False Protocols
Aboriginal Protocol Perverted With Indigenous Community Protocols Fabricated By Visitors
Protocols As Stereotypes
"Gammon" in many Aboriginal Englishes and Creoles means false or pretend. So when I talk about gammon protocols, I mean the colonial protocols that are imposed based on generalisations and myths about Aborigines. These perpetuate stereotypes and contribute to communication breakdown between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
The Three F's
My favourite gammon protocol is "The Three F's". These are Football, Fishing and Family, in that order. In many communities in northern Australia, foreign health, law, and education workers entering the village are told by their foreign managers to limit their conversation with locals to these three topics. The reasoning is that Aboriginal people are incapable of intelligent discourse on any other topic, and therefore will feel more comfortable and equal with outsiders who restrict their discussions to the Three F's.
Eye Contact
Another is the "don't look anybody in the eye" rule. This is based on actual protocol from many Indigenous clans and families. However, this ignores Indigenous diversity and individual identity. In any given community, there may be some people who would be offended by certain types of "staring". But this may depend on the social context, with the same person being offended by somebody averting their eyes. I know an elder who is frightfully offended when people address her while staring at the ground. "Look me in the eye when you talk to me, boy!" she says.
Questioning
At the same level of idiocy we find the classic "Don't ask questions, because there are no questions in Aboriginal languages". Although it may be true that many native languages de-emphasise questioning in communication, there are also many others that are very strong on social registers involving questions and answers. For example, I know that Wik Mungkan is peppered with who, what, where, when, and "how come" questions. Questioning is frequent, although it may not always be necessary to answer truthfully...
