ABSTRACT
This chapter drawing on observations made during the course of long-term ethnographic research in central Australia, and explores how, when and why Warlpiri mark the landscapes within which they live. Attending to continuities in people's socio-cultural practices through time, it considers the relationship between ancestral and contemporary practices of marking landscape, through which people imbue place with meaning and manage space. The chapter indicates the multidimensional nature of Warlpiri spatial perception. Whilst customary ways of marking country endure, transformations have occurred as a result of factors such as: sedentarization, people's adoption of new technologies and thus new modes of inscription, changes in memory practices, and modifications to the landscape made through the establishment of European infrastructure. In addition to seniority, factors such as gender, kin relations, possession of religious knowledge and rights in land determine the way people engage with, and mark, country. The correct observance of Warlpiri Law includes respectful practices of gender segregation, avoidance relationships and ritual exclusions.
