What we do

Why have a ‘What we do’ Section?

The coming to life of databases involves working quite disparate knowledge traditions together. There is an intermeshing of methods and values of indigenous knowledge, and science and technology. In indigenous databasing we are struggling to find ways for limited and useful connectings.

We need to be careful that one way of doing collective memory does not overwhelm the other. Indigenous people are very aware of how easily their life ways are crushed by modern ways of going on. So as we research how Indigenous resource management might be helped by using computers, we need to ‘watch ourselves’.

We need to be reflexive to reflect openly on our practices. It’s important to try out ‘doing databasing’ with different groups of Indigenous people, and as we do we need to keep half an eye out to watch what we are doing, and how. We need a way to show ourselves what we do, to keep enthusiasms under check. And we need to show others that and how we are doing this.

Making this website of the project is a particular way of showing the collective memory making that is the IKRMNA research project. In this section of the website we aim to show our research processes. We detail what we have done, are doing, and plan to do. And with whom we are doing it.

Showing the nitty-gritty, not hiding the messiness of doing research is important. Following Raymattja Marika, we call this a ‘native rat’ or djarrma methodology. Raymattja first explained this to us when we were researching what became the Garma Maths curriculum at Yirrkala.

A ‘Native Rat’ Methodology

In this section of the website we are aiming to show our research processes and practices. We detail what we have done, are doing, and plan to do. We also have a section that focuses on how we ‘keep half-an-eye-out to watch what we are doing’.

We want to show the nitty-gritty, and not hide the ‘messiness’ of doing research. We call this a native rat methodology following Raymattja Marika, who first explained this to some of us when we were beginning to research what became Garma Maths at Yirrkala School.

“ Yolngu ideas have always ‘gone around’ in making collective decisions in a forum, in a special area called “garma”. The Yolngu word for this network of discussion is “djarrma”, a metaphor taken from the native rat who runs back and forth through all the tunnels under the ground, busily taking news and opinions from person to person, group to group. The first step, “djarrma” is like a critique, people expressing ideas, discussing with each other, and from out of that group, someone is delegated to go to the next level. This is where ‘the story’ from the smaller group is taken by those two or three people, or maybe one, to the larger group. That person is called the “bo’puyngu”. This means like a messenger or a delegate. The people have talked or expressed their idea earlier, in a smaller group, but that group is really only part of a larger group. So it is the larger group that makes analysis of the situation, settles disputes, and gives direction to the people. ....The “bo’puyngu” would tell them the details of what sort of ceremony was planned, where it was to be and when. That’s how to negotiate with people, as a group, going to a larger group. Everyone has a part to play in the ceremony, the large public forum. So this is how the ceremony is negotiated. There is a special word for the way ceremonies and other important events are planned, negotiated, executed and evaluated. The word is “gurilkuma’... It is always considered to be a very bad thing in Yolngu society for a ceremony, or any project, if everyone isn’t in agreement first on how we start.”

Being precise and detailed about methods is important in all research. But it is even more so when non Aboriginal people work with Aboriginal people on issues of knowledge making. Here we are trying to steer a research path that is good and sound knowledge making in Aboriginal traditions, as well as being workable as Western scientific knowledge making. For a description of other Yolngu metaphors we have used see also the paper 'Using digital technologies in doing Indigenous places in Australia' on the publications page.