In a global context, it seems that the palawa kani language word ‘maireener’ has been added to the lexicon when it is necessary distinguish one shell necklace from another. This is evidenced on eBAY where 'the word' has currency when it comes to asserting a 'necklace's' Tasmanian Aboriginal credentials or bona fides.
‘maireener’ has come to carry layers of meaning to do with identifying a class of ‘adornment’ cum cultural identifier. It is also the word used to describe the kind of shells used to make one.
It seems that a maireener is not by necessity a necklace, it is a maireener, it has distinct cultural meanings attached to it, it also has cultural functions and cultural significance – without these things it would seem that it is not a maireener nor might it have meaning, a narrative or carry any cultural cargo. Firstly, it is itself, a maireener, and almost coincidentally it might function as a necklace. Plainly, it seems that a maireener might not have a function within Tasmanian Aboriginal culture without its Aboriginal cultural cargo.
A maireener is something more than a necklace. It is a cultural treasure that can function as a gift of honour and token of esteem: a gift of welcome or departure; a relationship marker. Collectively maireeners represent a significant cultural link to the past and they carry the imprimatur of a cultural continuum – and a mareener can be worn like a necklace.
Sometimes, perhaps, a maireener might indeed be a necklace. In a kind of way a maireener cum necklace may have significance as a kind of cultural crossover when it is used as a memento of ‘place’ – a souvenir. It seems that the ‘maireener idea’ is somewhat ‘liquid’ in so much as it seems to seep into a contexts and in doing so it seems to wet ideas with layers of meaning.
It would seem that in the end a maireener is a 'connector' and a kind of bonding agent – the gift of one seems to connect people, the making of one clearly connects people to place and the acquisition of one seems to connect people to a set of ideas and beliefs. In a kind of way a maireener seems to be something like a symbolic umbilical cord that connects people to a culture – a way of believing and being.
It would seem that in the end a maireener is a 'connector' and a kind of bonding agent – the gift of one seems to connect people, the making of one clearly connects people to place and the acquisition of one seems to connect people to a set of ideas and beliefs. In a kind of way a maireener seems to be something like a symbolic umbilical cord that connects people to a culture – a way of believing and being.
Ray Norman 2008-2009
No comments:
Post a Comment