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IX.12 World of mainstream society
(i) Favourable views of Aboriginal people at the time Qfearly contact
The present study is concerned with the Aboriginal people of
South Australia. It seems worth quoting, therefore, a rather lengthy
excerpt from an ethnography of one Aboriginal tribe in that state
*
in order to document a positive view of Aborigines.
Jenkin (1979:19) summarizes his study of the Ngarrindjeri in
the following way:
The most outstanding example of their genius lies
in their ability to live richly and harmoniously
with each other and with their land.
They were a truly classless society and had reached
an apogee as far as refined egalitarian socialism
is concerned. Yet if they had to be placed in any
European class scale, their mode of life could only
be compared with that of the old aristocracy. Their
dedication to cultural pursuits - the ballet, music,
opera and art; their enjoyment of pomp and ceremony;
their strong adherence to ancient codes of chivalry
and etiquette; the pleasure they derived from sports
and hunting; their great personal courage, pride
and independence; their insistence on the right of an
initiated man to bear arms and for honour to be
honourably defended; their epicurean approach to
food; their honest acceptance of human passions and
lack of hypocrisy regarding them; these and other
aspects of Ngarrindjeri life find distinct parallels
in the outlook and way of life of the European
aristocracy. The great difference lay in the fact
that in Ngarrindjeri society everyone was an aristocrat.
Jenkin (1979:67) quotes Dr. Charles Pickering writing in 1839
of the
Australian as the finest model of human proportions
I have ever met with; in muscular development
combining perfect symmetry, activity and strength;
while his head might be compared with the antique
bust of a philosopher.
Taplin (quoted in Jenkin, 1979:68) spoke in much the same vein.
Besides being physically handsome,
Many of the middle-aged and young men have a quite
dignified bearing with an air of freedom altogether
different from low class Europeans. They are very
independent in their manner.