Teacher background information

This elaboration provides the opportunity to learn about the complex societal systems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that dictate who can marry whom. The development of societal rules that impose regulations on marriage rests on the understanding that unions between individuals that are too closely related can lead to the inheritance of detrimental traits in their offspring. Students learn about the genetic principles that underlie the transmission of heritable characteristics and realise that, while the details of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander marriage laws may be different from those determined by the Australian Marriage Act, they share the common understanding of the hereditary benefits in imposing certain restrictions. 

One of the many important reasons for marriage systems is the prevention of the transmission of defective genes to subsequent generations. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long recognised that many characteristics are inherited and often run in family lines. Traditional kinship systems ensure that closely related marriages do not occur. This prevents the potential transfer of hereditary defects that may culminate in abnormalities, diseases or dysfunctions. By studying the inheritance patterns of a genetic defect such as haemophilia, students gain an understanding of the scientific principles that underlie heredity and contemplate their societal implications. 

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have demonstrated a long-held understanding of traits and inheritance patterns without the assistance of technology that has revealed the existence and role of DNA and genes. This understanding is not dissimilar from the famous geneticist Gregor Mendel’s early understandings of how certain traits are passed down through generations and family lines. Mendel made his discoveries in the mid-1800s. Thousands of kilometres away from Europe and possibly thousands of years earlier, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had also observed, and knew, that traits and illnesses could appear in the offspring generated from closely related individuals. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups developed a complex system which informed people of who they were (where they fit within their social structure) and with whom they shared blood (DNA and genes). This is known as a kinship system whereby individuals are given skin names that reveal their family lineage. 

These longstanding traditional practices and obligations of kinship systems are still in use in many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, including those in urban environments. Kinship systems are central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society. They are highly sophisticated and complex systems that not only define relationship to others but can also determine a connection to the universe and include responsibilities towards people, land and the use of natural resources.  

There are generally three levels of kinship in Australian First Peoples' societies, Moiety, Totem and Skin Names, and they can be based on either patrilineal or matrilineal lines of descent (mother's or father's lines of descent). Unlike Torres Strait Islander societal structures, skin groups are found across mainland Australia, but different Aboriginal societies have different numbers of skin groups. These groups are not related to skin colour, but rather are a means of identifying relatedness and roles in society. One of the key features of skin group identification is that it defines who one is, and is not, allowed to marry. 

By investigating the diverse kinship systems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, students learn about the complex organisation of Australia’s First Nations’ societies. Students gain an understanding of the biological principles that govern the transmission of heritable characteristics from one generation to the next and consider how the awareness of these natural laws in different cultures may be reflected in the emergence of different forms of societal organisations and marriage laws.