The Tiwi Islands

[iBrian]

Just thought I'd post this up, as I found it interesting reading:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4686945.stm

It's about a group of aboringinal peoples who lived on a pair of islands close north of Australia, but developed relatively independently for an extended period.

Aside from the obvious allowance of the Roman Catholic church to include pagan paraphenalis in their church (a great point to see in action in itself), I was especially drawn to the following paragraphs:

In a lot of Aboriginal communities there is an air of sullen hostility.

You can hardly blame them - crime, domestic violence, unemployment and poor health are huge problems for many indigenous people.

On the Tiwis, though, people smile as soon as they see you. Kids run alongside, adults wave and there's a real warmth in the welcome.

Part of the reason is that the supply of alcohol is strictly controlled.

The other reason for the Tiwis' culture remaining intact is their isolation.

"We've always had ownership of our land and we were never forced to mix with other tribes," John Munkara says.

"We kept our customs and our culture very strong."

 

[alexa]

Interesting article, Brian. My attention was drawn by the following sentence: the Tiwis " for thousands of years believed they were the only people on earth". Looks like a little Paradise there.

 

[Awaiting_the_fifth]

If they dont drink a lot of alcohol, how come they have traditional hangover cures?

 

[iBrian]

Binge drinking every other weekend, I guess?

Or maybe the reporter had a hangover, and they suggested that eating along slimy white worm would help him forget about his headache?

 

[Quahom1]

If they dont drink a lot of alcohol, how come they have traditional hangover cures?

I believe if read further, one finds that they have annual festivities, in which much alcohol is imbibed, and therefore it is understood that the morning after is going to be a doozy, so that demands remedies.

Also, have you ever had "Faluba"? (question for all) That is the drink made from fermented Coconut juice/milk.

You can only handle it once a year (trust me on this), and there better be an antitoxin available for one the next morning (TRUST ME ON THIS).

v/r

Q

been there done that...don't ever want to do it again...