Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Universalising the particular? God and Indigenous spirit beings in East Kimberley

2010; Wiley; Volume: 21; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1757-6547.2010.00067.x

1835-9310

Heather McDonald,

Biblical Studies and Interpretation

The Australian Journal of AnthropologyVolume 21, Issue 1 p. 51-70 Universalising the particular? God and Indigenous spirit beings in East Kimberley Heather McDonald, Heather McDonald Faculty of Health Sciences, University of SydneySearch for more papers by this author Heather McDonald, Heather McDonald Faculty of Health Sciences, University of SydneySearch for more papers by this author First published: 29 April 2010 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-6547.2010.00067.xCitations: 5Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Some Aboriginal discourses in East Kimberley appear to indicate that Indigenous particularities are being universalised by evangelical Christianity. The aim of evangelical Christianity is to bring all peoples under the domain of one God. But counter statements by people of all ages reveal that the Christian universalising project in East Kimberley is an unfinished (and possibly unfinishable) project. Although Indigenous particularities contribute to generational conflict they are not disappearing, while Aboriginal people remain on or near the lands in which their stories are embedded. Locative traditions emphasise genealogical continuities between the living and the dead. Evangelical missionaries, however, direct spirits of the living to heaven and condemn spirits of the dead to follow Satan. One Aboriginal woman has reached a kind of resolution between God and Indigenous spirits: mamu and juwarri (spirits of the dead) are not evil spirits but sinners who will be redeemed in the Last Days.11 In 1989–91, I conducted research in East Kimberley for my doctoral thesis at the Australian National University. During 2002–05, I conducted research in the same region while a research fellow at the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Citing Literature Volume21, Issue1April 2010Pages 51-70 RelatedInformation