| This dissertation is an ethnographic study of an Austrailian Aboriginal group's conceputalization of the cosmos and of the role of human being within the cosmos. The analysis is interpretive, focusing on domains of meaning which can be summarized as cosmos and humanity.;Aboriginal people possess their own exegesis of cosmos and humanity, known in Aboriginal English as "the Dreaming." I focus the analysis on the dialectics of Dreaming law, human action, and actions of other portions of the cosmos, showing how Dreaming law is both a model for, and commentary on, the life of all living beings.;Dreaming law and human action both indicate that the cosmos is seen as a system which works because all its parts (humans, other living beings, the country, the seasons, and so on) are conscious and because they act according to a few fundamental principles, the goal of which is to produce a life enhancing cosmos. I identify these principles as response, balance, symmetry, and autonomy and show how they are manifested in social life and in the cosmos at large. In addition, I analyze gender concepts in order to show a non-hierarchiacal ordering of relationships among parts of the system. From this analysis I produce a model of androgyny which, with all its complexities, is a model both of the cosmos and humanity. Throughout the analysis I focus on ways in which Aboriginal people define themselves in relation to other individuals, groups, categories, and parts of the cosmos. I show flexibility to be the key process through which all parts of the system maintain their autonomy in balanced and symmetrical relationships with other parts.;The research contributes to current debates in the anthropological literature on Aborigines, particularly those surrounding the topics of group, religion, and gender.;Research was carried out in the Aboriginal communities of Yarralin and Lingarra (Northern Territory) over a twenty-two month period from September 1980-July 1982 with subsequent short visits to the field site. The Aboriginal people are primarily Ngaringman and Ngaliwurru speakers and have lived and worked on European-owned cattle stations all their lives. Primary research methods consisted of participant observation and formal and informal interviews. I participated in and observed all contexts of life which were accessible to me, including public ceremonial life, women's secret ceremonial life, and daily life both in town and in the bush. |
