The Material culture of customary exchange in the Torres Strait and Fly Estuary region

Abstract

This thesis examines the material culture of customary exchange between the Torres Strait Islanders and the coastal Papuan people of the southwest coast and Fly estuary of Papua New Guinea. As well as investigating the extent to which customary exchange exists in the contemporary period this the-sis documents change over the historic period. The signifiance of exchange to both Islanders and Papuans is discussed with reference to the variety of objects exchanged in both the historic and the contemporary situation. Customary exchange is discussed from two perspectives : firstly, the European view based on historical and documentary sources, and secondly, the oral testimony from Islanders and Papuans compiled during fieldwork in both Torres Strait and coastal Papua New Guinea. The historical and oral sources are supported with reference to artefacts examined in museum collections. Theoretical concepts are presented which restructure, diagrammatically, the paths and patterns of exchange. This serves to contradict the oversimplified, point-to-point graphical presentations which have for so long been used in documentary material to indicate 'trading routes' between Papuans, Islanders and Australian Aborigines. The purpose of these diagrammatic representations is to illustrate the fluid nature of exchange over time and to show the resilience and persistence of customary exchange across a region of cultural, linguistic and ecological diversity. Reference is made to the material culture items noted in both historical sources and oral testimony together with a descriptive catalogue of objects examined. The catalogue illustrates the variety of subsistence, ornamentation and dress, recreation, ceremony and dance, and warfare artefacts exchanged across the region. This thesis argues that customary exchange served to distribute scarce resources between regions and peoples. The patterns of exchange are readily identifiable not only because the region is the subject of much documentary source material but also because the oral testimony of exchange is still of importance to contemporary life. The implications of recent legal and administrative decisions, particularly the Torres Strait Treaty, are also discussed. Show more