.S88 



HKfOUDS OK TriK AUSTUALI.W MISKLM. 



after vengejince lias been taken, but is often carried al»i)ut until 

 such time as one of the deceased heros motluns, brothers, or sons 

 happen to die. The immediate relatives do not cut their hair 

 until all the ceremonies are completed. 



7. Amonj^st the Lower Tully I'iver'' natives, friends and rel- 

 atives attenfl upon the sick person until the last moment, and 

 immediately after death tie him or her uj) with lawyer-cane, a 

 procedure in which all assist ; the tying-up position is with the 

 flats of the hands in close apposition, either pressed closed to one 

 side of the head, or else passed fofwai-d b"t\veen t!:e two sliins 



Fig. 56. I'ig. 57. 



(figs. 56, 57). The body is either buried or l)urned, there being no- 

 thing to choose bet ween these methods, and if cremation is fixed ui)on, 

 the burning may be either immediate or subsetpient ; occasionally 

 it may be desiccated. The tied-up l)ody may be kept for two or 

 three days l)efore actual burying, etc., especially if the deceased 

 had been a favourite, and portions of it may now be eaten, amongst 

 other reasons, in order to give cause for fight and f|uarrel at the 

 Prun-ground.*'' While thus awaiting burial, etc., it is not removed 

 from the luit in which it has been placed, but is visited all night, 

 relay upon relay of men and women indiscriminately, taking it 

 turn about to do the howling and wailing.''' In close proximity 

 to the hut, the mourners may be seen si|uatting in groups, two 

 three, or four individuals together, with arms around each other's 

 neck or shoulders, heads all turned down and towards each other, 

 bodies swaying from side to side, and all liemoaning and crying. 



''" ifr. I^. r.rook, Juiir. vein kindlx autod as iiitorprotcr for inc liciv. 

 ^ Bull. 4— Sect. 15. 



*'•' Tlie blacks liere are in no sense friglitencd at the pr-^^eace of a eorp.-e ; it 

 is tlie spirit, etc., afrei- tlie burial or ereiiiation that ihev liave a th'ea'l of. 



