eBAY AND MAIREENERS

On eBAY at least, it seems that the Tasmanian Aboriginal language word ‘maireener’ has been added to the globalish [11] eBAY lexicon. It seems that when it is necessary to find a key word, and distinguish one iridescent shell necklace from another, in this case only ‘maireener’ will do. 'The word' has currency when it comes to asserting a 'necklace's' Tasmanian Aboriginal cum Truganini credentials and connections. Indeed, ‘maireener’ has come to carry layers of meaning to do with identifying a class of personal adornment cum cultural identifier on eBAY. In the Aboriginal community, it is also the word used to describe the kinds of shells [12] used to make necklaces and increasingly, the necklaces themselves.

In its Aboriginal context, it seems that a maireener is not by necessity a necklace any more than a lei is a necklace A lei is a lei. A maireener is a maireener. Like a lei, a maireener has cultural functions, cultural meaning and cultural significance.

Firstly it seems, it is itself, a maireener, and almost coincidentally it is a necklace. But a maireener is something more than a necklace. In their Tasmanian Aboriginal context they seem to embody a bond with place and carry the imprimatur of cultural continuum. Possibly, a maireener might be a necklace of a kind sometimes. In a way a maireener cum necklace may be significant as a kind of cultural crossover when it is used as a memento of ‘place’ – a souvenir. Arguably the ‘maireener idea’ is somewhat ‘liquid’– and a word that has seeped into eBAY globalish.

However, in the end, the Aboriginal maireener continues to be what it has probably always been: a 'connector'; a bonding agent; a ‘gift’ that connects people. The making of one clearly seems to connect people to place. Likewise, the receiving of one seems to connect people to a set of beliefs and imaginings to do with a place and its stories. In so many ways a maireener seems to be something like a symbolic umbilical cord that connects people to both place and culture – ways of believing and being.