The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes. 157 



they came. These are the men, buddenbelat; who go to fetch the 

 beegay, and are the same who subsequently appear in the ring of 

 fire {Dhurramoolungoivee), details of which will be given later on. 

 The guardians now conduct the boys along the track as far as the 

 goomee, showing them the yammunyamun from the commence- 

 ment to that point. On reaching the goomee the boys are made 

 to turn their backs to the fire, and their eyes are cast on the 

 ground at their feet. One of the guardians then pretends to see 

 something in the air in the direction of the sun, and says to the 

 novices, " Look up at that bird, you can just distinguish it in the 

 distance." The boys all turn their eyes in the direction indicated 

 endeavouring to see the object, until they are told to look down 

 at some men on the other side of the goomee fire. These men, 

 millunga* are crouching down with their buttocks resting on their 

 heels, and their elbows on their knees ; they are pulling down 

 their lower eyelids with their hands, and staring at the boys. 

 The guardians say, " Those are Dhurramoolun's men ; they will 

 come and burn you on a fire like that." The sun having momen- 

 tarily impaired the vision of the boys, when looking towards the 

 sky, they cannot see very clearly, which causes the millunga to 

 appear all the more unearthly and demoniacal. Having looked 

 at these men for a minute or two, the boys are taken about a 

 quarter of a mile farther on than the Goonaba, and placed sitting 

 on the ground with their eyes cast down. This delay is made for 

 the purpose of allowing the kooringal to go ahead and get ready 

 for the next performance, which consists of each man cutting a 

 leafy bough, and then all crouching down close together in rank 

 and file fashion ; each man holds his bough in such a manner 

 that none of the men are seen, nothing but a heap of bushes being- 

 visible. The novices are then brought on with their heads down, 

 and placed standing in a row in front of the bushes, which the men 

 keep shaking as if blown about by a gale, but no other sound 

 is heard. The two head men who accompany the novices and 

 their guardians then stand one on each side of the heap of bushes 

 and one says to the other, " Can you tell me what this is ?" The 

 other man will answer, " You are older than I am ; you ought to 

 be able to tell us what it is." Perhaps a few ridiculous guesses 



* hoc. cit., 331. 



