Thanks, Rowan for that explanation. The concept of skin names is fascinating too. And, Rowan, have I asked you before if you've written any books on the subject of the traditional and contemporary mores of Australian peoples? If so [if I've asked you before], I'm sorry but I've forgotten your answer. And if so [if you've written books on this subject, what are their titles?] And if not [if you haven't written any books on the subject and in addition to those books, what recommendations do you have for reading on this subject, off-line and on-line?

My pleasure, Azizi.

I don't recall you asking if I've written any such books, but I haven't. Although I have tertiary qualifications and have done a bit of research in archaeology, most archaeology in Oz fits into a "history" perspective rather than the "anthropology" perspective familiar to US readers. This means I've been more involved in the 'dirt under the fingernails' aspects than the ethnographic ones. Of course, with a spouse (now ex, but we're good mates) whose PhD dealt with the ethnobotany (and thus anthropology), archaeology and chemistry of Aboriginal use of cycads, one picks up on a lot of details, especially while she's in the throes of it all. When one behaves as a lubricator-facilitator between groups whose relationships have been a trifle hostile (archaeologists and Aborigines, in fact) you pick up on a few more over the years.

Since returning to SE Oz, where Aboriginal groups have had a much longer history of being disrupted and thus have different responses to some aspects of these matters, I have found that many Aboriginal people regard discussion of even the concept, let alone the details, of skin names as "impolite"; a bit like looking directly at someone's eyes, really.

Many people in Oz and, I expect, many outside Oz are under the impression that, when using the term "Aboriginal" as a descriptor they are adequately describing all such people in Oz. Nothing could be more mistaken. At "First Contact" (generally regarded as 1788 on the east coast but at least as far back as 1640 on the west coast and you could push a few hundred years further back around Arnhem Land) there were at least 750 Aboriginal language groups in Australia. These were language groups in the same sense as all the European Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese), for example are only one language group; "dialects", in the linguistics sense pushed the numbers up considerably. The traditional mores were just as variable.

Most of the relevant bits of my library would leave you in the dark on the sorts of info you seek but I'll try and find some titles to suggest.

Cheers, Rowan