Classification of plants and animals from a Groote Eylandt Aboriginal point of view

Abstract

This thesis argues that there are many different folk classification systems applicable to plants and animals, a point which has not always been acknowledged. Folk biological, food, totemic and linguistic classification systems are discussed, including binary classifications such as edible/inedible and totem/non-totem. Both hierarchical and non-hierarchical models of biological classification are considered but Berlin, Breedlove and Raven's hierarchical model is favoured. Hierarchical models are seen to be based on conceptual thinking in contrast to complexive thinking which underlies classifications based largely on association. Extensive data on plant and animal classification systems from a Groote Eylandt Aboriginal perspective are presented. Biological and food classification systems are readily expressed within a hierarchical model of classification though a number of unusual features are noted. The possibility of covert life form taxa is suggested. Tentative proposals are also made for universals in the classification of foods. Totemic classification is found to be largely based on association and cannot be expressed hierarchically. The complex patterns of sharing of totems, substantiated through myth and land, and their relevance to clan organisation are discussed. The Anindilyakwa language has several unusual features which are relevant to the classification of plants and animals. Plants and animals are distributed, with little apparent regularity, through five noun classes. There is also an extensive system of noun incorporation where a morpheme representing a number of plants or animals can be prefixed to adjectives and numerals as well as verbs.So far as I am aware, this thesis is the first attempt to present Australian Aboriginal data on plant and animal classification within the framework of folk biologists such as Berl in and Bulmer. It is one of the few instances where food classification anywhere has been considered from a hierarchical perspective. Within the one study it presents exhaustive data not only on plant and animal classification, but also on food, totemic and linguistic classification of plants and animals. It therefore allows the various systems to be compared and contrasted and their interrelationships to be considered more extensively than has previously been possible. This thesis has practical applications in relation to mining rehabilitation, science and nutrition education and in the wider issue of relationships between Aborigines and non-Aborigines as we recognise the complexity and sophistication of Aboriginal systems of classification. Show more