Survival

I am just in the process of finishing a book by Patricia Shaw. Titled
‘Where the Willows Weep’, it gives a very realistic idea of the state of Aborigines, living in Queensland. Fighting against the so-called white skinned people, these people face a tough battle for survival. They consist of so many different groups, speaking various dialects. They are also great believers of magic. According to the story, one of the Chief has the power to kill an intruder by just placing a certain bone on him. The man eventually dies a week later. It is also said that an aborigine woman once pointed a bone at Prime Minister, John Howard. Well he is still hale and healthy. It is all superstition and beliefs of a particular group of people.

My brother, who resides in Sydney, has often remarked that these people look very similar to Tamilians. It is not surprising as they originally came from Asia about 40,000 years ago. Aborigines follow totemism, which is a science of using an animal, plant or a natural object as an emblem of their family or clans. Their conditions have improved a lot but I also hear that they keep to themselves and don’t mingle with the settlers. They must have felt a lot of deception, when they were cheated out of their own lands and treated as animals. It would definitely take many more generations for them to understand the ever-transient human behaviour.