The Tiwi people (or Tunuvivi[b]) are one of the many Aboriginal groups of Australia. Nearly 2,000 Tiwi people live on the Tiwi Islands. The landmass of the Tiwi Islands is made up mainly of Bathurst and Melville Islands, both located about 48 kilometres (30 miles) from Darwin. The Tiwi language is a language isolate, with no apparent link to the languages of Arnhem Land or of other Aboriginal Australians beyond recent linguistic interaction as a result of the federal government'sStolen Generations relocation policies. Tiwi society is based on matrilineal descent, and marriage plays a very important part in many aspects of their lives. Art and music form an intrinsic part of their societal and spiritual rituals as the Tiwi people tend to follow a certain form of indigenous Dreamtime belief system alongside Roman Catholicism.[1]
Tiwi, the most polysynthetic of all Australian languages,[2] is a language isolate with no apparent genetic link to the contiguous languages of Arnhem Land on the Australian mainland.[c]
The Tunutivi people are thought to first inhabit the island 40,000 years ago,[3] and thought to have developed in relative isolation, In Tiwi Mythology an "old blind woman named Mudangkala created the Tiwi islands. She rose up from the sea cradling three infants. As she crawled in the dark, the sea and land filled the imprints of her body. She populated the islands with flora and fauna to create a beautiful home for her children, who would become the Tiwi."[4]. The Tunuvivi people held sway over some 8,000 square kilometres (3,100sqmi) of land on Melville and Bathurst islands.[5] The Tiwi Islands lie about 80 kilometres (50mi) from Darwin, with Melville and Bathurst Islands comprising about 8,344 square kilometres (3,222sqmi) of land. There are two large inhabited islands, Melville and Bathurst, originally called Ratuwati Yinjara (meaning "two islands"), and many smaller uninhabited islands. Most of the smaller islands lie close to Melville and Bathurst, but Kulangana (South West Vernon Island) is less than 5 kilometres (3.1mi) from the Australian mainland coast. The Tiwi Islands are now part of the Northern Territory of Australia.[6]
There is evidence of trade between the Tunutivi and Chinese and Indonesian Traders but no evidence has been found of permanent settlement.[7]
Dutch explorers landed on Melville Island in 1705, but did not colonise it then nor in succeeding voyages. After a failed attempt by the British in 1824, it was not settled by Europeans until the arrival of missionaries in 1911 overseen by German Catholic missionary Bishop Francis Xavier Gsell. Gsell constructed the first mission at Nguiu (present-day Wurrumiyanga) with the help of two local Tiwi men.[8]
Subsequent intervention by the Australian government during the 20th century saw many Indigenous people brought to the Tiwi Islands who were not of direct Tiwi descent, a group commonly referred to as the Stolen Generations.[9]
The Tiwi consider themselves Tiwi first and Aboriginal second[10]
Kinship
Another thing that impressed me was the Tiwis' deep spirit of faith and their total acceptance of me, a stranger. Another indelible memory is my recollection of the fervour with which they launched into numerous hymns during Mass and their evident love for Our Lady. Their sense of fun and their inexhaustible fund of patience left me with a deep sense of wonder and appreciation.
Sister Christopher Keane on the characteristics of the Tiwi people.[11]
The Tiwi come from a matrilineal descent group, which the Tiwi call "skin". This group of "skin" believe pregnancy comes from spirits. The Tiwi believe these spirits are unborn, coming from bodies of water. This traditional belief system from the Tiwi explains how the man has no physical role in birth, but a male's role is to find a spirit and uncover it, so that it is sent to the wife.[12] The kin clan must be the same for the spirit as the wife. All Tiwi members have a general kinship to each other. This is separated into "close" and "far away" kinship which refers to the distance geographically between the Tiwi people. A band unit, which is smaller, is determined by somebody's sex or marriage. This means people such as a mother, father, or husband are considered one's close kin.[13] With this said, acceptance into Tiwi society is often very loose, with traditional Tiwi members naming newcomers in the society as "son" and "daughter."[14] This is known as a "far away" kinship where other races were often still considered as outsiders to traditional Tiwi people.[15]
Marriage
Marriage roles of the Tiwi plays an important role for economic, social and political status. The Tiwi consider marriage as a very important aspect of their livelihoods, as almost all people get married, especially women. Tiwi culture places great emphasis on the importance of marriage in women's lives. Since both the men and women come from a matrilineal descent group, wives' descent group is important. Remarriage of a widow is common for the traditional Tiwi, which allows the less promising hunters to be married. This is because widows have to remarry quickly, which had to be immediately after the husband dies. Traditionally, remarriage occurred at the gravesite of the previous husband.[16] Since the more promising husbands were usually claimed, older women often ended up with younger, less experienced men.[17] Bestowal is often used in the Tiwi culture, which is the main way of receiving young wives. Successful men, usually older, often had many wives, even up to 20 for very promising husbands.[18] Men younger than 30 often had fewer or no wives. In traditional Tiwi culture, ages 30–40 were the most likely to be married to widows.[19] Older women had great importance in the society, mainly because of the necessity for food in Tiwi society. The older women tend to be more familiar with the gathering skills, helping ensure food supply is not a problem for the household. On the other hand, less experienced women created problems for the household, as they were less adept at gathering food. Younger women often acted like apprentices, learning all the possible ways of gathering food from older women to please their husband or household.[20] Even though this traditional marriage culture is still very prevalent in modern Tiwi culture, marriage has changed juristically because of Catholic missionaries beginning to settle on Tiwi land after 1945. According to culture sketches, the power dynamic of men and women both had their advantages. While men had a lot more political power, women were well respected for their gathering skills to provide food and favours.[21]
Marriage restrictions between skin groups
Tiwi skin groups face restrictions on which other skin groups they can marry into. This is because certain skin groups are considered too closely related to others, so traditional rules around permissible intermarriage helps prevent excess endogamy.
