Since the nineteenth century they have been singled out as the planet's most primitive culture, the living representation of mankind's ancestors. In reality Aboriginal culture is complex, forming a subtle yet dynamic and rich way of life. Grass seed body paint by Emily Kame Kngwarreye Small local groups form the basis of Aboriginal society. By sharing economic and ceremonial dealings with other groups they keep a close kinship and marriage ties with a vast network of others. With these relationships come rights, obligations and appropriate ways of behaving.
Inheritance is central in the granting of ceremonial and territorial rights and responsibilities.
A daughter and a son inherit one type of rights through their father, which in Warlpiri and other Central Australian languages classify them as 'Kirda'. Inheritance from the mother's line makes them 'Kurdungurlu'. Thus for any given Dreaming site there is a set of Kirda and a set of Kurdungurlu. If a woman is Kirda for her father's country, for example, the children of her mother's brother will be Kurdungurlu for that same area. Kirda 'own' given countries have primary economic and spiritual rights in them.