Abstract

This article will use the European violin as a lens through which to reinterpret interactions between Aboriginal people and Europeans in twentieth-century Australia. The violin is a particularly well-respected instrument within the western art music tradition. Accordingly, the Europeans took the Indigenous embrace of the violin as evidence of successful assimilation policies and the acquisition of civility. However, the diverse and adaptable sound of the violin, combined with its construction from natural materials, aligned with Aboriginal people’s traditional and collaborative experience of music. This allowed the violin to act as a powerful means of cultural continuation and expression that was encouraged, not forbidden. The ability to adapt in the face of cultural genocide has ensured the survival of Aboriginal people and their traditions over the years since the colonists arrived and it is important to understand how Aboriginal people reacted. The article aims to contribute not only to a new understanding of the way Aboriginal people have responded to the violin, but also to how it has been understood within histories of Australia and colonization.

摘要

本文将以欧洲小提琴为镜头，重新解读二十世纪澳大利亚原住民与欧洲人之间的互动。小提琴是西方艺术音乐传统中特别受尊敬的乐器。因此，欧洲人将原住民对小提琴的接受视为成功同化政策和获得文明的证据。然而，小提琴的多样化和适应性强的声音，加上其由天然材料制成的结构，与原住民传统和协作的音乐体验相一致。这使得小提琴成为文化延续和表达的有力手段，受到鼓励，而不是禁止。自殖民者到来以来，面对文化灭绝的适应能力确保了原住民及其传统的生存，了解原住民的反应非常重要。本文旨在不仅有助于对原住民对小提琴的反应方式有新的理解，而且有助于了解澳大利亚和殖民历史中如何理解小提琴。