This paper is a study of the spatial aspetcs of acculturation in relation to economic, social, political and religious transformations in the Torres Strait Islands. These islands are situated between Australian continent and New Guinea Island (9°20′S-10°45′S), which have transformed their culture since the mid-nineteenth century.
The foundamental social unit, “clan” society, used to be organized by totemic clanship, stable and independent, though its spatial structure was loose. And as a larger social unit there existed, “island” society, which was loosely combined by the exogamous marriage system and the mutual relationships of economic complement and cooporation in the wartime. That was the secondary social unit. Furthermore, the third social unit “The Torres Strait Islands” society, consisted of the island groups which used to be called “-laig” area.
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, however, the clans were gradually grouped, localized and integrated in politics, religion and military alliance not only through the internal factors, the development of private land holding and the change of marriage and inheritance systems, but also through the outer impacts, the development of cash economy, increase of wage labourers, Christianization and strengthening of Queensland State Government's control. And yet, at this stage, the island society did not possessed the quality of foundamental social unit.
It seems that the island society has developed into a foundamental unit of society because its integration has been more strengthened since the turn of the century. Nowadays, however, the society is still unstable and heteronomously integrated, for lack of its internal substantiality under the political and economic control by white men. On the other hand, the traditional clan-ship, which has been transformed into extensive kin-groups, still remains at the foundation of such social and economic systems as marriage, family, land occupancy. The abovementioned kin-groups might be called sub-society because they lack social integration. “The Torres Strait Islands” society, as the secondary social unit, has weakened the autonomously cooperative relationships among islands and strengthened dependence on the white men's society. because each island is separately connected with the political, economic and cultural systems of Australia.
Thus, The Torres Strait Islands has lost its multi-layered circle structure based on “clan”, but, today, it has the social structure extended by the outer impacts and intensified its subordinaton to Australia, as found in colonialized society in common.

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Torres Strait separates nothern Queensland from the Trans-Fly district of Papua. The Torres Strait Islanders were Melanesian in appearance and culture, but they were very early exposed to European and Polynesian influence. The islanders have their own 'language' hymns and dance songs. Traditional group singing is always heterophonic (three-part singing). The basic tune of each hymns has a tonal center, symbolized TC, but there are few intervals below it. Hymns begin typically at a perfect fourth below TC and end on TC ; beginning with TC and ending on TC is also common. The perfect fourth below TC precedes the tonal center but seldom follows it. A major third above TC is found to both precede and follow TC as well as a major second, a perfect fourth and a perfect fifth above TC, while, in dance songs, it does not always precede or follow those intervals. Melodies of language hymns have the arc contour, while dance songs have 'tumbling' melodies whose contour is primarily a descent and whose initial interval is likely to be a wide leap upward.

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1. The myth of Bomai is concerned with the origin of the two gods, Bomai and Malo. who were worshiped in the traditional religion of the Murray Islands, Torres Strait. It has been published twice as the story of Malo, but it is Bomai in the Miriam language version I recently recorded, and on which the following structural analysis is made. 2. The first section is the story of Bomai's navigation. Bomai follows his four brothers, who left their native home in the south-central coast of New Guinea for Prince of Wales Island. During this solitary journey through the Western Islands, Bomai exhibits power to' transform himself into a whale, a turtle, a dugong and a dolphin. Then he travels with his brothers through the Central Islands, each in his own canoe. His brothers leave the group' one by one. Finally, after being left alone, Bomai sets off further east to the Murray Islands, the southern-most of the Eastern Islands. There he visits several villages in Mer, Dauar, and Waier. This part of the story ends when Bomai, in the form of an octopus, approaches a woman fishing on the beach. In the first section, Bomai is the only active character of the drama, and he is also the only one who exhibits the super-natural power of transformation. A structural opposition is drawn between large animals and small ones ; Bomai turns himself into the former type only when he is alone. When he is with somebody close to him, he turns himself into a smaller animal when the need arises. 3. The second section begins with Bomai's violation of Kabur, the woman on the beach. She realizes what has happened, so she kills the octopus (Bomai) , claims it as a posession, and brings it back to her home. As she watches that night with her husband, Dog, the ghost of a man jumps out of the basket, hangs from the ceiling, and performs the ritual of casting a curse. For the next two days, Dog is restless and walks up and down the beach carrying his weapons, excited by the treasure which Kabur has claimed. His curious behaviour, however, invites the villagers' suspicion. So the villagers of Las, from where Kabur originally came, send Kabur's brother and "cousin brother" to visit Kabur, and they come to Dog's home bringing a gift of sardines. Kabur and Dog welcome them and they stay at Dog's house that night. The visitors find out what is in the basket and steal it the next morning. Dog is out walking on the beach when the theft occurs. He feels uneasy, so he returns to his home, to find that the basket has been stolen. He then chases the two men, who are dancing with excitement, halfway back to the Las village. He shoots three arrows, but he misses the men because Bomai's power repulses the shafts. He follows the two to their village, where other villagers offer him a bamboo pipe to placate him. Dog accepts it, saying that the pipe is for peace, and allows them to keep Bomai in Las. The villagers create a ritual dance for Bomai, imitating the movements of blind sharks and tiger sharks. This second section of the myth is twice as long as either the first or the third. It is detailed and well explained, lacking the typical characteristics of a myth : miraculousness, abruptness, and extensiveness. It is a story of comedic interactions among villagers and it assigns a less conspicuous roles for Bomai, but it includes the climax of the three-part myth of Bomai : Bomai's ultimate transformation from an unusual man to a god.

