1898.1 MATHEWS — INITIATION IN AUSTRALIAN TRIBES. 57 



formance is going on, such as the arrival of a tribe, their daily 

 games and the ceremonial connected with the removal of the 

 novices. 



In the vicinity of the marked trees is a gigantic human figure 

 named Dharroogan or Gowang, lying extended on the ground, 

 composed of the loose soil scraped off the surface for some yards 

 around. A little way farther on, near the eeteemat^ is the prostrate 

 image of a wallaroo, formed in high relief in the same manner. In 

 building all the earthen figures just described, stones or pieces of 

 wood are first heaped up on the ground, almost to the height of the 

 object required, and on top of this the loose earth is thrown to com- 

 plete the figure and give it the necessary shape. The finished draw- 

 ing represents the intended animal in high relief on the surface of 

 the ground. 



A rope made of stringy bark is stretched between two of the 

 marked trees which are not too far apart, and about midway along 

 this rope there is a bundle of leaves and finely frayed pieces of soft 

 bark, supposed to represent the rest of a ring-tail opossum.^ 



When a strange tribe reaches a point somewhere within an easy 

 stage of the main camp they paint their bodies with colored clays 

 in accordance with the style customary in their tribe, after which 

 the journey forward is resumed, the men in the lead, with the women 

 and children following. On the approach of the strangers, the men 

 of the local mob, and also the men of previous contingents who 

 have arrived at the main camp, stand outside the burbung circle 

 with their spears and other weapons in their hands, and sway their 

 bodies to and fro. The new arrivals then march on in single file, 

 in a meandering line, each man carrying his weapons in his hands; 

 they enter the ring and march round and round until they are all 

 within it in a spiral fold. They now come to a stand and jump 

 about, the headman calling out the names of camping grounds, 

 water-holes, shady trees, etc., in their country. After this they 

 come out of the ring and each detachment of the hosts enter it in 

 succession and act in a similar manner. For example, the contin- 

 gent from Kempsey, who had arrived first, entered the ring and 

 called out the names of remarkable places ; next, the contingent 

 from Armidale did likewise ; then the contingent from Tabulam, 

 and so on. Lastly, the men of the local Nymboi river mob enter 



1 All the animals drawn upon the trees, or on the ground, represent the totems 

 of some of the people assembled at the main camp. 



