Family and Kinship Structures:
Relational Cognition:
As part of cognitive processes, Aboriginal people employ complex schema built upon conceptual frameworks of kinship and country. This is largely unspoken, guiding all thoughts, actions and processes in everyday life. Kinship systems are based on a complex structure. The structure in its most basic terms is a follows; Moiety, Totems, Skin names, Traditional and Language affiliations, and individual identity.
The notion behind Moiety groups entitles that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are in either Matrilineal or Patrilineal backgrounds. This categorises all matrilineal individuals together and all patrilineal individuals together, where they are seen as brothers and sisters; therefore matrilineal individuals and patrilineal individuals are only allowed to marry someone from the opposing Moiety.
Through totems, individuals are able to find their identity. Totems explain what the individual’s geographical nation is, where their particular clan is located within this nation, who their bloodline is and then finally expresses the individual’s skills and traits to complete the totem.
When referring to skin names, individuals in the same bloodline share the same skin names, but are categorised in generation levels and sub-sections in the simplest terms. Through the generation levels and sub-sections an individual can determine who their parents are, who their grandparents are, and who their children are; which links specifically to the shared responsibilities those parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, brothers, and sisters all have for each other and their extended family.
Traditional and Language affiliations link to the customs and particular dialect a clan associates with. Every nation and clan shares a different language; meaning communication between nations and clans requires knowledge of several language dialects. And every nation and clan shares varying customs and traditions depending on their geographical location. For example, the didgeridoo originates from an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, and would therefore have little significance to a community here in Sydney.
Finally, a person’s individual identity relates specifically to their own traits, talents and skills – with these in mind the community gives the individual their name.
This intimate connection between kin and country shapes not only thoughts but also ways of thinking, where every thought, notion, and object is perceived in relation to something else. Everything is associated with people, purposes and places that these communities know.
Place-based Psychology, Narratives and Mental Health:
Again all aspects of Aboriginal reality are intimately connected to place; directionality and location are integral to self-awareness and cognition, every thought and action is defined by position and origin of people and objects in a dynamic landscape. Just as totemic relations are associated with places, knowledge is organised according to place. Similarly, indigenous languages, ways of talking, ways of navigating, and ways of directing are oriented according to landscape and the point of the compass.
Stories and Yarns in Aboriginal culture are of prime importance in maintaining mental health; they are not just dreaming stories, but also encompass everyday life experiences and expressions of shared realities. Through engaging in storytelling and yarning, communities experience teaching moments, and are able to bond deeply with one another. Through yarning, a form of counselling and guidance can be achieved, where traditional and contemporary
contexts are explored. The understanding of ‘problems’ is achieved through professional assessment and depending on an individual’s stage of understanding and development, it is then that narrative approaches are revealed. With Narratives comes honesty. Like respect, truth cannot be demanded, it is earned. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies truth is shared between the speaker and the listener. For the truth to be shared, the speaker will determine if the listener has an appropriate relationship with the group, and has an appropriate level of knowledge and status, before sharing the truth.
Property, Delayed Gratification and Duty of Care:
The notion of Property comes under the Kinship System of Totems, specifically Nations and Clans. Within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, land is of high importance as it determines the way that particular groups behave, interact and live their everyday lives alongside other Nations and Clans. With respect to property, a Nation refers to the broad geographic area that one group associates themselves to; and a Clan refers to the specific
geographic boarders that smaller groups within that broad area associate themselves to. It is through these systems that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were able to communicate and develop relationships with nations and clans outside their own geographical area, influencing trade, ceremony and marriage.
With this understanding, it can be highlighted that before the European invasion, resources like fruit trees were owned by individuals, with hereditary ownership passing from one generation to the next. Estates were marked with boundary stones, marked trees and other devices. The ownership of goods and natural resources were marked in particular ways with sticks, shells and stones – all of which could be exchanged between nations/ clans like a form of currency. This evidently meant that groups needed to learn a number of different languages in order to communicate with other groups, then providing the opportunity for marriage and ceremony.
Similarly, when a family member, friend or community is in need the communities connected to those people endeavour to assist them while the need is there. This may be the case when there is poverty, or when members are away from their own place. This however needs to be in balance - the favour is always repaid.
Linking to the notion of delayed gratification is the notion of Duty of Care, referring specifically to the values that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people demonstrate within their clan/ family. For many Aboriginal communities, children are raised not only by one or two parents but also by a number of uncles, aunties, siblings and community members. This is the responsibility of all members of the family, where a feeling of love extends beyond one’s own sons and daughters, to nephews, nieces, cousins, friends of family, adoptive family, and even strangers in need.
Individualism, Privacy and Protection:
In Aboriginal Culture, the land and people around you is the centre of reality. One’s self is not central to decision making, rather the people and place you are immersed in impacts everything in life. With this notion is also the struggle between dependence and independence. At times there can be tension between one’s own interests and the groups interests, this however is important as groups learn to maintain a social balance in societies – where independence does exist, but is balanced with group dependence (interdependence).
In conjunction with this, in Aboriginal culture a person is never alone. People travel in groups, and work/ play/ learn with others. Everything is done in communal spaces – there aren’t any quiet moments to be alone. Therefore Safety and Protection is an important value held by all. This involves actively looking out for your own safety, while simultaneously watching the backs of those around you. As a group, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not only protecting their bodies, but their spirits, hearts, land, relations, cultures and property as well. It is in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture that this value is a responsibility maintained by all.
