"The oldest living culture...

on earth" is the proud claim of some indigenous people in this country but is it true?

It may be but the claim does not take into account at least two things I can immediately think of. The first is that there is no single culture which relates to all indigenous people here. The second is that we have near neighbours who might well make the same claims.

There are, despite the recent trend to say "First Nations", no nations among the indigenous people in this country. There were tribes and clans and there are still tribes and clans but there were no "nations". Before white settlement many indigenous people moved within just a small area of the continent. People on one side of the country were not even aware of people on the other side. People in the north were more likely to be aware of inhabitants in the islands to the north. People in the far west of the country did not know people in the far east of the country. Their languages and cultural practices were quite different. 

The idea that there is some sort of single "oldest living culture" is nonsense but it keeps being repeated.

And then, if we look a little further north, there is a large island across a short stretch of water. It is the world's second largest island - divided into two Papua and Papua-New Guinea. It is mountainous and, as is the case with such geography, it also has many small tribal groupings. Each of those has a language and a culture too. Some of those areas are so remote it is only possible even now to reach them on foot. In some places contact with the outside world is still very limited.  I am quite certain that some of those people, if the concept was explained to them, would claim to have "the oldest living culture on earth". 

I do know though that their languages do not meet the needs of living in urban communities in this century. This is much more than a matter of translating from one language to another. There are concepts which do not exist, for which there are no words and no combination of words. Their lifestyle and relationship with others can still be very limited, much more limited than anything in this country. There are still groups who live in their own remote valleys and with whom contact is not merely difficult but dangerous.  

Do we have that in this country? No, we don't. There are some relatively isolated communities but they have much more ready contact with the rest of the country. Vehicles and satellite dishes, shelter and much more have eroded languages and cultures to the extent that there isn't as much left as we are often led to believe. The idea that some sort of single "oldest living culture" has been retained or that what is left can even be preserved is simply false.  It is as false as believing the Picts have retained their language and culture against the invasion of my Norse ancestors.  

I have said elsewhere in this blog that the "traditional dot paintings" claimed by some indigenous people are not actually traditional at all. They date from 1971 and the idea was introduced by an art teacher of European origin. Now you are not supposed to try and copy this style and it is held to be "traditional". It isn't but the media has many people convinced that it is. There is more to the "oldest living culture" claims than that but the idea that there is some sort single, pure culture across the continent is wrong. We might do more to save the remnants of the cultures which are left if we recognised that.