230 



Nearly all the tribes I am now dealing with plait the hair into a 

 conical form, with string made from the fur of the opossum. 

 The tribes further inland leave the hair very bushy, and 

 ornament the forehead with kangaroo teeth, which are attached 

 to the hair. The covering of the private parts is nearly the 

 same throughout Australia ; witli these tribes that of the male is 

 called " Woocarrala," and that of the female, " Mada Madda " ; 

 these are also made from opossum-fur. On very special occasions 

 they wear necklets made of short lengths of grass-stems threaded 

 like l^eads. 



4. They do not take their names from animals or plants, and 

 they cannot tell how, or from what, their names are derived ; 

 but, as with us, many water-holes, and particularly camping 

 places, are named after chiefs or other notable men of their 

 tribes ; for instance, Bindawadgie is the name of a member of 

 the Leeanuwa tribe and a large camping place is named after 

 him. When a child is born it takes the name of some dead 

 relative or friend of the same tribe, and sometimes a name is 

 manufactured from portions of other names. They will not eat 

 the flesh of the crocodile, not on account of it being held sacred, 

 but because they Ijelieve that if they eat it they will waste away 

 and die. The flesh of the crocodile is certainly not very tempt- 

 ing and the odour is extremely offensive. 



5. They will not, for the same reason, even touch its bones. 



6. They assert that their tribes originate from a monstrous 

 native whom they call " Gnabya," and in their lamentations the 

 refrain of " Gnabya ! Gnabya ! ! Gnabya ! ! ! " is frequently 

 heard ; but beyond this it is but very seldom any reference is 

 made to him. It is generally the very old women who are loudest 

 in this refrain, and they will keep it up with a dirge-like monotony 

 for twelve or fourteen hours until thoroughly exhausted. 



Birth, Descent, Adoptiox. 



7. At the birth of a child the mother is always assisted by hei* 

 mother or some near relative. At the approach of delivery she 

 retires into seclusion and remains there until a few hours after 

 the birth ; the after-birth is buried immediately, as they have a 

 very strong superstition that if it be eaten by a wild dog the 

 child also will be eaten by dogs. The umbilical cord is tied with 

 fibre, generally very close to the navel ; it is then severed with a 

 sharp piece of flint, and the infant is wrapped in " paperbark '" 

 (Melaleuca Leucodendron ). Xo ceremony of any kind at birth 

 is observed. 



8. During pregnancy no difference in diet is ol^tserved until 

 after quickening ; very little meat is then taken until about ten 

 days after the birth of the child. The mother subsists during 



