Aboriginal Australian Leadership
From Natives of Australia by Northcote W. Thomas, 1906.
Location: Australia
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Natives of Australia by Northcote W. Thomas.
A superficial observer would probably see in an Australian tribe nothing more than a number of families roaming the country in search of food, but owing obedience to no one outside their own little circles, if indeed it could be said that obedience was owed to any one. But this view would be a complete mistake. It is true that many customs seem to be observed without any definite sanction other than the dread of magical results of an untoward kind. Dr. Howitt says that he knows no rule which is more implicitly obeyed than that which decrees the avoidance of the mother-in-law; but the nearest approach to personal punishment for a breach of the rule was among the Coast Murring, who expelled the man from their district, and sent the wife back to her parents. This, however, was an isolated case; as a rule, the sanction was a non-human one.
But there are stringent laws which regulate marriage, which restrict the extra-marital intercourse of the sexes, which prescribe what foods a man may not taste; and there are penalties for using magic to the hurt of a fellow-tribesman which were equally inflicted by the whole tribe, though, as a rule, the blood feud and punishments for theft of personal property of all sorts, from wives to weapons, was usually a matter of private concern.
Although something like hereditary chieftainship is found in a few tribes, it can hardly be said that the hereditary principle was generally recognised in Australia in deciding the succession to the headship of a tribe or local group.
Where there was a tendency to select the son of the late headman, it was modified by the rule that he must have shown himself worthy of the post by attaining distinction as a warrior, orator, or bard. Sometimes several qualifications were demanded of the chief. In the Yuin tribe he had to be a medicine-man, well stricken in years, able to speak several languages, skilful as a fighting man, and qualified to perform the feats of magic which the gommeras (headmen)exhibited at the initiation ceremonies.
The word chief is associated with the hereditary principle; it will therefore be more accurate to employ, with Dr. Howitt, the word headman in preference.
An idea of the position of a headman can best be given by showing what were the customs of a few representative tribes. The Dieri had headmen (pinnarus)of totem groups, who were selected simply by seniority; but they also had pinnarus of the local groups, who were much more important personages, though it did not follow that either pinnaru exercised any influence outside his totem-kin or local group.
Collectively, however, the pinnarus are the headmen of the tribe, and one of them is superior to the others. Some forty years ago the tribal headman was named Jalinapiramurana; he is described as a man of polished manners, persuasive eloquence, and skilful in war and magic. He decided disputes, and his decisions were accepted without discussion; even neighbouring tribes sent presents to him; these he is said to have distributed among them to prevent jealousy. He presided at the meetings of the pinnarus, summoned tribal meetings, sent messengers to his own and neighbouring tribes, gave in marriage women who were not related to him, pronounced decrees of divorce in cases of incompatibility of temper, and arranged the new matrimonial ventures of the divorced couple. He periodically visited the various local groups; he was a great magician, but would only practise the healing art on the aristocracy of the tribe in the shape of totem pinnarus, or his personal friends.
In the southern Wiradjuri there seems to have been no tribal headman; but each local division, of which three are named as being more important than the others, had its headman, who might also be the head of the class to which he belonged. The office went by election in each division, but a son would inherit the position of his father, if he possessed oratorical or other eminent ability. One of the main functions of these headmen was to summon meetings for the initiation of the young men.
In South-west Victoria, according to Mr. Dawson, each tribe had its chief. His authority was supreme, and though he consulted with the best men of the tribe, they would not question his decisions if he differed from them. At his death he was succeeded by his eldest son, unless there was some good reason to the contrary; in the interval between the death of the father and the decision of the tribesmen, the best male friend of the deceased took charge of the affairs of the tribe. Failing the son, the eldest or other brother of the dead chief succeeded him.
It will be remembered that in parts of West Victoria the huts of the natives were of a more permanent character than are found in most parts of Australia. Corresponding to this material advance, we seem to have a progress towards hereditary rule and stability in government.
Among the Geawe-gal the best man in war would be the principal adviser, and would have authority by consent of the elders. The son succeeded his father, provided he were a capable warrior; but the elders might set aside the authority of the war chief.
In the Kurnai tribe a man’s authority increased with years, as it did in the case of most tribes; but even without the advantage of grey hairs he might become a man of note, weighty in council, and a leader in war, if he were gifted with intelligence or courage beyond the common measure.
This tribe was peculiar in one respect: the authority of age attached not to men only, but also to women. They were consulted and had great authority in the tribe; they were, equally with the men, depositaries of tribal legends and customs; even in the initiation ceremonies women were in this tribe allowed to take part up to a certain point.
Their position, though not unique in Australia, was certainly higher in this tribe than in the majority of those known to us.
In some of the tribes at least there was a certain amount of ceremonial connected with the chief. In South-west Victoria, when a chief left home, even for short time, he was accompanied by a friend, and on his return he was met by two ‘chamberlains’ who conducted him to his hut.
Among the Kulin, the headman was accompanied by one or two men when he went out hunting; they carried his spoils, and it was only when the load was heavy that he bore any of it himself.
When Collins was attempting to form a settlement at Port Phillip Bay in 1803, they were met by a number of natives, who ran away when a shot was fired over their heads. They soon returned, however, ‘with the king, who wore a very elegant turban-crown, and was always carried on the shoulders of the men.’ This may, however, as Dr. Howitt points out, mean no more than that he was unable to walk; and from the importance attached to personal prowess in Australian tribes generally, it seems improbable that the headman of these tribes had so far adopted luxurious habits, as to requisition the aid of bearers. Among the Kulin, each headman had a lieutenant who acted as his mouthpiece and always accompanied him.
From the account given above, it will be evident that the headman was not always the primary, and seldom the sole, authority in a tribe. There was also a tribal council of old men. In the Dieri tribe this was composed of heads of totems and local groups, fighting men, medicine men, and, speaking generally, of old men of standing and importance. This statement of Dr. Howitt’s really seems to mean that all old men attend, for he goes on to say that attendance at the Mindari ceremony, the final stage in initiation rites of the Dieri, is the qualification for attendance at, and ultimately for speaking in, the council of men.
The matters dealt with are—procuring death by magic, murder, breach of the moral code, offences against tribal customs, revealing the secrets of this tribal council, or revealing to women the secrets of the initiation ceremonies.
The principal headman speaks first and after him the heads of totems. The manner of speaking is the repetition of broken sentences, uttered in an excited and almost frenzied manner, according to Mr. Gason. Those who are in agreement with the speaker repeat his sentences in a loud voice, but no one comments on the remarks till it is his own turn to speak.
In some of the tribes the young men were allowed to stand round and listen to the deliberations, but not to talk or laugh, while they were going on. In the Yuin tribe the front line was assigned to the old men, the Gommeras having a place set apart for them; behind the old men were the young men, but they took little part in the proceedings.
These tribal councils must be distinguished from the meetings of the totem-kins found among the Mukjarawaint; they were for the purpose of choosing a new head, and were attended by all the kin, men, women, and children; only the females who had married, and were with their husbands, were not notified. The old men with their wives formed the front row, the younger men with their wives the next; outside them were the young men and girls, who looked on, but took no part in the proceedings.
Thomas, Northcote W. Natives of Australia. Archibald Constable and Company, 1906.
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