The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes. 169 



of each boy saying to the guardians, " Hold my boy ; he is going 

 to be taken away and burnt." The kooringal are standing in 

 a semi-circle behind the boys. The boys faces are now turned 

 towards the Beegay, who are swaying their smoky sticks, and the 

 guardians say, "There they are; they have a big fire over there," 

 pointing in a certain direction. The Beegay then run up towards 

 the boys dancing and shouting and swaying their smoky sticks 

 and boomerangs. The guardians then turn the boys backs 

 towards the Beegay, who come up and pass along the row of 

 boys, each man catching the back hair of each boy in succession, 

 and pulling his head up straight. The class distinctions are so 

 interwoven with the ceremonial that, even in this matter, they 

 are not lost sight of. A Dilbi* Beegay would shake the hair of a 

 Kubbi or Murri boy heartily, because he belongs to the same 

 class, but would only lightly shake the back hair of a Kumbo or 

 Ippai ; the Kupathin men would show a similar preference for 

 the boys belonging to their own class. This pulling of the back 

 hair is done for the purpose of freeing the novices from the 

 stooping position in which they have had to walk during the time 

 they have been out with the kooringal. After this, the Beegay 

 retire several yards, shouting as before, the boys remaining with 

 their backs towards them. 



The Beegay then form into a semi-circle, and join the semi- 

 circle formed by the kooringal, making a complete ring of men 

 around the boys. Two men now step out into the open space 

 within the circle and commence swinging bullroarers, and the 

 kooringal beat their weapons together and call out, " Don't burn 

 the boys yet." When the men with the bullroarers get giddy, 

 they are replaced by others, who keep the instruments sounding 

 continually. Amidst this tumultuous clamour of human voices, 

 clashing of weapons and roar of murrawans, the boys faces are 

 turned round and they are told to look. The guardians tell them 

 that these instruments represent the voice of Dhurramoolun, 

 and that all the similar sounds which they have yet heard have 

 been made in this way. The men now caution the boys not to 

 reveal what they have seen to the women, or the uninitiated, or 



* " Kamilaroi Class System of the Australian Aborigines," Proc. Roy. Geog. Sop. Aust. 

 (Q.)x., 19. 



