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Ancestors, magic, and exchange in Yolngu doctrines: extensions of the person in time and space
Author(s) -
Keen Ian
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of the royal anthropological institute
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1467-9655
pISSN - 1359-0987
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9655.2006.00350.x
Subject(s) - magic (telescope) , politics , epistemology , extension (predicate logic) , space (punctuation) , order (exchange) , object (grammar) , sociology , philosophy , law , political science , linguistics , computer science , physics , finance , quantum mechanics , economics , programming language
The article draws on the association drawn by Munn between Aboriginal ancestral transformations and the moral order, and the theory of partible persons, in order to re‐examine Yolngu doctrines and related practices to do with totemic ancestors and their traces, magic and sorcery, and exchange. It argues that all three broad domains draw on beliefs about intrinsic relations between part and whole, image and object, and the intrinsic powers of bodily substance and spirits of the dead. These domains imply the extension of persons in time and space, and each relates to a rather distinct aspect of the moral‐political order. The article shows that the strong dichotomy drawn by Durkheim and his followers between ‘religion’ and ‘magic’ obscures the connections between these domains, and neglects the instrumental aspect of Yolngu ancestral doctrines and practices.