Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin: A World That Is, Was, and Will Be

Vic: Spinifex, North Melbourne, 1998. Near fine. xvi, 688 pages: illustrations, maps; 24 cm. "In 'Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin', Diane Bell presents a finely textured ethnographic portrait of Aboriginal culture. Here are the voices of women and men who struggled to protect their sacred sites in the Hindmarsh Island, Murray Mouth and Goolwa area. When they did, it became the subject of a series of court cases, legal decisions, media speculation, anthropological disputation and parliamentary conflict, ending in 2001 with a vindication of their words." -- Publisher's websiteContents: Part I. Ngarrindjeri: a distinctive weave. 1. Weaving the world of Ngarrindjeri. 2. Shared designs: different strands. 3. Singing: 'Pakari Nganawi Ruwi'. 4. Family, friends and other relations. 5. A land alive: embodying and knowing the country. 6. Signs and sorcery: finding meaning in a changing world. Part II. The politics of knowledge. 7. Respecting the rules: oral and written cultures. 8. Sorting the sources: writing about the lower Murray. 9. Women's beliefs, bodies and practices. 10. Sacred orders: a weave of the clans, stories and sanctions. Epilogue. Whither?