TY - JOUR
T1 - The Point of Spinifex: Aboriginal uses of spinifex grasses in Australia
AU - Pitman, Heidi
AU - Wallis, Lynley
PY - 2012/4/12
Y1 - 2012/4/12
N2 - For thousands of years spinifex grasses were utilized by Indigenous Australians, most commonly for the production of resin that was then used as a hafting adhesive. While varying levels of knowledge about this particular use are retained in Indigenous communities, museum collections serve as a valuable repository of little known information about a multitude of other uses of spinifex including ornamental, medicinal, structural and ceremonial functions. In this paper we describe the range of uses of spinifex, based on examinations of objects and photographs held in various museum collections, coupled with reviews of the ethnographic and ethnohistoric literature. This study (1) brings together disparate sources of knowledge about Indigenous uses of spinifex that are not well known among the scientific community and (2) demonstrates the value of museum collections for Indigenous communities seeking to 'reconnect' with aspects of socalled 'lost traditional culture'.
AB - For thousands of years spinifex grasses were utilized by Indigenous Australians, most commonly for the production of resin that was then used as a hafting adhesive. While varying levels of knowledge about this particular use are retained in Indigenous communities, museum collections serve as a valuable repository of little known information about a multitude of other uses of spinifex including ornamental, medicinal, structural and ceremonial functions. In this paper we describe the range of uses of spinifex, based on examinations of objects and photographs held in various museum collections, coupled with reviews of the ethnographic and ethnohistoric literature. This study (1) brings together disparate sources of knowledge about Indigenous uses of spinifex that are not well known among the scientific community and (2) demonstrates the value of museum collections for Indigenous communities seeking to 'reconnect' with aspects of socalled 'lost traditional culture'.
UR - http://lib-ojs3.lib.sfu.ca:8114/index.php/era/article/view/621/396
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875434442&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.17348/era.10.0.109-131
DO - 10.17348/era.10.0.109-131
M3 - Article
SN - 1547-3465
VL - 10
SP - 109
EP - 131
JO - Ethnobotany Research & Applications
JF - Ethnobotany Research & Applications
ER -