'JOYOUS MAGGOTS': THE SYMBOLISM OF YOLNGU MORTUARY RITUALS

Abstract

Stanner's On Aboriginal religion is a work of intuitive genius. For Stanner there is almost a disjunction between the complexity of social life and the simplicity of the metaphysical core that lies at the heart of it. The complex reality of life creates a series of masks that obscure the central truths. ‘Myth, song, dance, mime, social organization and institutional practice all lie like so many veils between the observer and that mystery which is phrased analogically’, Stanner wrote (1989: 121). I would like to argue that the complexity lies in both the metaphysics themselves and in everyday life, for when we break down the metaphysic by analysing how it is worked out in action we find that meaningful action is complex, multilayered and multi-determined. I would argue that this is why the metaphysical core is never merely said because it is itself complex and intertwined with social practice. It cannot be condensed in a single sentence; rather it is performed, painted and danced, for if one tries to reduce it, it becomes oversimplified and loses its connections. The metaphysical core is deeply connected to aesthetics and the experiential dimension of ritual performance, for these too are multi-dimensional, engaging with individuals’ pasts and presents. Certainly ritual events can express core ideas, but always in a slightly ambiguous way so that actors can respond in quite different ways according to context. While I would agree with Stanner that ‘the relationship between the religious and the mundane life is continuous’ (Stanner 1989: 278), ritual creates a performative context in which for a while the mundane is transformed into a heightened way of experiencing the world.