NORTH QUKENSLAND KTIINOfiUA HIIY — ROTFI. 40 



50. Ill the Hock ham pton area, the various raised scars are 

 said to have been usually imposed at the first initiation cere- 

 mony. On the mainland, with both sexes, the ordinary run of 

 these consists of a few long transverse cuts across the lower chest 

 and upper abdomen as far as tlie umbilicus, with corresponding 

 ones behind, and longitudinal scars down each shoulder. These 

 may be supplenienteil by bands of small vertical cuts on the arms 

 and numerous small irregular ones on the chest, while, on 

 occasion, the outer sides of the thighs may be scarred. Among 

 the Keppel Islanders I found on males and females, both in front 

 as low down as the umbilicus, and back, numerous small vertical 

 rows of scars composed of sliort horizontal ones in close appo- 

 sition ; furthermore on the outer thighs of the females a single 

 composite vertical row of horizontal ones, and on the upper 

 arms (also in the males) a few transverse rows of short vertical 

 scars. 



51. Amongst the Brisbane Blacks*-', the pattern of the scars 

 was alike for the one tribe, both men and women. Boys and 

 girls when they were about eleven or twelve years of age were 

 operated on by men, and then received their chest- and back- 

 marks (fig. 29, 2ya), and (the girls only) 

 their shoulder-scars; it was only at their 

 initiation (kippa) that the boys got their 

 shoulder ones. The Moreton Islanders and 

 inland blacks had belly-marks right across 

 as low down as the navel ; further north, 

 the belly-scars were cut on either side of "' " ' 

 the middle line. Each tribe indeed had a different pattern, alike 

 for its male and female members. The incisions were made with 

 a flint or shell, and rubbed in with the fine powdery charcoal 

 obtained from the sapling bark of the Blood-wood {E%icalyptus 

 corymbosa, .Smith) ; within a week these scars would be observed 

 raised, 



52. Feathering of the Body. — Feathering of the body is in vogue 

 throughout all the North-Western Districts, and here and there in 

 the Peninsula, in the Caidwell area, etc., but limited to men only at 

 corrobboi'ees, fighting, or wife-hunting expeditions (PI. x., fig. 2). 

 In the North-West, white feather-down required for the purpose 

 is obtained from the duck, wild-turkey, etc. ; it can be made red 

 when that colour is wanted, by dusting the feathers over with 

 greased red ochre which has been previously pounded on a 

 nardoo or other pounding stone. These two sets of feathers (no 



*9 Notes from Mr. T. Petrie. 

 4 



