarndi territorial boundaries.

Research Questions: There are principally two main research questions:

1. What is an Yindjibarndi religion?

2. Can it be identified archaeologically?

Does this research deliver new insight? The Yindjibarndi people practice and embody their Law and culture today, an ethical code that

governs their every action, inaction and thought. The Yindjibarndi know this religious truth, and

live the reality in their daily lives. For the Yindjibarndi, their law comes from an ancient time

they term Ngurra Nyjunggamu, when the world was soft, and they believe that the Yindjibarndi

Law followed today, is the same Law that was laid out by the creation beings, the Marrga. The

Yindjibarndi people speak for their country because it is their relation, their very essence has

originated from that country; in effect they and the country are one and the same, each possessing

an intelligible reciprocal discourse that is actionary, infinite and interdependent. The religious

Law that is followed today has been written into Yindjibarndi land, and the challenge of this

thesis is to examine the archaeological record to test this understanding. Clearly, if the

Yindjibarndi Law was laid down in the time of Ngurra Nyjunggamu, then an Yindjibarndi

religiosity may be one of the world's oldest continuing religions ...

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 3 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question Why is the idea of an Yindjibarndi religion important? Are Australian Aboriginal belief systems and knowledge networks religious? Since colonisation

Australian society has been dominated by Eurocentric religious ideals that have set the

capitalistic social value and priority paradigms which are framed within Australia's legal and

legislative systems. In effect this cultural hegemony aggressively displaced and devalued

Aboriginal Australia's spiritual, economic and environmental beliefs, practices and

understandings. Countless legislature and court rulings combined with bureaucratic, controlled

systemic supervision, resulted in Indigenous Australians becoming a disenfranchised,

disadvantaged, landless, ethnic group. The pre-colonial complex 'web of knowing' that

underpinned an Australia-wide Indigenous code of ethics was enveloped by a new social

structure, forcing the former to survive as best it could.

Non-Indigenous Australia has continued to ignore and deny the rights of Aboriginal Australian's

to practice their cultural beliefs unreservedly, particularly in relation to their ancestral land;

unfettered contact and cultural authority for country is essential for Aboriginal religiosity.

Section 116 of the Australian Constitution states that "the Commonwealth shall not make any law

for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free

exercise of any religion ... " (Chapter V, Section 116). Why then, if Aboriginal Australians

continue to practice religion that is specific to bounded territories, have they been, and continue

to be, denied the right of free access and responsibility for that land ...?

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 4 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question Thesis Structure: Currently my thesis will be outlined in the way the chapters are arranged below. Feedback on this

format including chapter headings and subjects selected, and also the proposed length of the

document will be appreciated. For each of the chapters, for the purposes of this research proposal,

I will give a brief overview of what I think the chapter will contain and the research methodology

necessary to articulate any existing evidence for the Yindjibarndi religious features discussed

within the chapter.

I intend to include a fold out A3 map with the work that illustrates the places discussed in the

thesis. I hope that I can include a feature within the electronic version of the thesis that allows

hotlinks on the digital map so that the reader, after clicking on a place in the map, can view

photos, songs, stories and possibly video footage that is directly related to that location. The

definition I will utilise regarding Yindjibarndi country is set out below. The map below is only an

indication of territory, not the final version.

All information within the thesis must be sanctioned for publication by the Yindjibarndi Elders;

no information will be divulged without permission.

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 5 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question Thesis Contents:

Chapter Format:

Chapter One:

Context and Background a. Who are the Yindjibarndi people and where is their country?

b. What is a religion and how is it characterised?

Chapter Two

Literature Review a. The archaeology of religion

b. Existing literature on Yindjibarndi religion

Chapter Three

Creation a. It is written in the land

b. Ngurra Nyujunggamu

c. Minkala and Marrga

d. Gumanha Marnda

e. Birlinbirlin

f. Yananha

Chapter Four

The Law a. Law ceremonies and Law grounds

b. Embodiment of the Law

c. Language

d. Recurring symbols

e. Galharra - the Law of Reciprocity

f. Song-lines

g. Law breakers

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 6 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question

Chapter Five

Ritual interaction with the Country a. Spiritworld

b. Wuthurru

c. Thalu

d. Birth and death

Chapter Six

Yindjibarndi religiosity -interviews with: a. Ned Cheedy

b. Thomas Jacobs

c. Tootsie Daniels

d. Sylvia Allan

e. Michael Woodley

f. Lorraine Coppin

Chapter Seven

Yindjibarndi religion: a case to be put and the implications of that ...

