Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander naming conventions 102-08010040

In Torres Strait Islander culture, the mourning period surrounding death is known as Sad News, while in broader Aboriginal context, it’s referred to as Sorry Business. These mourning processes involve communal grieving and ceremonial observance.

Death in traditional Aboriginal society is seen as part of the spiritual cycle, a transition from one existence to another. Time and existence is cyclical with the past and future revolving around the present. Death and funerals are therefore part of the movement to another phase of being. There is no beginning or end to existence, just being.

Loss is shared across families and communities, reflecting the interconnected social and kinship frameworks of these cultures.

People will travel long distances to attend the funeral of a relative, and the closeness of the relationship is immaterial. Closer relatives will have more work and preparation to do in regarding the funeral and this may take them from their home for long periods. If a death occurs whilst in a community, ritualistic self-punishment and keening may be observed. This is part of the traditional grieving process. If asked to leave the community this request must be observed immediately.

After death and during the period of sorry business outsiders are not permitted into the area where sorry business is taking place. Staff may be able to visit the community. On some communities, especially in Central Australia, Sorry Camps are situated on the outskirts of a community. If a customer is in a Sorry Camp, other avenues can be used to obtain information from that customer.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have traditionally named children after relatives, however this is slowly starting to change. In both cultures there are strict rules regarding the use of the names of a deceased person. The conventions and time frames vary from place to place but generally the name of a deceased person is not spoken in communities, and all community members who carry the deceased person's name must change their name. The use of names similar to that deceased person's name will also be stopped even if it is the name of an everyday item.

For example, on one community a Field Operative asked, quite innocently, "Who's going to put on the billy?" only to be met with an uneasy silence. It was later explained that a community member named Billy had recently been killed on the community. A call to the community prior to the visit may have avoided the embarrassment, or 'shame' for the community members.

A further example is in the Kimberley area where an individual by the name of 'Jack' died and the community could not even refer to the vehicle lifting device as a 'jack'.

The period of mourning and non-use of a name varies in different communities and under different traditions. There are protocols and rules regarding the deceased person. References to the person can be made using other names such as 'Kumunji' as used in various parts of the Northern Territory, or 'Kumanoo' as used in the Kalgoorlie area in Western Australia. Only use the other names if it is appropriate to that particular area. If this is not the case the person will not be familiar with that word.

Naming conventions within Aboriginal communities include the use of more than one name. There are skin names which give the individual a place in the social structure and family names which are usually only used by family members. There are also western names used for bureaucratic purposes. Customers may only be known by these names for official purposes and on their community they are likely to have a skin or family name which differs greatly from their western name. Most community members will refer to an individual by their Aboriginal name.

Naming conventions within Torres Strait Islander communities are deeply entwined with kinship systems, language, and Country. These naming practices emphasise place, belonging, and linguistic heritage over individual “first name-last name” conventions typical in our Westernised society.

It is also important to be somewhat circumspect when asking about individuals on communities as the person being spoken to may not be able to answer the enquiry due to communication taboos.