33 



fig. 27. The spear measures five feet in length ; the head or 

 prong is made of mangrove wood.^ It is employed principally 

 for settling minor quarrels between two 

 individuals, in which the opponents skil- 

 fully dodge the missiles, each dancing 

 grotesquely in defiance to his opponent, by 

 jumping from foot to foot, and holding 

 the arms half -erect and bent at elbow 

 and wrist, while the body is thrown for- 

 ward and the head back.r See fig. 28. 

 A ''close shave" is greeted with a pro- 

 nounced ''irr."| 



This light spear, on hitting the ground, 

 skips along the surface, and may be re- 

 covered uninjured. A large number of 

 these spears is always available, owing to 

 their easy construction. 



Messrs. Spencer and Gillen state that 

 this form of spear ''is thrown by the hand, 

 and never wdth a spear-thrower." § This 

 must not be regarded as applying to all 

 tribes alike. So far as my observations 

 went, spear-throwers of the type described on page 35 

 were used specially for spears of this type by all the north- 

 western tribes, with the exception of the Ginmu, but there 

 is no reason to doubt that these also use them. 

 Two varieties of this type must be added : 

 One is identical with the above in shape and design, but 

 twice as large; the reed shaft measuring four feet and the 

 mangrove head five feet in length. It is used for hunting 

 and fighting; in the latter case, particularly, when a lubra 

 is concerned. 



Fig. 28. 



* Macgillivray defines this type as spears, shafted Avitli reeds, 

 the smallest of which are no bigger than arrows: Narrative of a 

 Voyage of H.M.S. '^Rattlesnake," 1852, vol. i., p. 147. 



t Cf., ''A single black would hurl his spears one after ano- 

 ther at an opposing blnckfellow, who Avon Id as adroitly avoid 

 them, ducking his head, bending his back, or .shifting slightly to 

 one side." Parkliouse : Austr. Assoc. Adv. Science, vol. vi.. 1895, 

 p. 642. 



X This exclamation seems general. Stokes records it of the 

 Port Darwin natives as indicative of fright; also of the King's 

 Sound tribe. Cf. Discoveries in Australia, vol. ii., p. 22, and 

 "^Muttered signs of approval . . . were given at any good 

 throws or a particularly clever avoidance of th.e spears." Park- 

 honse: Op. cif., p. 642. See also H. Basedow: Trans. Roy. Soc, 

 S.A., vol. xxviii., 1904, p. 24, ''a subdued 'irr,' partly expressing 

 pain, and partly disgust oii' temper." 



§ The Northern Tribes of Central Au.^tralia. p. 676. 



B 