Tiwi Skin Group Marriage Rules
Native Skin Group
Eligible Spousal Skin Group
Ineligible Spousal Skin Group
Wantarringuwi
Takaringuwi
Miyartiwi
Marntimapila
Miyartiwi
Wantarringuwi
Marntimapila
Takaringuwi
Marntimapila
Takaringuwi
Miyartiwi
Wantarringuwi
Takaringuwi
Marntimapila
Wantarringuwi
Miyartiwi
Each skin group also has a related natural emblem. For Wantarringuwi it is the sun, for Miyartiwi it is pandanus, for Marntimapila it is rock, and for Takaringuwi it is the mullet.[22]
Food
Tiwi Islands, 2005.
The land on both Bathurst Island and Melville Island is heavily forested and hunting for food is still an important part of Tiwi life. On land, the Tiwi people hunt for wallaby, lizards, possums, carpet snakes, pig, buffalo, flying foxes, bandicoot, turtle and seagull eggs and magpie geese. From the sea they hunt for turtle, crocodiles, dugong and fish.[23] When the Tiwi people are locating food in the bush, they never take the mothers or the juveniles in an effort to show respect for the land and conserve the environment.
Beliefs
Wurrumiyanga Parish priest wearing traditional Tiwi pigments alongside the vestments of Roman Catholicism, part of a Tiwi pukumani mourning ceremony held for the families of U.S. personnel
Tiwi inherit their totemic dance, evocative of the dreamtime traditional belief system and which defines their spiritual identity[24] from their father. Dancing, or yoias they call it, is a part of everyday life. Narrative dances are performed to depict this everyday life or historical events. When German Catholic missionary Francis Xavier Gsell arrived around the first decade of the 20th century, Tiwi locals were somewhat reticent about converting to Roman Catholicism. Gsell himself did not exert undue pressure on the Tiwi people, even sending one eager prospective convert back to her family so as to not interfere with tribal custom. However, his accommodating approach during his time on the islands ultimately succeeded, firmly establishing the Tiwi people as Catholics; in contemporary Tiwi Islands society there remains in effect a moratorium on building any religious structure that is not Catholic. The Tiwi people also continue to use the Lorraine Cross of Gsell's native Alsace–Lorraine as a motif on their pukumani poles and in their traditional printing.[25]
Culture
Ceiling of a Tiwi Island art gallery and studio, 2011.
Art
Compared with Arnhem Land art, Tiwi art often appears to be abstract and geometric. With its strong patterns and use of colour, Tiwi art is considered very attractive and highly collectible. Tiwi art is used to tell stories, and the hatch patterns represent friendships within the community. Many art experts worldwide have studied Tiwi art and have analysed the meaning of Tiwi symbols. Tiwi art forms an integral part of the oral tradition passing on history and wisdom through generations.
English is taught in some schools as a second language, and the Tiwi communicate principally in their own language. When in mourning, it is part of their beliefs to paint their body and express their love for whomever has passed through music, art and dance. Painting has been practised for thousands of years as a part of ceremonies and the Tiwi pukumani totem poles are famous and have been sold all over the world. Tiwi typically use natural ochre pigments which are found in the local environment. When a person dies, in Tiwi culture their name becomes taboo. According to traditional Tiwi beliefs, for the many years that pass as the spirit returns to the land, one cannot say the name of the person.
Music
Music has formed an integral part, of all aspects of life on the Tiwi islands, being centred around the Tiwi initiation ceremony, kulama (yam), but the innovative use of song on such occasions is now at risk given the weakening of the customary rituals that engendered its creativity.[26]
The Tiwi people sing songs about the land which have been handed down through the generations. They sing about many aspects of their lives, including hunting, cooking, family, animals, plants and the Australian outback. Some of these songs have been recorded and archived and some performances by Tiwi women have been held at a number of important venues in Australia. The Tiwi "strong women's group" are involved in a collaborative project to conserve their music on Bathurst and Melville islands. Research projects have also led to a revival of some of the oldest Tiwi songs; due to the importance of these songs which have been sung for thousands of years, the research must be carried out with the strictest sensitivity.
Yiloga (Australian rules football)[27] has become an important part of Tiwi culture[28] and is by far the most popular sport.[29] The Tiwi Islands Football League (TIFL) is the main league and the TIFL Grand Final is the largest event on the island, attracting up to 3,000 spectators, equivalent to the entire Tiwi population.[30] The Tiwi have their own semi-professional Northern Territory Football League club, the Tiwi Bombers.[31] Tiwis have been enormously successful in the national fully professional Australian Football League, with around a third of the Territorians playing in the league coming from the two islands.[32]
↑ Jane C. Goodale, in her foundational work for Yale University'seHRAF, wrote that the "Catholic Church is a strong and consistent element of daily life" in the Tiwi Islands. (Goodale)
↑ Norman Tindale wrote: 'The name Tiwi was coined for the convenience of anthropologists and others, it means "We, the only people"; the late Father E. A. Worms gave me Tunuvivi as the ancient and proper name.' (Tindale 1974, p.236)
↑ With one exception (a Torres Strait group) Tiwi is defined as "the most divergent language in the Australian linguistic area." (Dixon 2002, p.251)
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