64 MATHEWS — INITIATION IN AUSTRALIAN TRIBES. [March 18^ 



I must now give some further particulars of the new camp erected 

 by the women, referred to in an earlier page. The same camp 

 may be occupied all the time the novices are away, or the women 

 may shift to a fresh camping ground every few nights, in conformity 

 with the movements of the kooringal. A patch of ground is cleared 

 near each of these camping places, to which the mothers and 

 sisters of the novices repair every evening for the purpose of sing- 

 ing and dancing during the time the boys are away in the bush with 

 the headmen. As soon as the women are informed of the day which 

 has been fixed for the return of the kooringal, they proceed to this 

 cleared space and erect an avenue of boughs, called the arrowanga^ 

 in the following manner. In this work they are assisted by the old 

 men who have been with them all the time, and also by the irghin- 

 daly contingent. A number of small green saplings are cut down 

 with tomahawks, and the stems are inserted in holes made in the 

 ground, all in a line — the bushy tops being sufficiently close 

 together to make a leafy screen, about four feet high. A few feet 

 from this, another line of saplings is set up, parallel with the other. 

 The two rows of boughs are fixed in the ground with a slant 

 toward each other, so that their tops almost meet overhead, forming 

 a kind of arched avenue long enough to hold all the kooringal. A 

 few yards on one side of this avenue, and parallel thereto, the 

 women light about four fires, beyond which they sit down in a row, 

 and commence chanting in monotonous tones. 



When all is ready, a signal is given by the men who have charge 

 of the women, and the bush mob approach in single file, all painted 

 white, as already stated. On coming in sight of the arrowanga^ 

 the novices and their guardians stop behind, and go to another 

 camp a little way off, where they remain for the night. The women 

 are now told to lie down, and are covered with bushes. The 

 kooringal march on and enter the avenue of bushes, one after the 

 other, and sit down with their legs gathered under them in the 

 usual native fashion. During this time a small bull-roarer, called 

 dha/gitngun, is sounded out of sight in the rear. A few of the head- 

 men jump round outside the avenue, beating together two boom- 

 erangs, and muttering wooh / wooh ! After going round two or 

 three times, they shout hirr ! birr ! and all the women stand up and 

 dance round the men who are hidden in the avenue. After going 

 round a few times, the women commence pulling down the bough 

 screen, upon which all the kooringal rise to their feet, and also 



