David McKnight
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David McKnight (4 March 1935 – 14 May 2006) was a Canadian-British anthropologist and ethnographer who specialized in the anthropology of Australian Aboriginal people, with particular regard to the tribes of the
Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...
. He conducted over 20 field trips among Aboriginal people in Australia from 1965 to 1999.


Life

McKnight was born in Saint John,
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
in 1935. He completed his B.A. in both English Lit and Philosophy
Bishop's University Bishop's University () is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebec, Anglican Bishop of Quebec ...
in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
in 1957. He went on to study in Great Britain, University College London, obtaining his M.A. degree in anthropology in 1965 on African death cults. He then shifted his research focus to Australian Aboriginal studies, beginning with a first foray into field research in Queensland in 1965. He was hired at
Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...
as a lecturer in
Social Anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...
three years later, and then moved to teach the same topic at
The London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...
. In 1977 he earned his doctorate from London University with a thesis on the intricate marriage systems among the
Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...
peoples on
Mornington Island Mornington Island, also known as Kunhanhaa, is an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Shire of Mornington, Queensland, Australia. It is the northernmost and, at , the largest of 22 islands that form the Wellesley Islands group. The larg ...
. He was appointed Senior Lecturer in 1982 and held that post until his retirement in 1997. On Mornington Island he studied in particular depth the Lardil, the
Kaiadilt The Kaiadilt are an Aboriginal Australian people of the South Wellesley group in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. They are native to Bentinck Island, but also made nomadic fishing and hunting forays to both Sweers and Allen Is ...
and the
Yangkaal The Yangkaal, also spelt Yanggal, are an Aboriginal Australian people of area of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the state of Queensland. Gananggalinda is a variant name of the same group.> Language Country The Yangkaal work over of land, both ...
, while at
Aurukun Aurukun is a town and coastal locality in the Shire of Aurukun and the Shire of Cook in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is an Indigenous community. In the , the locality of Aurukun had a population of 1,101 people, of whom 997 (88.7%) iden ...
he became an authority on the
Wik-Mungkan The Wik-Mungkan people are an Aboriginal Australian group of peoples who traditionally ranged over an extensive area of the western Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland and speak the Wik Mungkan language. They were the largest branch of the ...
people. His approach clarified that the
Australian Aboriginal kinship Aboriginal Australian kinship comprises the systems of Aboriginal customary law governing social interaction relating to kinship in traditional Aboriginal cultures. It is an integral part of the culture of every Aboriginal group across Austr ...
classification systems were not a code restricted to clan marriage alliances but informed a total
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
, even if contradictions existed from sub-system to sub-system, which caused dissonances in obligations that infra-tribal arguments had to iron out. He mastered the ceremonial language of the Lardil people, the all but extinct
Damin Damin ( in the practical orthography of Lardil) was a ceremonial language register used by the advanced initiated men of the aboriginal Lardil ( in the practical orthography) and Yangkaal peoples of northern Australia. Both inhabit island ...
, of which he became the last living speaker, and was given the tribal name of ''Boorarungee''- (the man who asks why). Despite his clear-eyed and frank insights into the abuses that were rife in many
Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
communities from alcohol and other causes, local respect for him was such that Lardil elders asked him to teach Damin to their children. Long interested in Italy, he settled in Rome on his retirement, and, on the dissolution of his first marriage to Meg Phillips, by whom he had six children, he later married Alessandra Solivetti.


Major books

* (1995) ''Lardil: Keepers of the Dreamtime,'' Chronicle Books, San Francisco 978-0-811-80834-7 * (1999) ''People, Countries, and the Rainbow Serpent: Systems of Classification Among the Lardil of Mornington Island,''
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, * (2002) ''From Hunting to Drinking: The Devastating Effects of Alcohol on an Australian Aboriginal Community,''
Psychology Press Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 Research and Dovepress. It is a division of ...
, * (2005) ''Of Marriage, Violence and Sorcery: The Quest for Power in Northern Queensland,''
Ashgate Publishing Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in ...
, * (2004) ''Going the Whiteman's Way: Kinship and Marriage Among Australian Aborigines,''
Ashgate Publishing Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in ...
,


Notes and references


Notes


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McKnight, David Social anthropologists Canadian anthropologists 1935 births 2006 deaths Alumni of University College London Scientists from Saint John, New Brunswick Bishop's University alumni Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of University College London 20th-century British anthropologists