BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., PH.D., ETC. 37 



which it is safe to say were hardly those of the 

 Aborigines of Tasmania. This touch of sentiment rather 

 mars his otherwise clear description, and he has on ac- 

 count of this probably overlooked certain facts which 

 would be of the greatest importance to us were they 

 recorded. 



The account given by A. Cottrell (i) refers rather to 

 the customs observed than to the grave itself. Accord- 

 ing to him the corpse was burnt, and the relatives, 

 having collected the ashes, besmeared their faces with 

 it, and tied the remainder up in a piece of kangaroo 

 skin, which they wore about their person. According 

 to West, the skull of an infant was taken up from the 

 ashes, wrapped up in a piece of kangaroo skin, and 

 worn by a female, probably the mother. There cannot 

 be the slightest doubt that fragments of human bones, 

 tied up in a bit of skin, were highly prized as amulets 

 or charms by the Aborigines. However interesting 

 that may be, it does not bear on the question at issue, 

 viz., the disposal of the dead bodies. 



It is certain that the Aborigines burnt their dead, 

 but there is a considerable difference as to the disposal 

 of the ashes. If the practice referred to by Backhouse, 

 Cottrell, and West had been extensive, there would 

 have been hardly any ashes left. On the other hand, 

 Peron's statement is so explicit that it is safe to assume 

 that always a considerable quantity was left, which was 

 eventually covered in the way described by Peron. It 

 is therefore very probable that it was customary to burn 

 the dead, and some of the remains were worn as charms 

 •or amulets by the relatives, who probably besmeared 

 their faces also with the ashes (3). 



(3) I quote from Ling Roth. It seems that a good deal of 

 G. W. Walker's statements are based on information given to 

 him by A. Cottrell. 



(4) This fact throws a curious sidelight on a custom referred 

 to by the Bible — extreme grief was expressed by going in sack- 

 cloth and ashes. It is natural to ask, why ashes? If we assume 

 that this custom, used by later generations without knowing its 

 real meaning, was based on the custom of early mankind to 

 besmear their faces with the ashes of a deceased relative, we 

 have probably the true explanation of anotherwise strange 

 custom. To besmear the face with the ashes of the deceased 

 expressed the greatest grief for its loss, and after mankind be- 

 came more civilised they no longer used t the deceased's ashes, 

 but simply put any kind of ashes on the head. 



