164 Pi'oceediiujs of the Royal Socidy of Victoria. 



The Wulya first of all rubs the body of the Wurtja all over 

 with fat and then explains to the other men what he intends to 

 draw after which he proceeds to work with great deliberation, 

 more than an hour being spent over the drawing, while two old 

 Ipmunna men keep up a low monotonous chant, the words of 

 which have reference to the snakes (i.e. the ancestral snake-men) 

 of Thatlinga. When the design is at last complete, an Okilia of 

 the Wurtja's locality comes up and places two bunches of owl's 

 feathers in liis hair and then goes away and brings the Atwia- 

 twia to inspect the design. The men who have previously made 

 the Arachitta poles then run away from the Apulia shouting 

 "pai! pai ! pai !" and bring them in. When within about fifty 

 yards of the Wurtja they separate into two parties, one of them 

 crosses in front of the Wurtja from left to right and deposits 

 their poles twenty yards to the right of him, while the others do 

 the same on the left side. No explanation of this can be given 

 except the usual one that it has always been thus in the 

 Alcheringa. 



Just before dusk two Okilias go out and stand, one on the 

 eastern end of each of the raised banks, with their arms in a 

 somewhat curious attitude, the palm of the liand being turned 

 so that it faces backward, and the elbow bent so that the hand 

 lies in the armpit. The Uranthantina imin goes and sits down 

 in the place usually occupied by the Wurtja when he is watching 

 a ceremony while the other men, seated around him, sing — 

 " Elunja apirra arara " — "hark to the lizards in the trees." 

 At a signal fi-om an old mura man the women, who are waiting 

 out of sight, come and stand in two groups one to the right and 

 one to the left of the Apulia. It may be mentioned that in the 

 grouping of the men and women there is no separation of those 

 belonging to different classes. As soon as the women arrive, 

 the two Okilias who are stationed on the Ijanks run off to the 

 Wurtja's brake and quickly tear away the bushes which hide 

 him from view so that he is seen crouching down. One of the 

 Okilias then kneels down on each side of him and at once the 

 three men run quickly, on all fours, to the Apulia where the 

 Wurtja lies down on top of the Urinthantima, who is himself 

 lying down on his back, and the two remain in this position for 

 about ten minutes. While this is taking place a woman who is 



