60 MATHEWS — INITIATION" IN AUSTRALIAN TRIBES. [March 18, 



with rugs, bushes or grass, which have been placed in readiness for 

 the purpose. The women then commence making a low humming 

 or chanting noise, and several old men armed with spears keep 

 watch over them to see that no attempt is made to remove the cov- 

 ering or look about. 



When these preliminaries have been completed, two men sound 

 bull-roarers (^yoolooduree or yeemboomul) in close proximity and a 

 few other men come along the path and run round inside the circle 

 beating the ground with pieces of bark, similar to those described 

 in my paper on The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Ti-ibes} All the 

 men who are standing about the circle shout and beat their weapons 

 together, a separate detachment of men being located near each 

 group of women for this purpose. During the combined noise of 

 the bull-roarers, the shouting and the beating of the ground, the 

 guardians advance, and, assisted by some of their friends, raise the 

 novices on their shoulders and carry them away, their heads being 

 still covered with the rugs to prevent their seeing anything. The 

 novices are taken as far as the commencement of the inoombeera, 

 where they are placed lying on the ground with the rugs spread over 

 them. Here they are kept a short time until the women depart 

 from the burbung, particulars of which will be given presently. 

 This delay also furnishes an opportunity to the men who have been 

 chosen for the kooringal to go on to the kooroorballunga and paint 

 their bodies jet black with powdered charcoal and grease. 



The novices are then raised to their feet and the rugs are adjusted 

 on their heads in such a manner that they can only see the ground 

 in front of them. Their guardians lead them along the pathway 

 and they are shown the marked trees, the drawings on the ground, 

 the fire, the squirrel's nest, etc., and are told to take particular no- 

 tice of all these things. They are next conducted along the tracks 

 of the emu until they reach the bird lying on the ground, as already 

 described, around which some old men dance and all the people 

 give a shout. After this they proceed to the eefeemat, and the 

 novices are placed standing in a row. On being told to raise their 

 eyes, they see two old men sitting on the wai'rangooj'inga exhibit- 

 ing different substances out of their mouths, whilst some of the 

 other men are dancing around the heaps of earth. An old man 

 with a coolamin of human blood now approaches the novices and 

 rubs some of the blood on their wrists. The guardians again bend 



^ Journ. Anthrop. Inst.,y.y.v, 308, PL xxvi, Fig. 40, 



