PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS—SECTION F. 111 
close to the Nanja. Very often they actually find the original 
one, in which case we may presume that some one lke the 
child’s paternal grandfather, who always forms one of the search 
party, has thoughtfully provided himself with one. It is difficult 
for us to understand the ease with which a native can delude 
himself into beheving what is an evident fraud, at least, it is 
so to us, but it has to be remembered that the aborigine lives 
in the midst of mystery, and has to provide some, to him, satis- 
factory explanation of the processes of Nature. If another man 
believes the myths which all are taught then he must. He 
accordingly believes that the spirit has dropped the Churinga, 
or, at least, that it has one with which it is specially associated. 
Now the Churinga are all kept, that is, those of the local group 
are, in one special store house, the locality of which is known 
to the old men, and so it is not difficult for any old man to go to 
the store, and extract a special Churinga for the purpose. The 
spirits are constantly visiting the spot, indeed, when once a 
spirit has undergone reincarnation his Churinga lies in the store 
house, and there is no difficulty in a man taking one out, 
perhaps, under the impression that he has been told in a dream 
that the child is the reincarnation of some special ancestor who 
has been living in company with the Churinga at the store 
house. He firmly believes that in the case of other children the 
Churinga are really found, and so, not to be behind the others, 
he has to resort to what we should call a fraud. However, the 
result is that every man and woman in the tribe is represented 
by a Churinga in the sacred store house of the local group to 
which he or she belongs. The latter has usually the form of a 
cleft in some wild, rocky range, the exact position of which is 
only known to the initiated men; no woman dare go near to the 
sacred spot under penalty of death. | 
The old men have no difficulty in determining after consulta- 
tion exactly which of their far-away ancestors it is who has 
come to life again, and then, though never uttered in. public, 
the child bears as its secret or Churinga name that of the 
ancestor. The women never know their secret names, and the 
men only after they have been initiated, and have shown by 
their demeanour that they are capable of being made acquainted 
with the sacred matters of the tribe. No sooner is the child 
born than, unknown to itself, it becomes the object of magic 
arts; the navel string is dried, swathed in fur, and tied round 
the child’s neck. The necklace not only facilitates growth, 
keeps it quiet and contented, but it also has the admirable. 
faculty of deadening to the child the noise made by the camp 
dogs. To keep sickness away from the child a black line is 
painted over the eyebrow. 
The natives believe that children who are born with their 
eyes open will have special power when they arrive at maturity 
