Aboriginal Religions in Australia A Bibliographical Survey

Subjects:

• Religious Studies » Religious Studies (General)

Reviews:

• With more than 1,000 references in Western languages, this is easily the most comprehensive bibliography on its topic. It is also a rare topical bibliography: one that surveys its literature and advances its academic study. The first 60 pages constitute an encyclopedic, interpretive survey of the literature which focuses on the history of the scholarship. The bibliographic portion is arranged regionally using the standard ten regions describing Aboriginal habitats. Extensive see-also references facilitate use. Each regional section has relevant topical subdivisions such as initiation, women, death, myth, and so on. The annotations are evaluative; author, title, and general subject indexes are provided. Swain (University of Sydney) has written a first-rate book. The obvious target audience for this book in the US is scholars with interests in Aboriginal religion and perhaps comparative religion more generally. Few libraries will have the Annual Bibliography of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (1989-), which complements this monographic bibliography, so for many Swain will be a relevant purchase.
  —Choice

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by G. E. Gorman
• Preface
• Narrative Survey
• The History of the Study of Australian Aboriginal Religions
• The Themes
• The Regions
• Bibliographical Survey
• Trans-Regional
• Torres Strait Islands
• Cape York Peninsula (and Gulf Region)
• Central-North
• Kimberley
• South-West
• Western Desert
• Central Desert
• Lake Eyre
• South-East
• Tasmania
• Author Index
• Title Index
• Tribes and Places Index
• General Subject Index