The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes. 173 



touching. The guardians and kooringal then enter the yard, and 

 each man sits down facing his mother's yam-stick. Each novice 

 then shakes the log to let his mother know he is there, but does 

 not speak, and then runs away, not looking behind him, to a camp 

 two or three hundred yards away, provided for the novices and 

 their guardians. During this time the bull-roarer is heard in 

 some place adjacent, but out of sight. 



As soon as the boys run away, the women are allowed to get 

 up. They then pull down the bushes forming the yard and find 

 the men sitting there — the latter now get up and dance and 

 make a buzzing or humming noise on the cleared space inside 

 the thurrawonga — the women standing around. The women 

 then take the men to some convenient place close by, where 

 they place them in four groups, the men of each class being 

 together, and light fires to the windward of them. Green 

 bushes are placed on the tires to make a thick smoke. The 

 Dilbi women smoke the Dilbi men, and the Kupathin women 

 smoke the Kupathin men. After this the men disperse to their 

 usual quarters. In the meantime all the neophytes have gone 

 into their own camp accompanied by some of the men. That 

 night the novices, accompanied by some of the men go round 

 the women's camp, out of sight, and walking quietly so that 

 their movements may not be heard, sounding bullroarers. 



Next day the boys, carrying a smoky stick and bushes, are 

 hrought up to the women's camp, a man sounding a bullroarer 

 behind them in some secluded spot. Several men walk behind 

 the boys, throwing pieces of bark at them, sometimes hitting 

 them. On reaching the women's camp the boys are placed sitting 

 on a log in groups according to their classes. The women then 

 light tires on which they burn green bushes on the windward side 

 of the boys, so as to envelope them in a cloud of smoke. The 

 Dilbi women smoke the Dilbi boys and the Kupathin women the 

 Kupathin boys. The mothers hold the boys in the smoke. 



After this ceremony, the various tribes who have attended as 

 visitors make preparations for returning to their several districts, 

 and in the course of a few days all have gone away. The novices 

 of each tribe ai-e kept under the control of their guardians for 

 some time, and have to conform to certain rules laid down by the 

 old men. 



