The Burhiiwj of the Darkinung Tribes. 3 



laid on his forehead. A little way further was another raised 

 image, also lying on the back, but of smaller dimensions, with 

 the coolaTiiin containing human blood, already referred to, lying 

 on his breast. This represented Ghindariiig, a malevolent being 

 whose body is red and resembles burning coals ; he is said to have 

 his abode in rocky places on the tops of mountains. There was 

 another human figure lying near these, about life size, and formed 

 in the same way. The surface of the ground on both sides of 

 the track near these images was ornamented with the usual 

 yaiiiinunyajmin devices cut into the soil, mentioned by me in 

 other publications.^ Among these carvings may be mentioned a 

 porcupine, a dog, the sun with rays, and the moon both in the 

 crescent and at the full. 



Scattered here and there around the circle and amongst the 

 images and designs on the ground were a number of marked trees, 

 on the bark of which were carved representations of the emu, the 

 wombat, the opossum, the kangaroo, the "iguana," the "squirrel," 

 a snake crawling up, and other figures. On a log, which was lying 

 on the ground near by, was cut the figure of a turtle, representing 

 a habit which that animal has of lying on a log on the bank of a 

 water-hole. One of the trees had a narrow strip of bai'k cut ofi" 

 along its bole in a wavy line, extending from about twenty feet 

 high to the ground, to represent a tree struck by lightning, such 

 as one often sees in travelling through the bush. Another tree 

 had an imitation of an eagle-hawk's nest, built in a fork of one 

 of the branches, about twenty-five or thirty feet from the ground. 

 My native informants told me that the figures of animals and 

 other devices carved on the trees and on the ground were executed 

 with pieces of hard wood on which a sharp edge had been formed. 

 Close to the smaller circle and the raised images a fire was kept 

 burning on top of a low heap of loose earth raked together for 

 the purpose. 



Gathering the Tribes. — Messengers were despatched to the head 

 men of all the adjacent tribes who were expected to participate 

 in the ceremonies. Each of these messengers carried the usual 

 emblems of his mission, namely, a bullroarer, a belt, several 

 " tails," or kilts, and his conduct on arrival at a strange camp was 



1 Journ. Anthop. Inst., xxv., 302 and 323. 



