Literatur in unserem Bestand
(A-L)

Hoyt, Olga: Aborigines of Australia, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, New York 1969

Inhaltsverzeichnis        ¦         Klappentext        ¦         Buchbesprechung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Who Are the Aborigines? -11-

The Dreaming Time -18-

A Typical Day -23-

Structure of Aboriginal Society -31-

Childhood -37-

Young Girls -45-

Initiation of Boys -52-

Totemism -62-

Hunting and Fishing -66-

Food, Shelter, and Clothing -77-

Marriage, Birth, and Death -84-

Music, Song and Dance, and Other Communication -91-

Art -100-

Conflict with the Whites -106-

Today and Tomorrow -113-

Glossary -123-

Index -125-

Klappentext

The dark-skinned aboriginal tribes living in Australia when the English came there in the eighteenth century had inhabited that continent for over 20,000 years. Still living in the Stone Age, these Aborigines survived solely by hunting, fishing, and food gathering. Going far back into their past, the author describes family life, tribal customs, cult practices, and racial characteristics of these Australoids. She tells how aboriginal boys and girls grew to maturity, learning to subsist on what their natural environment provided and learning the social demands of a tribal culture. Today the Australian government is setting up programs to educate the Aborigines and help them to become full-fledged citizens. But civilization has not always been so kind to them, a fact which is exhibited in their diminished numbers. Of the original 300,000, today there are 76,000 part-Aborigines and 45,000 full-blood Aborigines (a small number of whom still live in the tribal state). In the nineteenth century they were in danger of dying out, but recently they have begun to show an increase. With the current government and public interest in them, many fascinating things are being discovered about the Aborigines - familiarity with their art, myths, customs, and philosophy could add enrichment to a technological age. Consulting with anthropologists in Australia, Mrs. Hoyt has written a lively as well a authoritative account which young people will enjoy. Photographs show the Australian Aborigines engaged in ceremonials, preparing to hunt, working on government sponsored farms, studying in school, and include examples of their art.