A Place for Strangers - Towards a History of Australian Aboriginal Being

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Anda

A Place for Strangers: Towards a History of Australian Aboriginal Being explores Australian Aboriginal existence through a radical reinterpretation shaped by scholarly playfulness and critical re-engagement with data and cosmological assumptions. The preface frames the author’s approach via an analogy to astrophysicists revisiting overturned models, then extends this stance to academic work as an interim pursuit rather than a solemn quest for permanence. It also acknowledges the influence of classic Chinese literature and dedicates the study to close companions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages315

Reading Time8 h 5 min

AccessFree to download

Preface and acknowledgements

Introduction

Worlds to endure

Songs of a wayfarer

A new sky hero from a conquered land

Our mother from northern shores

From the mother to the millennium

Conclusion

Index

Maps

A PLACE FOR STRANGERS A PLACEFOR STRANGERS Towards a History ofAustralian Aboriginal Being TONY SWAINSchool of Studies in Religion,University of Sydney Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge The Pitt Building,Trumpington Street,Cambridge CB21RP,UK40 West 20th Street,New York,NY 10011-4211,USA10 Stamford Road,Oakleigh,Melbourne 3166,Australia ◎ Cambridge University Press 1993First published 1993Reprinted 1997 Printed in Hong Kong by Colorcraft National Library of Australia cataloguing in publication dataSwain,Tony,1955- A place for strangers:towards a history of Australian Aboriginal being. Includes index. ISBN0521430054(hbk).ISBN0521446910(pbk). [1.]Aborigines,Australian-History.[2.]Aborigines,Australian-Religion.[3.]Ontology.[4.]Aborigines,Australian-Ethnic identity.I.Title.306.0899915 Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data Swain,Tony. A place for strangers:towards a history of Australian Aboriginalbeing/Tony Swain. Includes bibliographic references(p. )and index.ISBN 0-521-43005-4(HB).-ISBN 0-521-44691-0(PB) 1.Australian aborigines.2.Philosophy,Australian aboriginal. 3.Australian aborigines-Foreign influences.4.Australianaborigines-Religion.I.Title. GN666.S931993305.89'915-dc2092-30379 CIP A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0521430054 hardbackISBN 0521446910 paperback Contents Preface and acknowledgements 1X1 Introduction 1 Worlds to endure 13 2 Songs of a wayfarer 69 3 A new sky hero from a conquered land 114 4 Our mother from northern shores 159 5 From the mother to the millennium212Conclusion276 Index 297 Maps 1 Cultural blocs within Aboriginal Australia8 2 Cape York Peninsula,Gulf of Carpentaria 70 3 South-east Australia 116 4 Central-north Australia 161 5 Pastoral areas 216 To take a strange landas one's home,Is folly beyond compare. Cao Xueqin,Hong Lou Meng # Preface and Acknowledgements Two pieces of paper were pinned above my desk as I wrote this book.The first was a newspaper clipping reporting that Americanastrophysicists had made a discovery that overturned the acceptedview of the cosmos.It was a pulsar,formed by an exploding star,flashing at the unheard-of rate of 2,000 times per second.Re-evaluations were necessary,dozens of papers were written,until atlast the novel phenomenon was fully embraced by theory. Am I suggesting this work is a comparable attempt to reinterpretcosmologies so as to account for aberrant data?My answer,mostcertainly,is yes.But first I should finish the story of the scientists. Those ingenious theorists were only slightly taken aback whensomeone amongst them observed that if the TV camera attached totheir telescope was turned off,then the ‘pulsar'too was gone.Theevent was hailed as 'an almighty cockup’,but the scientists knewbetter.Said one of his paper:'It's tremendously convincing.The onlything that's wrong with it is that it's wrong'.And another,even lessperturbed:'It's not a dead loss.I had a great time thinking about it'.! Contained in this book is without doubt a radical reinterpretationof Australian Aboriginal existence,and search as I assuredly have,todate no trace of any interfering 'bug'has been found attached to myargument(although,quite frankly,I shall not be unduly dismayed ifsomeone else gleefully spies it out for me).I appreciate that it is cur-rently proper for academics to seek immortality through their work,but Iam content to have had some fun trying to tame wayward data. The other piece of paper on my desk bore the words of a writerwho knew all this and much more.In what must stand as the mostdelightful preface ever written,he said: My friends are all broad-minded,and well educated,but we do not keepa record of our conversations.The reason for this is(1)we are too lazy,and do not aspire to fame;(2)to talk gives us pleasure,but to write would A place for strangers give trouble;

FAQs

What guiding idea does the preface use to frame the author’s method?

It draws an analogy to scientists reworking cosmological explanations when their accepted views are overturned, emphasizing iterative reinterpretation rather than final certainty.

How does the author position academic seriousness in the preface?

He suggests scholarship can function as an interim plaything, dedicated to exploring data and ideas with intellectual freedom.

What role does the Shui-hu Chuan play in the preface’s argument?

The author treats it as a model of how a work can inspire movements and shape history, while also illustrating how outcomes transcend the author’s personal intentions.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Anda