 | Something about Emus : Bininj Stories from Western Arnhem Land The emu is an iconic Australian bird of significance to all Australians, but especially so to Indigenous Australians who have had a special relationship with this curious animal for thousands of years. In this bilingual, highly illustrated, full-colour publication, Something about emus reveals valuable ecological knowledge in a collection of essays by senior members of the Bininj Kunwok language group from Kakadu National Park and Western Arnhem Land. Something about emus goes beyond biology and ecology to encompass other culturally important domains such as the visual and verbal arts, music, ritual and the relationships between humans and animals. Whilst Indigenous ecological knowledge is increasingly acknowledged as a valuable part of Australia's cultural heritage, such knowledge is most richly expressed in Australia's Indigenous languages which have largely remained inaccessible to those outside their communities. Murray Garde's research is largely focused on the ethnography of communication in western and central-north Arnhem Land. Much of his work straddles the disciplines of anthropology and linguistics and is aimed at establishing long term community-based projects that promote and maintain the use of endangered or minority languages, especially in Western Arnhem Land and on Pentecost Island in north-central Vanuatu.Over many years he has conducted interdisciplinary research with a range of specialists from both the natural and social sciences working with Indigenous land management groups on the Arnhem Land plateau. The objective is to understand how cultural knowledge can be considered a part of linguistic competence and given a central place in the ways language is defined and documented.His present work involves community-based language maintenance programs, interpreting, translation and cultural site documentation in Kakadu National Park and the Arnhem Land Plateau. He is also involved in a vernacular literacy and language documentation project with speakers of the Sa language of southern Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. |
