The third level of kinship is the skin name.
Similar to a surname, a skin name indicates a person's blood line.
It also conveys information about how generations are linked
and how they should interact.
Husbands and wives don't share the same skin name
and children don't share their parents name.
It is a sequential system
So skin names are given based on on the preceding name and its level in the cycle
The names are also genderised, with a prefix or suffix to indicate gender.
For example, Naparula for females or Japarula for males
Each nation has its own term for each skin name
I use numbers for clarification
Skin names are based on the number 8.
Some skin name cycles have 32 sets of names.
In a matrilineal nation, if a woman with the skin name of 1 has a baby
the child's skin name will be 2.
All other 2's are now considered the sibling of that child
and all 1's are considered their parents.
When that child grows up and has children of their own
those children will be 3's.
This sequential naming continues until the end of the cycle is reached.
Then it goes back to 1 and the cycle starts all over again.
So, it sets up a system where if I have children
then my brothers and sisters have equal responsibility.
Our children would all be considered brothers and sisters.
Two, when you have children they become three
Say hello to your kids
Now, it's got nothing to do with my age!
She cannot possibly chronologically
have produced that gentleman
He cannot possibly be her child
just not possible, it doesn't matter.
Because he is at that level he calls her mum and has to treat her with respect as his mother.
So if a person is born an only child, they will never been only child.
All of their first, second and third cousins are also their siblings
and they have a huge number of grandparents that they can call on.
That extended family take it really seriously and want to be engaged in that life.
You will never be an only child. Here's all your other brothers and sisters.
You might want to be an only child but you will never be an only child.
You've got all these other mothers and fathers
to support you and teach you. That's the strength of the system.
So often if you go in, for example, in a school situation
a teacher's talking to the parents, they want a decision straight away.
It's not going to work that way for Aboriginal people
they actually need time to go back and talk to people
explain what the issues are and then basically come to a group consensus
as the best way forward.
If you don't build into the consultation process strategies
that allow Aboriginal people to take stock of the kinship issues
then it means that your putting them in jeopardy of
breaking ties and creating barriers within their wider family network