The Yolngu and Their Land : A System of Land Tenure and the Fight for its Recognition by Nancy M. Williams - 1986

Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 1986. Book. Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 170mm x 250mm. There are some small dings to the upper part of the spine. Internally very clean. Binding tight. Note that the jacket is missing. 264pp Aimed at providing a basis for understanding the principles of land tenure which provide a jural structure for Yolngu relations to land in the Yirrkala area, the relationship of these principles to economic viability and the ways in which they regulate behaviour; examines the historical basis of philosophy and law which presaged Blackburns 1971 decision; also the presentation of Yolngu land tenure at the land claim hearing, flaws in that presentation and in the courts understanding of it; discusses the religious foundation of land ownership and moral order, concepts of time, interaction between spirit, land and individual, kinship and generational relationships and the use of naming devices to define membership of groups and relationships between people, and relations of groups to land and natural resources; details the management and conservation of land and marine resources; discusses the Yolngu system in the context of anthropological discourse on huntergatherer relations to land and the implications of the Yolngu data for Aboriginal land tenure in general; groups mentioned include Rirratjingu, Djapu, Marrakulu, Ngaymil, Datiwuy, Galpu, Djarrwark, Dhabuyngu, Gumatjj, Dhalwangu, Manggalili, Munyuku, warramiri, Djambarrpuyngu, Wangurri, Madarrpa, Gupapuyngu..