WALBIRI RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICE

This paper will examine religious beliefs and practices of the Walbiri peoples of Australia, emphasizing the Walbiri's reliance on orality and pragmatism in their culture and theology. The Walbiri are seminomadic aborigine hunters and gatherers who have wandered the rocky ranges, outcrops and low-lying hills of the western desert region of Central Australia for centuries before European contact. More recently, the Walbiri have subdivided into four major groups--the Ngalia, Walmalla, Waneiga and Lander Walbiri. The Walbiri nomadic pattern of wandering from water hole to water hole within their loosely defined territories remains the main organizing principle of Walbiri life, exceeding in importance even the rhythms of the seasons. At present, the Walbiri inhabit government settlements within or near their original country.

Walbiri patrilineal descent groups resemble Western "landowning units," (Munn, 1973, p. 21) except that the Walbiri perceive ownership in a spiritual context of what Munn (1973, p. 21) describes as "ritual rights exercised by men of the group over a series of ancestral localities and their associated ceremonies, cult objects, and ancestral totemic designs." Walbiri descent groups, lineage-like units, include about seven to 12 adult men who represent the lineage as a whole. Boys are initiated into the "lodge" of his patrilineage through circumcision. Women, excluded from the lodge, no

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oes not broadcast tapes of deceased persons; it expects the tapes to be broadcastable in a comparatively short time. As Michaels (1985, p. 506) points out, "The desire for cultural preservation/continuity may in fact compromise some of the Kumunjayi restrictions as Aboriginal people gain access to the media." The Kumunjayi restrictions have their root at least partially in a humanitarian desire to avoid reminding the deceased's relatives of a painful event--the death of a loved one. Other Walbiri information restrictions are rooted exclusively in secrecy and religion, the point being to restrict information to the initiated. Unlike the Kumunjayi restrictions, these restrictions brook no compromise even in the face of technology and outside cultural influence. The materials and knowledge placed under these much more severe restrictions form part of Walbiri "law." In contrast to the Kumunjayi, the greater the distance from the enunciation or creation of the "law," the less free are participants to break the restriction of information. According to Michaels, (1985, p. 507) this is because while "one can be assured that beyond a certain region one may view an old tape and not worry about relatives of the deceased, the farther f
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Walbiri Walbiri, Law Michaels, Northern Territory, Kumunjayi Walbiri, Billy Stockman, Christian Church, Descent Walbiri, According Michaels, Association CAAMA, Cape York, michaels 1985, michaels 1985 508, 1985 508, walbiri theology, 1985 507, michaels 1985 507, munn 1973, walbiri village, orality walbiri, cape york, restricted information, meggitt 1962, 1985 508 stated, michaels 1985 506, munn 1973 23,
Approximate Word count = 2987
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)