The Gurindji and Warlpiri Sorcery Debate

Record summary

Anthropological work in Central and northern Australia during this period continued examining Aboriginal concepts of sorcery, illness, death, spirit attack and healing. A researcher should identify the particular Gurindji, Warlpiri or neighboring community and the named publication, since “Aboriginal sorcery” is not a single uniform tradition. The material is important for comparing accusations, ritual specialists and social explanations of harm with Western occult categories. It should be presented as Indigenous religious and social knowledge, with attention to colonial disruption and the limits of outsider translation.