Chapter Eight

Conclusion References Acknowledgements

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 7 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question Chapter One: Context and Background:

i. Who are the Yindjibarndi people and where is their country? For the purposes of the thesis I will only define Yindjibarndi territory as that country

which has been determined by the Australian Federal Court, combined with the current

registered Yindjibarndi claim area over which the Yindjibarndi people are the only

claimants. I will not enter into discussions on any other country that Yindjibarndi people

feel should be recognised as being their own.

Yindjibarndi People is the community of Aboriginal people recognised by the Federal

Court of Australia, in the Yindjibarndi Native Title Determination1

1 See: Daniel v State of Western Australia [2005] FCA 536.

, as a society that has

continued to exist, since before sovereignty, as a body united in and by its

acknowledgement and observance of a normative system of traditional laws and

customs, which give rise to native title rights and interests in the Yindjibarndi Native

Title Determination Area. The Yindjibarndi in accordance with those laws and customs

also holds an existing right, as against the world, to possess, occupy, use and enjoy an

area of land and waters that adjoins the Yindjibarndi Native Title Determination Area.

This adjoining area is the subject of the Yindjibarndi #1 Native Title Determination

Application which was filed in the Federal Court of Australia, on 9 July 2003, by Ned

Cheedy and Others (“Applicant”) on behalf of the Yindjibarndi People and was registered

by the National Native Title Tribunal (“NNTT”), on 8 August 2003.


Figure 1 – The black outline shows the extent of the current Yindjibarndi native title determination and claim boundaries. The blue line is the Fortescue River which runs through the middle of the territory (the artery). This map was produced at the Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation by Angus Mack and the author.

The Registered Native Title Rights of the Yindjibarndi People include the right to possess,

occupy, use and enjoy the Yindjibarndi Claim Area, as against the world; the right to

make decisions about the use of the Yindjibarndi Claim Area by others; and, the right to

protect areas, places, sites and objects, within the Yindjibarndi Claim Area, which are of

significance to the Yindjibarndi People in accordance with their traditional laws and

customs and their religious beliefs.

Methodology: Mapinfo software/GPS points/Map preparation/Hotlinks on

map - the map will locate the areas and places discussed in the thesis so the


reader can view photos, songs, stories and possibly video footage for each

Yindjibarndi site/also A3 hardcopy map will be produced/Thesis will detail

that these sites only provide a snapshot of Yindjibarndi country, it is not an

exhaustive inventory/Much of this data is at Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal

Corporation

ii. What is a religion and how is it characterised? Central to religion is belief in an intelligent design dictated by non-human entities

predicated upon a principled value chain capable of being interpreted or perceived by

humans. The religious discourse is able to be transferred between humans via language

and deed, thereby facilitating education within the paradigm. The sanctioned thoughts and

actions associated with the teachings can be described as law. By adhering to the law the

follower can hope for justice according to the pre-determined philosophy. Therefore

physical and spiritual occurrences that manifest themselves within an environment or

community may be accounted for as an outcome of observance or otherwise of the ethos

(depending on the happening). In this way religion is a circular continuum which

reaffirms itself for the believer and it is capable of bonding humans together in one

universal set of 'truths' as a common cultural and ethnic identifier.

The idea that some religions are valid while others are not will be explored in this chapter.

What makes a religion 'valid' and what are some common identifiers between them will

be discussed. Once established, these traits can be investigated in relation to Yindjibarndi

religion.


Methodology: A database search including legal requirements for religious

organisations will be utilised to research what traits 'legitimate' some religious

orders as against others which are considered 'illegitimate'.

Chapter Two: Literature Review:

i. The archaeology of religion Religious icons, symbols and structures are evident within the international archaeological

record. Some of these will be used as examples for the idolatry and materialism associated

with religious beliefs, so as to compare them to Yindjibarndi recurring symbols and

structures later in the thesis.

