Chris, Carol, Peter et al -
Chris asked "Do you have any other resources apart from Gould on Australian
Aboriginal
ornithology? What are some of your own thoughts on the matter?"
Carol -thanks for the tip - I shall follow it up.
Unfortunately even Gould's Handbook has a limited amount of information (a
sad day for australian ornithology when Gilbert died in 1845 in north
queensland with that fool Leichhardt!). There is very little information and
no dedicated book or publication available that I am aware of on australian
aboriginal ornithology - maybe someone needs to write the book/s. There is
certainly a need for a general introduction to the subject and plenty of
opportunities for meaningful research - particulary within individual
language groups.
There are a few, and very few recent, journal articles on australian
ethnobiology generally and quite a few works on aboriginal botany. I intend
to publish an expanded version of my paper delivered to the AOC at Canbera
in December 2003. I am also working on an ornithological history of Arnhem
Land in the NT as stage one of a three stage project on australian
aboriginal ornithology. Thge second stage will examine and seek to define
aboriginal ornithology generally (in the context of the considerable work
done elsewhere) and outline some parameters for field research -
particularly the ethical/philosophical considerations. What is needed is for
aboriginal ornithology to be set in context - who has the information, what
is it and how might it be used - this last point is particularly relevant to
the increasing responsibility that aboriginal people are taking for the
management of their own lands. The third stage of my project would be to
undertake extensive field work with people from a particular language group.
This would most likely be done in the Northern Territory, where there are
still substantial numbers of people living on country and where much of the
knowledge has not been washed away by the "tides of history".
I also plan to publish a bibliography of australian aboriginal
ornithological research at some time in the future.
There are a few other that I am aware of that are currently working in or
with an interest in this area. I am aware of a Peter Lister having done a
small amount of work, lawrie Conole (hi Laurie) has expressed an interest
and Sonia Tideman (well-known for her pioneering work on Gouldian finches)
is currently working on aspects of Aboriginal story-telling and birds. She
also presented a most interesting paper at the AOC on recurring themes in
stories acoss australia and plans to do more work in this area. Try a web
search on the various words/phrases. More work needs to be done prior to AOC
2005 (in NZ) so that a session dedicated to australasian ethnoornithology
can be presented at that conference.
Chris, I note your reference to your Aboriginal family. I would encourage
you to start your own project - particularly if you have a member or members
of your family that has a particular interest in birds and may have some
traditional knowledge passed down from past generations. Standard oral
history recording techniques can be used.
I would welcome any thoughts, criticisms, research tips or information that
anyone may have in this area. I already have a substantial amount of
information from a variety of disparate sources and would appreciate any
research assistance. There is much work to be done in this area - partly
because so little work has been or is being done, but also to set out the
framework in which future work can be done. Some of my thoughts/questions
include:
- a philosophical framework needs to be established - what does/or should an
australian aboriginal ornithology look like and what use might it be?;
- what data/information is currently available and what gaps need to be
filled? (one particularly useful area is the anthropological material
gathered in support of aboriginal land and native title claims in recent
years);
- who can or should do this work, what ethical/practical considerations
might apply and what role can 'peak' bodies like Birds Australia perform?;
- how can this information be put to use and how can mainstream australian
ornithology contribute to the challenges facing Aboriginal people in the
management of the vast tracts of land (particularly in northern australia)
for which they have responsbility?
I could go on. I hope that this stimulates discussion among the birding-aus
community.
I welcome your thoughts - got to go now - the mixed feeding flock in the
pittosporum outside my window demands my attention!!
Thanks and look forward to your responses.
Robert Gosford
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Coleborn
Sent: Thursday, 5 February 2004 6:00 PM
To: Robert Gosford
Subject: RE: First message - and thanks Carol
How are you Robert?
Welcome to Birding-aus.
I was most interested to read in your first message, "I have for some time
been interested in Australian aboriginal ornithology and my research in this
area has revealed much, not only about the history of Australian ornithology
in the western tradition, but also about the distinct lack of recognition of
an Australian aboriginal ornithology - in literature or in practise. As I
commented in my paper at the AOC in
December, it is a sad reflection on both past and present Australian
ornithology that the most comprehensive recording of Australian aboriginal
ornithological knowledge is found between the covers of Gould's "Handbook to
the Birds of Australia" - published in 1865."
Do you have any other resources apart from Gould on Australian Aboriginal
ornithology? What are some of your own thoughts on the matter?
I have quite a clan of Aboriginal relatives, and would be very interested in
anything you have to pass on.
Happy birding,
Chris Coleborn
|
