Article ID: CBB001201590

The Tywerrenge as an Artefact of Rule: The (Post) Colonial Life of a Secret/Sacred Aboriginal Object (2014)

unapi

Batty, Philip (Author)


History and Anthropology
Volume: 25
Pages: 296--311


Publication Date: 2014
Edition Details: Part of the special issue: “Anthropology, Collecting and Colonial Governmentalities”.
Language: English

In this article, I examine an Aboriginal ritual object, the secret/sacred tywerrenge which in many respects lies at the heart of Central Australian Aboriginal religious belief. Given its ritual power, the tywerrenge has always held a special place in the administrative rationalities of both colonial and post-colonial authorities. For certain missionaries, the tywerrenge was seen as an object to be eliminated as it constituted an impediment to Aboriginal salvation. For early anthropologists such as Baldwin Spencer, they offered material evidence supporting social evolutionist theories regarding the staged transformation of primitive religious beliefs into science. More recently, tywerrenge have been subject to an intensive regime of inspection and evaluation by government authorities, museums, and land councils. Indeed, they have come to play a significant role in the enforcement of Australian law under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act since the possession of a tywerrenge can decide the ownership of traditional lands. In short, these religious objects---and the beliefs associated with them---have been co-opted and employed by a variety of authorities in order to achieve a range of governmental ends. In this sense, tywerrenge have been transformed into instruments of colonial and post-colonial rule.

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Article Bennett, Tony; Dibley, Ben; Harrison, Rodney (2014) Introduction: Anthropology, Collecting and Colonial Governmentalities. History and Anthropology (p. 137). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001201590/

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Authors & Contributors
Hamacher, Duane W.
Norris, Ray P.
Daniela Sánchez-Giraldo
Edwin A. Quintero-Salazar
Turnbull, Paul
Starbuck, Nicole
Concepts
Indigenous peoples; indigeneity
Science and culture
Traditional societies and cultures
Anthropology
Science and politics
Museums
Time Periods
20th century
19th century
20th century, early
18th century
21st century
20th century, late
Places
Australia
New Zealand
China
Congo
Indonesia
Colombia
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