That is not what I was getting at at all.
FTR I have spent a lot of time in Arnhem Land in Maningrida , Oenpelli and Ramingining.
3 times in fact.
I have spoken with aboriginal elders about their culture.
Skin colour ( type) is a massive part of their culture.
If you are not full blood and of the right skin colour you get kicked out.
You cannot Marry outside your own skin type.
I’d be really interested in seeing if this was truly part of their culture or if it’s a byproduct of colonisation.
I’m not at all calling you a liar or questioning what you’ve been told.
It could well be their culture and everyone is different.
But I know that we have a certain age of people with our culture who also think similarly... they are an older generation also... but they were a generation who were brought up in a time where indigenous culture and ideas were at the very least dismissed, more often than not outlawed and in some cases forceably destroyed.
In a lot of instances we find out what we considered traditions were actually a byproduct of missionary’s who came to tame the savage natives by passing on ideals about gender and skin colour and all sorts of things which we never traditionally held much issues with.
I’m not indigenous Australian so I have no right to doubt anything you’ve heard though...
But it’s always worth baring in mind the consequences colonisation can have on a culture... especially the indigenous Australians who have had it far, far worse than us Maori.
My concern/question is they’ll have players who do not know 1 thing about their own culture.... on account of them being so far removed from it over many years.
That would kind of defeat the purpose of the entire concept IMO
See this here is actually what’s great about this concept.
Bringing in guys who have absolutely no previous connection to their culture is what makes it all worthwhile.
It connects them to their culture.
It more often than not lights a fire in them to look further into their family history and culture.
I had a mate at Uni who’s dad was the long time coach of the Maori All Blacks.
He explained to me that when each player is selected in the squad they have a group of people who look into their family and tribal history and when they go into camp they teach each individual about their family history which they then revel to the entire squad on one night.
They learn specific things like songs and haka which are from their tribe and they often bring in Kaumatua(elders) from each area to share stories and legends about their tribe to the entire group.
It more often then not sparks a strong interest for the ones who have never been exposed to it before.
The whole idea is about fostering and growing your culture.
