Blood, Bones and Spirit

Aboriginal Christianity in an East Kimberley Town

By: Heather McDonald

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Paperback | 11 April 2025 | Edition Number 1

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266 Pages

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22.23 x 15.24 x 1.91

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Analyses how Aboriginal people have appropriated Biblical stories of land inheritance, expansion and loss in order to make sense of their own dispossession.

In this fascinating and beautifully written book, Heather McDonald examines Aboriginal people's experiences of colonialism and post-colonialism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Blood, Bones and Spirit analyses how Aboriginal people have appropriated Biblical stories of land inheritance, expansion and loss in order to make sense of their own dispossession. It investigates the embodiment of Christianity by Aboriginal people through their appropriation of Christ's body-his blood, bones and spirit-in order to replenish and heal their own colonised bodies.

Indeed, this local study of Christianisation in a small East Kimberley town presents a challenge to the very history and philosophy of Western religion.

Heather McDonald spreads out before the reader various aspects of Aboriginal Christianity: the way Aborigines have assimilated Christian stories to make sense of their history and their relationships with the dominant society; their understanding of what it means to be Christian; their church activities; and their conflicting interpretations of the Christian way of life. Aboriginal Christians are repossessing the land and reclaiming a traditional, earth-bound, world-immanent spirituality.

These Aboriginal understandings of colonisation (including missionisation) and Aboriginal ways of interpreting and understanding Christianity offer a unique contribution to the reconciliation process.

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Religion & Beliefs Christianity History Specific Events & Topics in History Social & Cultural History Colonialism & Imperialism National Liberation & Independence Society & Culture Social Groups Ethnic Studies Sociology & Anthropology

Anthropology Social & Cultural Anthropology, Ethnography

Preface
Editorial Note
Introduction	p. 1
People, Land and Spirit	p. 17
Mediterranean, European and Aboriginal Spirit Worlds	p. 32
Colonisation and Missionisation in the Kimberley	p. 49
Maddy Jarra's World History	p. 76
Following the Christian Way	p. 98
Churchgoing	p. 130
Conflicts with Missionaries	p. 163
Mother Earth versus the Lure of Infinite Space	p. 183
Glossary of Aboriginal Words	p. 202
Notes	p. 204
Bibliography	p. 218
Index	p. 234
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Blood, Bones and Spirit

Aboriginal Christianity in an East Kimberley Town

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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