NORTH QUEENSLAND ETHNOGRAPHY ROTH. 35 



^liece (the kurnianja of the Yaro-inj^a) is worn by males and 

 females; on the Pennefather River a strip of Kangaroo-skin tied 

 at the ends, forms an ornament"^ (NGG. do-ana) that is used by 

 women only at any time. So again, the Pennefather River 

 women may wear on any occasion a cross-shoulder band made of 

 fibre-twine interwoven with the feathers of the Emu or a variety 

 of Blue jNlountain-parrot, the decoration being known lespect- 

 ively as the taipe-pra and taipe-mandenuto ; hut this may also be 

 used by them as a belt or as a sucking-string-". 



30. Chest and Back Ornaments. — Most of the chest and back 

 ornaments consist of a portion of Pearl-shell, Nautilus, or Melo, 

 drilled to carry the string that suspends it over the chest. On 

 the Pennefather River the Pearl-shell chest ornament (NGG. 

 gamaga) is of two kinds; the shorter and rounder pieces are 

 worn oidy by a mother on the death of her child, by females 

 when dancing round a corpse (children sometimes using the half- 

 broken ones), while the longer ornaments are worn by the men 

 at con obborees and on othei- special occasions. The outer layer 

 of shell is removed by placing the specimen on the cold ground, 

 face downwards, and covering carefully with hot ashes, after 

 which the surface can be the more ea^il}'^ removed by grinding on 

 a stone with water, when pearl-shell is scaice, the ornament may 

 be manufactured here from Malleus vulsellatxis, Lamarck. 

 Further down the Gulf-coast, e.g., between the Staaten and 

 Mitchell Eiveis, these iridiscent-sliell chest decorations are worn 

 by men only ; the Gunanni terms for them, according to the 

 species of shell, being binje-la and pin-yertan. On the Eastern 

 Coast-line at Ca})e Bedfonl, etc., the elongate form of it (KYI. 

 komaral) is used by both girls and boys ; on the Tully 

 River it is usually worn by the adults, who speak 

 of it as kwi-anchal. With regard to the Nautilus, 

 this is worn between the shoulders of the men 

 (fig. 20), between the breasts of the women, at Cape 

 Bedford, and on the Endeavour, Bloomfield, Laura, 

 and Middle Palmer Rivers. Owing perhaps to its 

 comparatively fragile nature, I have not observed the 

 regular bartering of this shell to any very great dis- ^'g-20- 

 tances inland. Local names : — KYI. milbar, KMI. trila-elpan 

 (same term as applied to the pearl-shell^^). 



-'^ Tins snip ot skin is cut from tlie Hank of the animal (N(iG. adaut- 

 chuko), and the hairs left on. 



■-- Opossum-twine (barbiin) was worn similarly across the shoulders of 

 the Kippas only, at Brisbane (7'. Pe/rie). 



23 A piece of Nautihis shell, the tulin, was worn between the breasts or 

 shoulders, in both sexes, at Brisbane ; it was much valued l)y the inland 

 blacks (7'. Velrie.) 



