NORTH QUEENSLAND ETHNOGRAPHY — ROTH. J 93 



into the district from the Musgrave River on the east coast, or 

 from down the Mitchell, etc., on the Gulf coast; they are fixed 

 in multiple, and the weapon called a tikara (KML). Other local 

 names for the single- barb variety are KRA. ri-ang-pal, KWA. 

 ri-angapa ; for the multiple-barb, KRA. challawang, KWA. gu- 

 laba. 



(b) Stingaree-barbed, multiple, with the barbs placed one 

 behind the other (PI. lviii., rig. 4), pointing backwards; long 

 proximal end of reed, short distal portion of black-palm or hard- 

 wood, and known as dekara. On t^fie Bloomfield River, built of 

 similar proportions and materials as the ta-chal just mentioned, 

 and called dikara. At Princess Charlotte Bay. the local names 

 are KRA. to-wara, KWA. de-kir. 



(c) Quartz-tipped. Pieces of quartz flake (PI. lviii., fig. 9), 

 often now replaced by glass, fixed with cement on to 

 opposite sides of the spear-tip, long butt and short shaft, 

 known as ku-yan. Same name on the Bloomfield River. 

 The small white quartz flakes aie fixed, at their bases, 

 oppositely, like the teeth of a lady's small hair-comb, they 

 are fixed with gum cement, of which a certain length is attached 

 to the spear-head, with a slot run longitudinally up it by means 

 of a thumb nail, and there secured with heat and careful manipu- 

 lation of the lingers. Their axes are not at right angles with that 

 of the spear, but project forwards. Tt would seem thai the 

 flakes decrease in size proportionately as they reach the spear-tip. 

 The Middle Palmer Blacks call such a weapon tural, and manu- 

 facture the proximal portion from Clerodendron inerme (KMT. 

 ochi-illa). At Princess Charlotte May the proximal is usually 

 made from Premna dallachyana, Benth., the distal from Erythro- 

 plceum laboucherii, F.v.M.; local names, KRA. to-ril, KWA. 

 war-pa. 



(d) Multiple pronged tish-spears (PI. lviii., fig. 7). Usually four 

 prongs (distal pieces) morticed into the proximal 1 ", with a wooden 

 barb on each prong ; called yin-ba. On the Bloomfield River these 

 fish-spears, known as yirmba, are made of some light wood, prefer- 

 ably Xanthorrha a (grass-tree), and are said to have been imported 

 here originally, although they were certainly manufactured in the 

 district for some time previous to 1885 11 . At Princess Charlotte 

 Bay these weapons are made from grass tree and black-palm 

 (proximal and distal respectively), the latter material being 

 bartered into these parts from the Mclvor River ; the barbs are 



1,1 Roth— Bull. 7— Sect. 43. 



11 On the authority of Mr. R. Hislop. 



