Wandarvdl of Richniond end Cl(i.r<mce Trihci^. 41 



in the same manner as before. Near this place a net is spread 

 upon the ground and food provided by the mothers is spread upon 

 it.^ The neophytes are brought up and partake of the food, after 

 which they are taken into a camp near that of the single men. 

 After a time, which may be of some months' duration, the boys 

 are brought nearer and nearer the men's quarters until they are 

 eventually allowed to camp amongst the other young men of the 

 tribe. 



It is necessary that each neopliyte must participate in one or 

 more subsequent wandarral gatherings before he is fully qualified 

 to take his place as a man of the tribe. ■^ The reason of this is 

 evident when it is remembered that, at the first wandarral which 

 a novice attends, he is prevented from seeing the whole of the 

 ceremonial, in consequence of having to keep his eyes cast down 

 during some of the most important parts of it. In many cases a 

 boy is not more than twelve or fourteen years of age when he is 

 fii'st initiated, which is an additional ground for delay in admitting 

 him to the full status of manhood. 



The native tribes scattered over the Clarence and Richmond 

 Rivers do not at the present time extract a front incisor tooth 

 of the novice at their initiation ceremonies, and very old black- 

 fellows have told me in answer to my special enquiries on this 

 point that this custom was never practised amongst them. 



In this article I have dealt only with the most important 

 portions of the wandarral, and my descriptions of even those are 

 much abridged, in oilier to keep the paper within reasonable 

 limits. As this is the first account of the wandarral which has 

 ever been published, it is not improbable, in consequence of the 

 numerous pai'ticulars to be taken down at each stage of the 

 ceremonies, that some omissions have been made, but it is hoped 

 they will be found unimportant. From a mass of detail now in 

 my note books, the result of many years' acquaintance with these 

 blacks, I am preparing a comprehensive supplementary article on 

 this subject, which will be communicated on a future occasion. 



The present paper completes a series o^ articles communicated 

 by me to different learned societies in Australia, Europe and 



1 Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria, ix. (N.S.), 134. 

 •-! Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxvi., 2S4, nolf 1. 