Methodology: Database search/Stedman/information on temples/idols etc

ii. Existing literature on Yindjibarndi religion Conduct a search for all references to Yindjibarndi cultural practices and religion,

especially Palmer, Rowley, Bates, Tindale, von Brandenstein and Wordick

Methodology: Database search/DIA site file and heritage reports/audio

tapes/manuscripts/video footage - much of this archival data is at Juluwarlu

Group Aboriginal Corporation office in Roebourne

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 11 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question Chapter Three: Creation

i. It is written in the land “Our Tribal Law is written in the country and it is this Law and this land that tells us who

we are, that gives us strength for the struggle ahead, just as it gave strength to our

ancestors”

(Alan Jacob, Yindjibarndi man, now deceased, quoted in Rijavec, 2004:18)

Yindjibarndi religiosity applies only to a specifically bounded location or territory and the

followers understand that their spiritual and human ancestors have left markings in the

country that tell them how to survive and live their lives according to their universal

truths. The evidence of an Yindjibarndi tool kit is written for them, and they only have to

be coherent with it to understand their existence. Country is a fundamental component of

the Law. Therefore the archaeological features within the country are essential for

understanding your culture.

Methodology: What is written in the land? What is the evidence? Interviews

with current Yindjibarndi Elders/research archival audio tapes and film

ii. Ngurra Nyujunggamu The world came into existence during a creative epoch known in Yindjibarndi as the

Ngurra Nyjunggamu (when the world was soft). It is said that the world was originally a

soft, malleable and amorphus mass that was transformed into its present state by the

actions of a number of creative beings. These beings used supernatural force (Manguny)

to shape the hills, rivers, seas and land forms.

Methodology: Ngurra Nyjunggamu: Interviews with current Yindjibarndi

Elders/research archival audio tapes and film/Site Files/Jawi (Traditional


song)/Dreamtime stories re shaping of the land/Map these archaeological

features

iii. Minkala and Marrga Yindjibarndi people believe that their traditional country is an organic religious domain,

populated by supernatural beings, Marrga, who have extraordinary powers and who

oversee their domain to ensure all that happens within accords with pre-ordained dictates

that emanated from their God, Minkala, during Ngurra Nyjunggamu. Yindjibarndi people

alive today believe that they are, in their spiritual essence, directly connected to

Yindjibarndi country and directly accountable to the Marrga for everything that happens

in Yindjibarndi country.

Methodology: Interviews with current Yindjibarndi Elders/research archival

audio tapes and film/Site Files/Petroglyphs showing depictions of

Marrga/Yindjibarndi believe that some of the petroglyphs were put there by

the Marrga themselves/Estimate the age of these petroglyphs via expert

advice/Stories

iv. Gumanha Marnda

This is the hill where the Marrga gathered all the Ngaardangarli (Aboriginal people) and

told them the Marrga's time on earth was coming to an end. It was at this hill that the

Marrga handed the custodianship of the land, culture and Law to the Ngaardangarli.

Methodology: Map/Photos/Petroglyphs showing depictions of the Marrga

handing over the law, language and custodianship of the land/Estimate the

age of these petroglyphs via expert advice/Artefacts at this site/Burndud (Law)

Songs/Stories


v. Birlinbirlin This is the site of the very first Law ground, and the place where the creation spirits held

the first Law ceremony. The Birlinbirlin lies in an area of the Fortescue River where the

bedrock is smooth and flat. It encompasses several other important sites such as the first

dancing circle and ceremonial sites for making the sun and the moon shine more brightly.

There are other images in the bedrock here that depict the morning star, seven sisters, an

evil spirit, and others

Methodology: Map/Photos/Petroglyphs/Artefacts/Burndud (Law) Song/Filmed

footage of Elders speaking at this site/Stories

vi. Yananha

The two creation spirits who brought the law to Yindjibarndi country left their footprints

at this place during Ngurra Nyjunggamu. When the world became hard their tracks were

set in the bedrock. The engravings they made can be seen on the rocks all along this part

of the Fortescue River.

Methodology: Map/Photos/Footprints/Petroglyphs/Artefacts/Burndud (Law)

Song/Stories/Interviews with Elders/Archives at Juluwarlu

Chapter Four: The Law

i. Law ceremonies and Law grounds The law is central to any religion; it lays down the ground rules. The Yindjibarndi were

given their Law by the Marrga at Gumanha Marnda and the Marrga left their teachings

written into the petroglyphs of Yindjibarndi country. The Yindjibarndi people still

practice their Law ceremonies every year which are central to maintaining and respecting


an Yindjibarndi knowledge network. Old Law grounds are distributed throughout

Yindjibarndi country. Only people who are born with Yindjibarndi ancestors can be

Yindjibarndi Law men, and only they can speak for their country.

