The Walpiri notion of "the law" is extremely interesting and unique to aboriginal culture. They consider the law to be the preservation of their culture and traditions, and it is extremely important to them that their law remain untainted by outisde forces. What is most interesting, however, is the fact that in their attempt to preserve their traditions and culture, they refuse to utilize any type of medium of transferring information other than the oral tradition, which is remarkably important to them. The Walpiri have an elaborate system of keeping the law, including an extensive network of story-telling, keeping certain information completely secret depending on gender, age, and class, a system of regulating all secrets and stories being told, and even censoring the memory of a deceased member of the group. Should any of these traditions be comprimised, the Walpiri would consider it damaging to their law.
This brings up an enormous amout of trouble when it comes to their broadcasting endeavors. Since ultimately the purpose of film, photography, sound recording, and printed word is to record history, it became a conflict of interest in the Walpiri culture. The Walpiri had to go through and figure out ways of incorporating modern recording technology into their culture without comprimising their traditions. They did this by being meticulous in what they allowed to be recorded, since some elements considered public in one area may be completely secret in another. Also, they continued to uphold the tradition of not mentioning a person ever again after they die and erasing all evidence of their life. This was done by blacking or whiting out a persons's image in photographs or destroying a tape if a deceased member is displayed too prominantly.
In reading this article, I found the entire thing pretty paradoxical. It is giving an account of a group of people who clearly value tradition, however refuse to use any means of recording it. Regardless of whether they allowed modern film technology into their culture, it seems bizarre to me that they hadn't established their own more practical system of recording their history.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment