Iiutiatioii Ceremonu'i<, Aranfa Tribe. 151 



a ceremony are in position between the lines of the Apulia. 

 The quabarra^ which they are about to perform is one of a 

 certain number which are only performed at times such as this 

 when initiation is taking place. When the boy is told to look 

 up he sees lying in front of him and on his side a decorated man, 

 whom the Oknia and Okilia, both speaking at once, tell him 

 represents a wild-dog. At the other end of the Apulia another 

 decorated man stands with his legs stretched wide apart and 

 holding twigs of eucalyptus in each hand ; his head is decorated 

 with a small ornament called a Waninga to which further 

 reference will lie made subsequently. The performer moves 

 his head from side to side as if looking for something and 

 every now and then utters a sound similar to that made by a 

 kangaroo, which animal he represents. Suddenly the dog looks 

 up, sees the kangaroo and begins to bark. Running along on 

 all foui's he passes between the legs of the kangaroo man who 

 strikes him with the twigs, after which he lies down again for 

 a minute or two behind the kangaroo who keeps watching him 

 over his shoulder while he utters the sound. Then the dog gets 

 up, runs from l>ehind between the kangaroo's legs, is caught by 

 the head, shaken, and howls as if in ]>ain while a pretence is 

 made of dashing his head upon the ground. This is repeated 

 several times and tiiially the dog is supposed to be killed by 

 the kangaroo. Then the dog runs quickly on all fours to the 

 Wurtja and lies down on the top of him ; he is at once followed 

 by the kangaroo w!io hops on to the top of the dog and so the 

 Wurtja has to bear the weight of Ijoth men for about two 

 minutes. When tliey get up, the AVurtja, still lying down) 

 is told by the old men that the quabarra represents an incident 

 which took place in the Alcheringa when a wild dog man 

 attacked a kangaroo man and was killed by the latter. The 

 object which the kangaroo woi-e on his head was, he is told, a 

 Waninga, a sacred object, the name of which must never be 

 mentioned in the hearing of women or children, and that, in 

 fact, it represents a kangaroo. When this is over the Wurtja is 

 led back to his brake and the men cojitinue singing at intervals 

 nearly all night. 



1 Quabarra is the term applied by the Aiuiita iiatix es to sacred t-ereinoiiies which only 

 initiated men mav witness. 



