177
away - from La Grange, Carnarvon, Wilma, Giles, Warburton and
Jigalong to take part in the marlurlu ceremony.
The leading Desert Lawmen are trying to encourage
. people from all areas to re-establish traditional
law so that all their communities will be strong
enough to cope with problems such as the trouble
caused by grog (Mikurrunya 29.10.79:8).
12.32 The Law and Iihite Religion
Within the Aboriginal world the Law and Religion are one. The
breakdown of the Law is seen as based in two sources. One is found
in those incursions of the Christian religion which destroy essential
integral components of the Law, in particular it breaks down authority
structures and thus results in anomie, leaving individuals without
a world view from within which identity is nurtured and strengthened.
The other source of destruction is the contact with government
agencies and white culture.
The problem of alcoholism is seen in great part as a result of
the breakdown of the Law due to these influences. The activities of
people judged to be agents of the Government are seen as causing a
’grog’ problem. The supplying of alcohol to Aborigines in the
Kimberleys on the voting day for State elections in 1980 was seen
by Aborigines as only one act in a long history of station people and
Government employees wanting Aborigines to be dependent on alcohol,
or destroyed by alcohol, respectively.
During the state election a whiteman tried to get the
Aboriginal voters at Turkey Creek drunk so that they
could not vote. He took a 44 gallon drum of port wine,
flagons of ’plonk’ and cartons of beer and gave it to
the people before voting started. The man said he wanted
to get the Aborigines drunk, "because they don’t have the
brains to vote" (Mikurrunya, 19.3.80:9).
The world which includes the Law so strongly and which is seen
as protecting the people from the evils of the white world is poignantly
described in an article by Jacob Oberdoo, Snowy Jitamurra and Crow
Youkarla, leaders in the group (Mikurrunya, 28.11.79).