As part of cognitive processes, Aboriginal people employ complex schema built upon conceptual frameworks of kinship and country. This is largely unspoken, guiding all thoughts, actions and processes in everyday life. Kinship systems are based on a complex structure. The structure in its most basic terms is a follows; Moiety, Totems, Skin names, Traditional and Language affiliations, and individual identity.
The notion behind Moiety groups entitles that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are in either Matrilineal or Patrilineal backgrounds. This categorises all matrilineal individuals together and all patrilineal individuals together, where they are seen as brothers and sisters; therefore matrilineal individuals and patrilineal individuals are only allowed to marry someone from the opposing Moiety.
Through totems, individuals are able to find their identity. Totems explain what the individual’s geographical nation is, where their particular clan is located within this nation, who their bloodline is and then finally expresses the individual’s skills and traits to complete the totem.
When referring to skin names, individuals in the same bloodline share the same skin names, but are categorised in generation levels and sub-sections in the simplest terms. Through the generation levels and sub-sections an individual can determine who their parents are, who their grandparents are, and who their children are; which links specifically to the shared responsibilities those parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, brothers, and sisters all have for each other and their extended family.
Traditional and Language affiliations link to the customs and particular dialect a clan associates with. Every nation and clan shares a different language; meaning communication between nations and clans requires knowledge of several language dialects. And every nation and clan shares varying customs and traditions depending on their geographical location. For example, the didgeridoo originates from an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, and would therefore have little significance to a community here in Sydney.
Finally, a person’s individual identity relates specifically to their own traits, talents and skills – with these in mind the community gives the individual their name.
This intimate connection between kin and country shapes not only thoughts but also ways of thinking, where every thought, notion, and object is perceived in relation to something else. Everything is associated with people, purposes and places that these communities know.
Place-based Psychology, Narratives and Mental Health:
Again all aspects of Aboriginal reality are intimately connected to place; directionality and location are integral to self-awareness and cognition, every thought and action is defined by position and origin of people and objects in a dynamic landscape. Just as totemic relations are associated with places, knowledge is organised according to place. Similarly, indigenous languages, ways of talking, ways of navigating, and ways of directing are oriented according to landscape and the point of the compass.
Stories and Yarns in Aboriginal culture are of prime importance in maintaining mental health; they are not just dreaming stories, but also encompass everyday life experiences and expressions of shared realities. Through engaging in storytelling and yarning, communities experience teaching moments, and are able to bond deeply with one another. Through yarning, a form of counselling and guidance can be achieved, where traditional and contemporary
contexts are explored. The understanding of ‘problems’ is achieved through professional assessment and depending on an individual’s stage of understanding and development, it is then that narrative approaches are revealed. With Narratives comes honesty. Like respect, truth cannot be demanded, it is earned. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies truth is shared between the speaker and the listener. For the truth to be shared, the speaker will determine if the listener has an appropriate relationship with the group, and has an appropriate level of knowledge and status, before sharing the truth.
Property, Delayed Gratification and Duty of Care:
The notion of Property comes under the Kinship System of Totems, specifically Nations and Clans. Within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, land is of high importance as it determines the way that particular groups behave, interact and live their everyday lives alongside other Nations and Clans. With respect to property, a Nation refers to the broad geographic area that one group associates themselves to; and a Clan refers to the specific
geographic boarders that smaller groups within that broad area associate themselves to. It is through these systems that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were able to communicate and develop relationships with nations and clans outside their own geographical area, influencing trade, ceremony and marriage.
With this understanding, it can be highlighted that before the European invasion, resources like fruit trees were owned by individuals, with hereditary ownership passing from one generation to the next. Estates were marked with boundary stones, marked trees and other devices. The ownership of goods and natural resources were marked in particular ways with sticks, shells and stones – all of which could be exchanged between nations/ clans like a form of currency. This evidently meant that groups needed to learn a number of different languages in order to communicate with other groups, then providing the opportunity for marriage and ceremony.
Similarly, when a family member, friend or community is in need the communities connected to those people endeavour to assist them while the need is there. This may be the case when there is poverty, or when members are away from their own place. This however needs to be in balance - the favour is always repaid.
Linking to the notion of delayed gratification is the notion of Duty of Care, referring specifically to the values that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people demonstrate within their clan/ family. For many Aboriginal communities, children are raised not only by one or two parents but also by a number of uncles, aunties, siblings and community members. This is the responsibility of all members of the family, where a feeling of love extends beyond one’s own sons and daughters, to nephews, nieces, cousins, friends of family, adoptive family, and even strangers in need.
Individualism, Privacy and Protection:
In Aboriginal Culture, the land and people around you is the centre of reality. One’s self is not central to decision making, rather the people and place you are immersed in impacts everything in life. With this notion is also the struggle between dependence and independence. At times there can be tension between one’s own interests and the groups interests, this however is important as groups learn to maintain a social balance in societies – where independence does exist, but is balanced with group dependence (interdependence).
In conjunction with this, in Aboriginal culture a person is never alone. People travel in groups, and work/ play/ learn with others. Everything is done in communal spaces – there aren’t any quiet moments to be alone. Therefore Safety and Protection is an important value held by all. This involves actively looking out for your own safety, while simultaneously watching the backs of those around you. As a group, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not only protecting their bodies, but their spirits, hearts, land, relations, cultures and property as well. It is in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture that this value is a responsibility maintained by all.