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In the last three decades, Australian governments have developed policies of indigenous self-determination and self-management. In particular, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), which was established in 1990 under the `ATSIC Act 1989', took the historically important step of institutionalising participation of indigenous Australians into the nation-wide decision making processes. ATSIC was more than an integration of its predecessors, which were the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the Aboriginal Development Commission, and the National Aboriginal Conference. Its elected indigenous representatives are given power to allocate federal funding of around A$lbillion to nearly 2000 indigenous organisations. ATSIC's main role is to formulate and implement programs for indigenous Australians. But in practice, allocation of funding to appropriate organisations that deliver services in the communities is the main concern of the Regional Councils. The administrative arm of ATSIC supports the activities of the representative arm (including the Board of Commissioners and the Regional Councils) and assists program administration. ATSIC certainly has limits in its `self-determination' power due to its institutional basis in the Commonwealth administration. One of the objectives of ATSIC is, in fact, to promote the development of self-management and self-sufficiency among indigenous Australians. The elected representatives of ATSIC do not have power to negotiate its Budget or to appoint its administrative staff. The Minister of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs represents ATSIC in the Federal Parliament and in the Cabinet. Furthermore, the financial resources are not sufficient for the Regional Councils and the Board of Commissioners to allocate funds to all applications of programs submitted by indigenous communities. ATSIC is not, therefore, a complete form of indigenous self-determination. Rather, it is one of the institutions that ensures indigenous voices are heard by the Commonwealth government. Only when diverse regional interests and conditions are taken into account, and when various appropriate institutions are formed to meet the concerns of indigenous and non-indigenous residents, would the principle of self-determination be viewed as a sustainable political framework.

