The Birds and the Bees: The Origins of Sections in Queensland

Abstract

The ‘section’ type of social categorisation is only found in Indigenous Australia, with one exception in South America that will be discussed briefly in this chapter. The sections are a system of four named divisions in which members of each section have a particular kinship relation to each other section. Corresponding pairs of sections have a relationship of marriage alliance with each other. In the older literature, sections are called ‘classes’, ‘sub-classes’ or ‘marriage classes’. The section ‘How Sections Work’ provides a sketch of the functioning of this system; however, the main aim of the chapter is to attempt to ascertain the origins of the section system. Show more