We are losing our brothers: Sorcery and alcohol in an Aboriginal community

The concerns and fears of the people of an Aboriginal community which follow the premature death of any of its members are discussed. These concerns centre on the competing possibilities that the death has been caused either by sorcery or by chronic and heavy consumption of alcohol. The expressed needs of the people with respect to communication with medical staff both during illness and after a death are presented and are explored in the light of the quest of one of us (D.M., a senior community member) for information about the causes of the deaths of several men of the community.