A bundle of sticks: the debate over Yolngu clans

Abstract

A critique of the clan model as applied in northeast Arnhem Land ethnography has, in turn, drawn a number of critical responses. This article defends the original critique, and takes up points raised in the responses. According to that critique a mismatch between elements of the clan model and Yolngu constructs related to identity, country, and ancestors has generated anomalies. An account of metaphors and other tropes both in Yolngu constructs and anthropological concepts and models supported this contention. This article discusses key points at issue: enclosure and boundaries of groups, descent, the homology of segments, taxonomic levels, corporateness, sets, and networks, the enduring nature of patrifilial identities, and the power of processual models to deal with anomalies. The debate has implications for related models in other regions, and for the nature of anthropological description, translation, and generalization.

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