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ジュゴンは熱帯・亜熱帯の浅海域に生息する草食性の哺乳類である。潮の満ち干にともなって、アマモ類を索餌するために満ち潮で浅瀬に接近し、引き潮で沖合へと移動する。肺呼吸をおこなう生き物であるから、索餌中も２，３分に１度は海面に浮上し呼吸する。その瞬間がハンターたちの銛を打つ唯一の機会である。
オーストラリア、は太平洋およびインド洋の沿岸域に生息するジュゴンの分布域の中でも最も周密に生息する海域である。トレス海峡の先住民は、考古学的な史料によると、少なくとも２０００年前からこの生き物を狩猟してきたようであり、今日でも単なる食料としてのタンパク源・脂肪源の意味をこえて民の文化の核に位置している。
狩猟行動によって意識化される海底地形と植生、潮、風、それにジュゴンの生態行動など、今日「文化遺産」ともよばれる生きた自然に関する知識は膨大なものである。たとえば、その他の漁労活動や海上交通の理由にもよるが、サンゴ礁地形の発達する海域において、 日常的な行動海域に１２０以上もの海底地名を付けており、それ以上に、その地名の意味内容をこえて、周辺の海底に関する知識は詳細をきわめている。アマモ類の藻場の分布はいうまでもなく、ジュゴンの行動をとらえた「ジュゴンが背中を掻く岩」の所在や潮の満ち干にともなった移動路となるサンゴ礁内の澪筋ないし入り江にもその観察はおよんでいる。
また、ジュゴンは内耳神経の発達した生き物であり、音にきわめて敏感である。先住民たちもそのことを熟知しており、もう１つの狩猟対象であるウミガメのプルカライグ（目の良い奴）に対比して、カウラライグ（耳の良い奴）というニックネームを与えており、そのことが彼らの狩猟行動の多くを説明する。つまり、１９７０年代から導入された船外機のついたアルミニウム合金製の小型ボートで狩猟場の風上まで疾走するが、そこからはエンジンを止め、海面の乱反射を避けるために太陽を背後に受け、話し声もふくめ一切物音を立てず、風向と潮流にまかせて、船を風下・潮下に流すのである。その際、船体はかならず潮流と平行に保つように舵を操作しなければならない。わずかでも潮流が船体に当たり、波音を立てることさえ避けようとするのである。いわば、自分たちの存在を風の音と波の音にかき消すのである。しかし、彼らは単に風と波に身をまかせているわけではない。水面下で索餌するジュゴンの行動も考慮のうちに入っている。ジュゴンは潮上にむけて直線的に索餌し、かつ呼吸のために浮上する際も潮上にむかって泳ぐのである。したがって、ハンターたちの行動はジュゴンとの遭遇の機会を増大させているのである。
しかしながら、こうした先住民のジュゴン猟も現代世界にあっては、さまざまな問題を抱えている。ジュゴンは言うまでもなく国際自然保護連合（IUCN）によって絶滅危惧種に指定されている生物だからである。目下オーストラリアという国民国家の中の先住民として暮らす彼らには、少数民族として多数（主流）派社会の法や世論を無視しえない。彼らのジュゴン猟も、その伝統的な食料資源としてのみならず、肉の分配にともなった社会的凝集力や彼らのアイデンティティにつながる墓碑建立祭の折の不可欠の食べ物、さらにはハンターに与えられる社会的威信などに配慮して、自給目的の狩猟のみを認められているにすぎない。しかし、主流派の規範となっている「生物多様性」、「環境保全」、「持続しうる開発」は動物保護団体による全面狩猟禁止や船外機付きボートという狩猟手段の問題視を引き起こしている。政府から派遣された「持続しうる開発」のために基礎調査を行う海洋生物学者たちも、ジュゴンの再生産率の低さゆえに、目下の捕獲頭数を政府への答申や学術雑誌の中で危険視している。一方先住民の間では、ジュゴン猟がみずからの民族性を示す特徴の一つとしてシンボル化し、民族自治を願う彼らにとって、ジュゴン猟への干渉は政治問題に展開する可能性を秘めている。こうした問題は民のみならず、たとえば、カナダ極北のイヌイットの人々の生存捕鯨、カナダ北西部海岸先住民のサケ漁、カナダ北東部クリーの人々のシロイルカ猟など、現代の海と関わる先住民の社会が共通して抱える問題なのである。

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石干見は，潮汐の変化が顕著な沿岸部に石垣を組み，満潮時に接岸した魚群をこのなかにとどめ，干潮時にこれらを漁獲する，伝統的な大型の定置漁具である。本稿では，この漁具が日本の漁業地理学のなかでいかにとらえられ，地理学者はどのような記述を残してきたのかを，1950年代から1970年代にかけて発表された研究に注目しながら検討する。最初に石干見の記録を残した地理学者は，吉田敬市である。吉田は，有明海に存在する石干見漁が，自然環境に応じておこなわれる特徴的な漁業形態であることを明らかにした。続いて藪内芳彦が，漁具の発展段階と世界的な分布について考察するなかで，石干見にも注目した。その後，藪内の研究をふまえて，1960年代，1970年代を中心に世界各地の沿岸域にて調査・研究に従事した地理学者によって，石干見が漁撈（漁業）文化を考えるひとつの指標としてとらえられ，多くの記述が残された。しかし，1980年代になると，石干見に関する研究や記述はほとんどみられなくなった。主たる理由としては，漁具の分布や伝播の問題を究明する漁撈（漁業）文化研究に方法論的な限界が生じたこと，各地の石干見が現代的な漁船漁業の発展にともなって無用化し，それに応じて研究者の注目度が急激に低下してしまったこと，が考えられる。

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