184 RKC0RDS OP THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



coll-cted, the young unmarried men take the novices into the 



bush, while the old men prepare the ground, i.e., make a clearing, 



leaving neither grass nor stick. In the evening, the women are 



told to lie down in the camp and keep themselves covered, so 



that they should see nothing. Fires are lighted round the 



clearing, and the novices then brought in from the bush, made 



to sit crossdegged in the middle, and told not to look up at 



whatever is being said or done, but just simply to beat the ground 



in front of them and look only at the spot they are beating. The 



other Blacks then wrestle, carry on various dances, and make 



noises suddenly here and there, and all round about, but the 



novices dare not look up. This goes on until midnight or perhaps 



later, when the other Blacks have a meal, but only a very little 



honey is given to the novices, and then only by the nupas. The 



other Blacks go on to their own camp and sleep, leaving the 



novices with their guardians within the ring of tires ; finally the 



nupas retire to outside the fiery circle, leaving only their wards 



within. Next morning the novices with their attendants leave 



camp before sunrise, and are allowed to hunt, but they may only 



eat of certain foods, and in addition are kept on very short 



rations. At sundown, the women and children are again sent 



to camp, and about dark the novices are brought to the clearing 



wherein they find some other blacks wrestling and dancing, and 



walking slowly round the circle of fires look only down on the 



ground directly in front of them, until such time as they are told 



to go inside. The nupas do not accompany them now within 



the cleared space, but advise and explain the various dances to 



them from the outside, the novices continuing to sit cross legged 



and to beat the ground just in front. This goes on daily and 



regularly for about a month, the novices having very little food 



or rest, and camping at night within the circle of fires on the 



bare ground without covering of any sort, though should heavy 



rain fall in the interval they are allowed, in company with 



their guardians, to go into the bush and erect a hut in which 



to camp. During the whole of this month, the women and 



children never see the novices, who are submitted to various 



ordeals, in one of which each is held up at full arm's length by 



his nupa and nupa's tribal brothers for some little period, during 



which procedure he is not supposed to move a muscle. In tin 



course of the following month the novices are tried still more. 



The other blacks will make jokes and laugh loudly quite close to 



them, but the novices must not even smile. At other times, they 



will shout out something like this — "I say ! Some heavy rain is 



coming! Where's your blanket V — but the novice must take no 



notice, and must not show by any sign that he has even heard. 



