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Community Archaeology and Oral Tradition: Commemorating and teaching cultural awareness on Mua Island, Torres Strait

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2015

Liam M. Brady ,
Bruno David ,
Louise Manas  and
Mualgal (Torres Strait Islanders) Corporation
Liam M. Brady
Affiliation:
Programme for Australian Indigenous Archaeology, School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University, Victoria, 3800, Australia
Bruno David
Affiliation:
Programme for Australian Indigenous Archaeology, School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University, Victoria, 3800, Australia
Louise Manas
Affiliation:
Kubin State School, Mua Island, via Thursday Island, Queensland, 4875, Australia
Mualgal (Torres Strait Islanders) Corporation
Affiliation:
Mualgal (Torres Strait Islanders) Corporation, c/- Kubin Community Council, Mua Island, via Thursday Island, Queensland, 4875Australia
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Abstract

Education is about learning. But it is not always about teaching. Nor is it always held in formal educational settings. Here we present an example from Mua Island in Torres Strait, where cultural knowledge was recently communicated and passed down to the younger generation through community participation rather than through formal educational institutions. The role that community research and ceremonies play in customary learning is here brought out through recent commemoration of the legendary hero Goba on Mua Island.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 31 , 2003 , pp. 41 - 50
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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