Abstract
Prior to European settlement, there is a long history of Indigenous life in the land we now call Australia. Indigenous peoples have always inhabited diverse parts of the land, and their traditional culture is characterised by the strong relationships between the people, the land and the local flora and fauna. Underpinning these relationships is a sacred lore developed in the earliest times when creation beings occupied and formed the lands. Sacred ceremonies drew on the ancient history and emphasised the connections between people, and codified kinship lores encouraged alignment with relationship. When disputes or infractions against the lore disrupted cooperative relationships, the Indigenous peoples used ceremonies such as the Prun of the Mallapara people and the Makarrata of the Gupuynu (Yolngu Matha) people to enact the conflict in stages of preparation, catharsis, expression and reintegration. This chapter examines the impact of ceremony and social codes to ensure cooperative sacred, natural and social relationships in traditional Indigenous life.
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Bishop, H., Coburn, C. (2012). An Overview of Traditional Forms of Indigenous Conflict Resolution and Peace in Australia. In: Bretherton, D., Balvin, N. (eds) Peace Psychology in Australia. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1403-2_2
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