The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes. 143 



called thunburran, made by scraping the surface of the ground 

 smooth and throwing the loose earth on either side. The bearing 

 of this track was N. 62° W., and in following it in this direction 

 for 270 yards, it was found to terminate at another and smaller 

 circle, called goonaba, 47 feet in diameter, bounded by a circular 

 bank, composed of loose earth, about five or six inches high. 

 The track, thunburran, entered this enclosure through an open- 

 ins in its wall similar to that in the other circle. Within 

 this ring, and near the farther side of it, were two stumps 

 of trees, which had been prepared in the following manner. 

 Two small trees had been dug out of the ground by the roots, 

 and their stems then cut through between six and seven feet 

 from the base, all the bark being stripped from the stem and 

 roots. These stumps were then carried to the goonaba, and holes 

 were dug, into which the stems were inserted and the earth tilled 

 in tightly around them, leaving the roots at the top, some of 

 which extended outwards about four feet, and were ornamented 

 with narrow strips of bark twisted round them. These stumps, 

 called zvarrengahlee, one of which was belar and the other coola- 

 bar, were twelve feet apart and five feet five inches out of the 

 ground, the stems and roots of both being smeared with human 

 blood. The blood for this purpose is obtained by making small 

 incisions, with a piece of sharp flint or shell, in the arms of 

 several men, and collecting the blood in vessels as it drips from 

 the wounds. 



Scattered over the floor of the goonaba, between the warren- 

 gahlee and the entrance of the thunburran (track), were a 

 considerable number of small heaps of loose earth, each having a 

 short stick inserted perpendicularly in the top. When welcoming 

 a new contingent of natives, these heaps are flattened down 

 during the ceremonies, as described by me elsewhere,* but are 

 restored for use on all similar occasions. After the arrival of the 

 last mob of natives who have been invited, the heaps are not again 

 erected. 



I will now endeavour to give a full description of the imagery 

 displayed upon the ground and on the trees throughout this 

 sylvan temple. Starting from the larger circle, which i- 



Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxv., 324-3: 



