THE SOCIAL O RGANIZATIO N O F A U S T RA L I AN T R I BE S BY D L FFE- . C B A . R RA I ROW N MELBOURNE MACMILLAN 85 CO LIMITED HEAD OFFICE LONDON 1 9 3 1 ( h cea nia M ono ra s No . 1 Gh ee O g p , THE SO CIAL O RGANIZATIO N O F A U S T R A L I AN T R I BE S BY RAD LIFF - A . R . C E BROW N MELBOURNE MACMILLAN CO LIMITED HEAD OFFICE LOND ON 1 93 1 CO PYRIGHT V l I h i i d f rom O ceani a o . T h is Monograp s rep r nte , W h olly se t up and p rinted in A ustralia b y McCarron B ird o 47 l i tree Mel ur C . 9 C l ns S t o ne , o , b . m r - l m k R e istered b th e Post aste Genera Mel ourne f or trans issio n b ost as a b . g y , b , y p oo ERRA TA 1 8 a e a e 1 8 . Page 7 , line , for p g 49 read p g 2 0 2 0 , line , the chart referred to is to be found facing page l / 2 2 2 1 A eM ”! Barda. , line , for b W read 2 i 1 6 I i I Bad Barda. 9 , l ne and 7 and page 9 5 , l ne , for read - ; 1 0 f or Pam/z F amil . 5 , foot note , ) read y ' I 1 2 0 t/yezr the. 4 , line , for read I 1 6 rd b order . , 3 line from bottom, insert comma after W h olly set up and in A ustrali a b y McCarron Bird dz Co 47 9 Collins S treet Mel ourne , b . - R e istered b th e Postm as te r General Mel ourne f or trans mission b ost as b k . g y , b , y p oo THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION O F AUSTRALIAN TRIBES A A LIFFE- . O By . R R DC BR W N PART I INCE Fiso n and Howitt published in 1 880 their Kamilaroi and ' Kawaz ni , the social orga zation of the aboriginal tribes of Australia of has received a great deal attention from anthropologists , and the literature o n the subject is now very extensive . That literature has of given currency to a number misconceptions . The present paper is an attempt to indicate as concisely as possible what that organization m of really is , and to give a sum ary the existing knowledge about it . It is intended to serve as an introduction to new researches whi ch are ul of hi i ‘ now in progress , and the res ts w ch will be publ shed in due course . iff of al li There are many d erent forms soci organization in Austra a , i iff i but it w ll appear, I think , that they can all be regarded as d erent var eties of a single general type . The easiest way to give a descriptive account is therefore to describe the general type first and then go on to describe , i iff . ro and as far as possible classify, the d erent variet es That is the p cedut e that will be followed here . i 1 a i The basic elements of social structure in Austral a are ( ) the f m ly, h is i i i . a. , the group formed by a man and w fe and their ch ldren, and 2 ni fini r ( ) the horde, a small group ow ng and occupying a de te territo y f . o or hunting ground Together with these there is , course, a grouping on f or social purposes on the basis of sex and age . It is the basis of the family and the horde that the somewhat complex kinship organizations i of Austral a are built . It is not easy to give a precise and accurate account of the local ff i organization of Australia . In the first place there are many di culties in the way of a study of the local organization amongst the natives m i i i i the selves , wh ch can only be overcome w th unl m ted patience and 3 03 8 6 6 7 O F 4 THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AUSTRALIAN TRIBES of aff ample time , and the use a strict method of enquiry such as that orded di f by the collection of genealogies . Those ficulties are greatly increased i when the country has been occupied for some time by the wh te man, for the local organization is the first part of the social system to be destroyed by the advent of the European and the expropriation of the native owners of the land . What accounts we have of the Australian local organi zation are o n therefore mostly unsatisfactory as being based incomplete observation . Moreover most of them are so lacking in precision as to be almost useless . Thi s is partly due to the fact that the writers have not made suffi ciently of o r f searching investigations , and partly to the use vague con used ” ” i i . t term nology , such terms as tribe , fam ly, etc , being used withou exact defini tion . It is no t easy to reconcile the many different statements that can be i tu on a found in the l tera re Australia , and it is impossible to undert ke f here a critical examination of those statements . It must therefore su fice here to make the bald statement that a careful comparison of them in the light of the resul ts of the latest research leads to the conclusion that the important local group throughout Australia is what will here be spoken of ni of as the borde. The horde is a small group persons ow ng a certain of of i area territory , the boundaries wh ch are known , and possessing m — in co mon proprietary rights over the land and its products mineral , ni l - n or - vegetable and a ma . It is the primary land owni g land holding hi of mi r group . Members p a horde is deter ned in the fi st place by descent, f r o . l child en belonging to the horde their father There is normal y, f in the tribes about which we have adequate in ormation , no provision ‘ ’ ‘ by whi ch a man could leave his own horde and be adopted or natural ’ iz ed . i in another Therefore, as a normal th ng , male members enter ai i l the horde by birth and rem n in it t l death . In many regions the is horde is exogamous . But even where there not a strict rul e against n of marriage withi the horde , the great majority marriages are outside the horde . The woman, at marriage, leaves her horde and joins that of her husband . n The horde, therefore, as an existi g group at any moment, consists ’ of (1 )male members of all ages whose fathers and fathers fathers belonged ’ z o r to the horde, ( )unmarried girls who are the sisters or daughters son s th e male all daughters of members , (5)married women, of whom, in some THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION O F AUSTRALIAN TRIBES 5 of regions , and most whom, in others , belonged originally to other hordes , and have become attached to the horde by marriage . It may be added that normally throughout Australia each horde is ff independent and autonomous , managing its own a airs and acting as a unit in its relations with other hordes . Throughout Australia hordes are grouped into larger local o r i of t r rike . territorial units , wh ch will be spoken as The primary mark of of o ne o r a tribe is that it consists persons speaking language , dialects i f . n of o one language Its u ty is primarily linguistic . The name the tribe and the name of its language are normally the same . So that the easiest way to ascertain to what tribe an individual belongs is usually hi to ask him what language he speaks . In addition to t s unity that comes from a common language there is also a unity of custom throughout the tribe . ffi to It is often di cult, however, say whether a particular recognized o r o f o r local group is a tribe , a subdivision a tribe , whether another o r of of group is a tribe a larger unit consisting a number related tribes . Thus withi n what might be regarded as a large tribe there may be differ ences of ff of ff dialect (and di erences custom) in di erent parts , so that -t is di rub ribes . it vided into Again , adjoining tribes frequently resemble ffi ul one another in language and custom . It is therefore sometimes di c t to decide whether we are dealing with a tribe subdivided into sub -tribes o r with a group of related tribes . So far as Australia is concerned , therefore , we have to define a tribe as a body of persons having a certain homogeneity of language ff i ni and custom su icient to perm t them to be recog zed as a group , and to demarcate them as distinct from other and neighbouring groups .