Methodology: Map/Photos/Depictions and estimated age of petroglyphs/

Artefacts/Songs/Stories/Archives at Juluwarlu/Interviews with Elders/Filmed

footage of Law ceremonies

ii. Embodiment of the Law Yindjibarndi Law demands a temporal and a physical relationship. Just as the physical

world is one of action governed by psychological identity, the psychological identity is

predicated upon physical occurrences that repeatedly confirm personal and communal

spiritual beliefs. The core can only be articulated within the specific discourse; outside it,

it makes no sense. Country, diversity, flora, fauna, language, memory, history, respect,

kinship, environment, space, vision, empathy, touch, taste, health and the responsibilities

that arise from reciprocal kin-based relationships, all comprise the temporal and physical

nucleus of Yindjibarndi self, and in all ways this priori dictates personal and collective

thoughts, action and inaction. The Yindjibarndi Law must be followed, otherwise the

structured framework from within which all understandings are created, will collapse, and

the people that inhabit that space will no longer be Yindjibarndi – they will simply be

hollow shells; each will be “a person who is lost, a desolate soul who doesn’t know who

they are, where they are going, or where they have come from” (Michael Woodley,

Yindjibarndi Law Man: 2007)

Methodology: Interviews with Elders/Archival documents at Juluwarlu

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 15 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question iii. Language

Followers understand that their country is an interactive companion that speaks,

embodies, and is the living essence of Yindjibarndi culture, responsive to song, dance,

ritual, ceremony and language. The Yindjibarndi language becomes the meaningful,

temporal framework, within which the Yindjibarndi people have the tools to understand

and realise their existence. For them country is incoherent without language, and vice

versa; together they provide the structure for an Yindjibarndi cognitive creative, religious

and spiritual ontology.

Methodology: Interviews with Elders/Archival documents at Juluwarlu/

Language as it relates to landscape features/Ethnophysiography theories

developed by Mark and Turk/Age and depictions of ceremonies within

petroglyphs

iv. Recurring symbols Yindjibarndi have unique symbols or trademarks that are theirs. These are placed on

artefacts and used in the Law. They may also be spread throughout the country in rock art

Methodology: Artefacts/Petroglyphs/Archival documents at Juluwarlu/

Photos/Film footage/Estimate the age of these petroglyphs via expert advice

v. Galharra - the Law of Reciprocity Galharra is the system of Law that governs all Yindjibarndi relationships. Yindjibarndi

has a kinship system which dictates how all living and inanimate beings are related to

each other. All things are divided into four groups: Banaga, Burungu, Garimarra and

Balyirri. Every animal, every plant and water place, the sun, the moon and the stars, fire,


wind, water, the country, and every Yindjibarndi child that is born – everything that is

Yindjibarndi belongs to one of these groups. This Law rules that every communication is

kin-based. The Yindjibarndi do not resort to prayer, prostration, or sacrifice in

communicating with the spiritual realm. When ritual appeals are properly made, the

ancestral powers, wherever they be, as older "relatives" who understand the sacred

principle of reciprocity, are obliged to respond positively and provide the rain, babies,

flora, and fauna on which the reproduction of nature and culture depends.

Methodology: Archival documents at Juluwarlu/Photos/Film

footage/Markings in the rock at the Birlinbirlin/Age and depictions of

ceremonies within petroglyphs

vi. Song-lines Each year in the annual Law Ceremonies the ancient song cycles that speak and name the

country and all the life within it are sung by the Yindjibarndi people. The language within

the songs transforms as it traverses the different Aboriginal territories; our “Law travelled

thousands of miles across the desert to reach as far as Uluru” (Rijavec, 2004: 2).

Methodology: Archival documents at Juluwarlu/Photos/Film footage/

Mapping of song-lines/Audio recordings/Know the Song, Know the Country

vii. Law Breakers Lessons for those who break the Law are etched into the landscape. Some of these

archeological features will be discussed and illustrated via their songs and stories.


Methodology: Archival documents at Juluwarlu/Photos/Mapping/Audio

recordings/Millstream/Story of the Barrimirndi

Chapter Five: Ritual interaction with the Country

i. Spiritworld Yindjibarndi spirits – Yindjibarndi spirits inhabit the rocks, caves, watercourses and hills..

These ancestral beings must be respected according to Yindjibarndi Law – otherwise dire

consequences could be the outcome. The spirits are directly connected with features in the

country and some of the observances in relation to these spirits will be discussed.

