1898.] ^[ATHEWS — INITIATION IN AUSTRALIAN TRIBES. 55 



thewest. As no description of the Burbung of these tribes has yet 

 been published, I have prepared the following brief account of that 

 ceremony as practiced within the district indicated. Their social 

 organization is after the Kamilaroi type, being divided into four 

 sections,^ with numerous totems consisting of animals, plants and 

 other natural objects. 



A Burbung is held at any time that there are a sufficient number 

 of boys old enough to be installed as tribesmen ; and the headman 

 of the tribe, whose turn it is to take the initiative in calling the 

 people together for this purpose, is generally agreed upon at the 

 conclusion of the previous inaugural gathering which took place. 

 When the appointed time comes round, the tribe who are charged 

 with this duty select a suitable camping ground within their own 

 territory, and some of the initiated men commence preparing the 

 ground. While they are employed at this work, the principal head- 

 man dispatches messengers to such of the surrounding tribes as he 

 wishes to join in the ceremony. These men are selected from among 

 his own friends and belong to his own totem. Each messenger has 

 generally one or more other men with him to keep him company, 

 and he is provided with the emblems usually carried on such occa- 

 sions, namely, a bull-roarer, several articles of a man's dress and 

 some native weapons. The conduct of these messengers on their 

 arrival in the proximity of the camp of the people to whom the 

 invitation has been sent is very similar to the procedure previously 

 explained in ray descriptions of the initiation ceremonies of other 

 tribes. 



The situation of the general encampment as regards water and 

 food supplies, and the location of the visiting tribes around the local 

 mob, are also substantially the same as already stated. In a retired 

 spot, a short distance from the main camp, the headmen have a 

 private meeting place, called the bunbul, where they congregate to 

 discuss such matters as they do not wish the women to hear. They 

 have one or more fires around which they sit, and none of the un- 

 initiated men are allowed near them. The women must not intrude 

 upon the bunbul, even if the men are not there. The single women 

 and girls also have a place near the camp, but in the opposite direc- 

 tion, where they assemble to work at making nets, headbands and 



^ I have given the names of the divisionsof these people in my paper on " The 

 Totemic Divisions of Australian Tribes," jfottrn. Roy. Soc. N', S. Wales, 

 xxxi, 168-170. 



