What is customary law?
- It was a legal system based on customs and rituals, and varied between the approximately 600 different Indigenous groups living in Australia.
- Traditional Aboriginal law, passed on by word of mouth.
- A group of elders who knew the customs administered this law and could punish offenders.
- Aboriginal law was, and is, based on kinship.
Kinship
Kinship is a complex system of relationships and responsibilities, which links closely to Indigenous values, traditions and customs and outlines the correct way of living in everyday situations (such as marriage, education, trade and the sharing of food)