348 BEPORT— 1891. 



ditiou of Australians." I feel inclined to go somewhat beyond 

 this, and to say that it is a survival of the time when the 

 ancestors of the Aryan peoples were in that condition. If so, 

 he might possibly say that its earliest use may be assigned to a 

 time still more remote, for it is found in the ceremonies of 

 savage races wide apart and of diverse stocks. I am not satis- 

 tied that its use under precisely similar circumstances is suffi- 

 ciently explained by the supposition that it was independently 

 discovered by the early savages. 



The ancient mysteries of classical times have had a great 

 fascination for numbers of writers, and have exercised their 

 ingenuity in reconstructing their course and explaining their 

 object. I cannot feel any doubt, taking Greece as an example, 

 that the most venerated of the mysteries has been handed 

 down to historic times from a period which was then com- 

 pletely lost to view in the obscurity of the past, their extreme 

 antiquity causing their origin to be attributed to heroic and 

 divine authors. 



To draw any parallel between the boras of the Australians 

 and the mysteries of Greece may seem to be entirely far- 

 fetched and unreasonable ; but the use of the " bullroarer " as 

 a sacred object shows that there is, in so far as concerns it, a 

 connection, or at least a striking parallel in practice. There 

 was extreme secrecy as to the mysteries, with a death- 

 penalty for its breach. Their origin was attributed to a 

 heroic or divine being. The conduct of the mysteries was in 

 the hands of men who were of a sacred character, by reason of 

 their sometimes hereditary office. The ceremonies were calcu- 

 lated to elevate the initiated in the moral sentiments accord- 

 ing to the spirit of the times. The circumstances attending 

 the mysteries were such as to produce a highly-strung mental 

 state, which rendered the novices extremely susceptible to 

 impressions, which became indelible. The teaching of the 

 sacred myths was by means of impressive spectacular repre- 

 sentations. Such statements as these may be made as to the 

 Eleusinian mysteries, and they apply variously to the boras of 

 the tribe with which I have personal acquaintance, and I have 

 little doubt that they represent those of other tribes. 



The instruction given to the novices at the boras is clearly 

 intended to elevate them in their conception of duty towards 

 the elder men, towards their fellow tribesmen, and in their 

 feelings of reverence for Baiame or Daramulgun, the " All- 

 father " and instructor of the tribe. Among the striking 

 spectacular representations which are given during the night 

 for the instruction and amusement of the novice there are 

 some which might become developed into such representations 

 as those which are believed to have been made at Eleusis. 

 Among these, I may note the passage across the carefully- 



