The notion of moort (family/ kinship) is highly complex in Nyungar society and differs markedly from Western and non-Aboriginal conventions. Nevertheless, the idea of moort, when distilled, consists of very strong kinship bonds and a closely-knit sense of belonging and identity. Strong kinship ties proffer a profound sense of belonging, identity, and connection to each other and boodjar (land, including the Nyungar cosmos). However, strong familial ties with all its benefits are not without costs: a strong sense of obligation and reciprocity is expected from nuclear and extended family members, which is rarely observed in non-Aboriginal families.
It is vital to understand that a plurality of customs and organisation of kin groups exists within…show more content… Western definitions of kin can be simplified into a nuclear family consisting of parents and siblings. Family members outside this nuclear unit are also relegated kin terms (e.g. cousin, aunt, uncle, niece) that uniquely signal that particular kin’s relationship to the user. However, in Nyungar culture, a relative of the same generation and class can be called ‘brother’ or ‘sister’; any older woman of the same class could also be referred to as their…show more content… Anthropologist Lois Tilbrook notes that a hallmark feature of the Nyungar family tree is the lasting quality of ties once the unions have been established. Regardless of divorce, re-marriage or death, the social implications and expectations “remain the same for families united by them”. Academic Christina Birdsall also highlights an example of continual familial obligations in the case of Elizabeth McNish, who became estranged from her sister-in-law years after her husband had died. Her absence from her sister-in-law’s funeral was immediately taken to be an affront and denial of her once-close relationship with her sister-in-law and branded her as a pariah from her family-in-law. Hence, the permanence of kinship ties and social obligations is a hefty cost in sustaining the amity of affinal and non-affinal familial