Methodology: Interviews/Archival documents at Juluwarlu/Mapping/Audio

recordings/Spirit names and characteristics/Caves/Hills/Trees/Flora and

Fauna/Stories/Importance and age of depictions in the petroglyphs

ii. Wuthurru Under Yindjibarndi Law it is necessary to approach country with caution and respect and

to perform a religious ritual, Wuthurru. Upon arriving an Yindjibarndi person will speak

in Yindjibarndi language to the Marrga and, if near permanent water, take a handful of

water into his or her mouth, will blow the water back into the pool so the Marrga

recognise the person as an Yindjibarndi person. Under Yindjibarndi Law, strangers

coming into Yindjibarndi Country should be met by Yindjibarndi Lawmen so they can be

“fitted” into the Yindjibarndi social system. This is and was done through the

Binjimagayi ritual in which visitors were assigned to one of the four Galharra. The ritual


ensures that the visitor’s behaviour, and the behaviour of the Yindjibarndi People towards

them, is governed by Yindjibarndi Law.

Methodology: Interviews/Archival documents at Juluwarlu/Audio

recordings/Importance of landscape features

iii. Thalu “Thalu sites are places set aside as a focus for ceremonies that will ensure the

continuation and proliferation of particular species of animals, plants and natural

phenomena” (Daniel, 1990: 5). Thalu are specific increase sites which are ‘driven’ by

those Indigenous people responsible for them. By physically and mentally working the

Thalu through particular rituals, environmental diversity is ensured, because the formal

procedure “keeps the land alive” (Daniel, 1990: 5).

Methodology: Discussion of known Thalus in Yindjibarndi

country/Interviews/Archival documents at Juluwarlu/Importance of landscape

features/Films/Mapping/Importance and age of petroglyphs

iv. Birth and Death Birth and death are significant spiritual events, given that an Yindjibarndi philosophy

understands that the spirits of past ancestors are highly influential in everyday life. Being

born an Yindjibarndi person gives the individual entree into a special birthright and

unique cultural experience, one that is not open to non-Yindjibarndi people. This

experience is the same for death. Once an Yindjibarndi always an Yindjibarndi. Therefore


landscape and archaeological features, as well as personal and communal totems, are

especially important in relation to ancestral belonging and behaviour.

Methodology: Birth and burial places/Caves/Trees/Spiritual

affiliation/Interviews/Archival documents at Juluwarlu/Importance of

landscape features/Films/Mapping/Petroglyphs

Chapter Six: Yindjibarndi Religiosity

Conduct interviews with Ned Cheedy, Thomas Jacobs, Tootsie Daniels, Sylvia Allen,

Michael Woodley and Lorraine Coppin with regard to the practices, beliefs and landscape

features outlined above. These filmed oral interviews, in addition to archival information

and interviews held by Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation, will form the foundation

of this research. Other interviews may be conducted if sanctioned by the Yindjibarndi

people.

Methodology: Filmed oral interviews discussing Yindjibarndi religiosity in

relation to the features mentioned above.

Chapter Seven: Yindjibarndi religion: a case to be put and the implications of that ... Chapter Eight: Conclusion

ARCH 8512A: Research Methods in Archaeology Page 20 of 20 Philip Davies – Student Number 2079362 Assignment Six – Research Question Technology/Research Materials

Technology utilised for my investigation will include use of a Laptop, Video Camera, Stills

Camera, GPS, Mapinfo software, access to Juluwarlu/Yindjibarndi database, native title records,

archives, heritage surveys, site files and court transcripts and collections, audio recorder, 4 Wheel

drive and the support of the Yindjibarndi people

References

Note: I have been professionally employed at Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation since January 2005. Several informal interviews have been conducted at Juluwarlu with Michael Woodley and others over the years. The specific quote within the text was checked with Michael and he has kindly agreed to allow his words and views to be included. The contribution of the Chairperson, members and management of Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation to this assignment is profound and it would not have been possible to complete without their views, insight, input and endorsement. Daniel, D. 1990 Thalu Sites of the West Pilbara. Department of Aboriginal Sites, Western Australian Museum, Perth Rijavec, F. 2004 Know The Song, Know The Country: The Ngaardangarli Story of Culture and History in Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi Country. (Second Edition). Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation, Roebourne. The Australian Constitution

archaeology of yindjibarndi religion phil d

Documents

possibly video

discrete human

religious

yindjibarndi

yindjibarndi

research question

federal court

archaeological