You conclude that "... a mortuary practice among the aborigines must
have been passed down
from generation to generation orally. Aborigines never invented
writing. Because of this, it seems to me that oral tradition may be far
more effective than we have suspected heretofore."
I don't think that this is a convincing argument. In the case you
cite, a visual component may have had just as great or even greater effect,
by having aboriginal mortuary apprentices observing the tradition and then
passing it on to their apprentices. In that way, the transmission of
information would be different from the oral Genesis account. Visual images
are very powerful; that's probably why most instructions come with graphic
components. In fact, a lot of instructions (e.g., replacing the toner
cartridge in a laser printer) now often come without text.
Shalom!
Chuck Vandergraaf
Pinawa, MB