The name is absent

is to be incorporated into the symbolic universe. The Law says
nothing of this. In particular, it says nothing about which areas

*

of knowledge are to be admitted into the developing social structures,
and who is to be the keeper of this knowledge.

Bucknall comments:

V

The Mob had a clear idea about reading and writing
but when it came to what is needed for running
the station and. to whom these secrets should be
revealed things became very complicated. These
complications are not easily understood by ourselves
or the community because they are inextricably
bound up in the social structure of the group (Bucknall,
1980).

The construction of a ’world' which takes items from white society,
requires new areas of knowledge to be socially distributed. The
typificatioπs and establishment of roles,inherent in the process
of the social distribution of knowledge, call for adaptation or even

f

reform of traditional typifications.

What is evident is that there is an interaction taking place
between social structures and the newly evolving ’world*. In the

case of the appointment of marmgu teachers, it is unclear to white
people why particular individuals are appointed as teachers, that
is, what is the basis for the ’theoretical’ legitimation of such
appointments.

In one case,there was clearly extraordinary linguistic ability

J

that was recognised, and marked off an individual as a teacher. In              ;

other cases, it seems more likely that what was recognised was social
pre-eminence - the ’teacher* was a model of Aboriginal behaviour

and as such an educator in the widest sense.

The lack of ability of the white staff to understand what is
happening points clearly to the fact that the marrngu are controlling
this situation. They do not need to consult people from a different
’world’ who would have a different basis for decision-making.

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