MESHAGES AND "MESfiAGli STICKS.' •— II AMLYXHAliltlS. 13 



ON MESSAGES AND "MESSAGE STICKS" 

 EMPLOYED AMONG THE QUEENSLAND 



ABORIGINES. 



Illustrated by Specimens In the Queensland Museum Collections. 



By R. Hamlyn-Harris, D.Sc. F.R.A.I., F.L.S., Etc. 



Nothing appears more natural than that primitive people .such as the 

 Queen.sland aborigines, having an individual or tribal message to deliver, should 

 convey such by means of a definite token, as a guarantee of good faith, both of 

 the me&sage and the sender ; and that such a token should be marked to assist 

 the mcs.senger in the delivery of his message. 



On account of the distance which such messengers would on occasions 

 have to travel, " memory sticks" would become almost a necessity, and there 

 is, I think, little doubt that certain marks are undoubtedly knowTi and recognised 

 by tribal customs, so that, however many meaningless marks such a token might 

 contain, there are nevertheless certain signs which would always be readily 

 understood. Such tokens or so-called " message sticks," however, would not 

 be used merely as " memory sticks" but for other definite purposes, such as, 

 for instance, a summons to an individual or group of individuals (for either 

 private or public reasons) to attend an initiation ceremony or to settle a dispute, 

 or for general purposes of corroboree. Sometimes a " message stick" is purely 

 an introduction, and at other times may serve as a passport through hostile 

 country. 



The same token has on occasions a totemic significance, especially when 

 carried in conjunction with the bull-roarer. The fact that a " message stick" 

 is often retained until the arrival of the .sender almost suggests a po.ssibility 

 of its being regarded as a temporary " keepsake." 



It is necessary at the outset to realise one important fact, and that is 

 that these " sticks" must not be interpreted as a white man's letter would 

 be, nor must it be supposed that the " sticks" could " talk " in a white man's 

 language. A native boy would emphasize this by saying that the black boys 

 " were uotha kind," and that the boys make them to send " alonga notha man." 

 To suppose that a " message stick" could be interpreted from the white man's 

 standpoint is ridiculed even by the blacks themselves, any one of whom might 



