THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA. 9 



who are permitted to be present at the opening ceremony only, 

 are lying on the ground all round the larger ring with their 

 faces covered. The boy, painted red all over (I speak of only 

 one, but there are several boys initiated at once), is brought 

 forward and made to lie down in the middle of it, and covered 

 with an opossum rug. Such of the old men as have been 

 appointed masters of the ceremonies now begin to throw him 

 into a state of fear and awe by sounding an instrument called 

 tirricoty, similar to what an English boy calls a " bull roarer." 

 This same ' ' bull roarer " is found in Central Africa, and is 

 there also used as a sacred instrument. In Australia the men 

 use it on all occasions when they wish to frighten the women 

 and boys, who cower with fear whenever they hear it. It 

 is made of a piece of thin wood or bark ; it is about nine 

 inches long, and is sometimes shaped and marked like a fish. 

 The roaring sound is supposed to be the voice of a dreaded 

 evil spirit who prowls about the black fellows' camp, especially 

 at night, and carries off, tears and devours those he can seize. 

 When the'performers think that the " boombat " (so they call 

 the novice) has been sufficiently impressed, tirricoty ceases to 

 speak ; thev then raise the boy from the ground and set hirn 

 in the ring, so that his face is turned towards the cleared track 

 which leads to the circle of imagery ; then an old man comes 

 forward, breathes strongly in his face, and makes him cast his 

 eyes upon the ground, for in this humble attitude he must 

 continue for some days. 



Two other old men next take the boy by the arms and lead 

 him along the track, and set him in the middle of the other 

 enclosure. As soon as this is done, the women rise from 

 their prostrate position and begin to dance and sing. The 

 Murring tribe, on our S.B. coast, place along this track or 

 path figures moulded in earth of various animals (the totems], 

 and one of Daramulum, a spii'it god whom they fear. Before 

 each of these figures the devotees have a dance, and a 

 " Koradjie " (that is, doctor or medicine man) brings up out 

 of his inside by his mouth, the "jo-e-a" or magic of the 

 totem before which he stands ; for the porcupine he shows 

 stuff like chalk, for the kangaroo stuff like glass, and so on. 

 Meanwhile the boy has been sitting in the smaller circle with 

 downcast eyes ; he is told to rise, and is led in succession to 

 each of the carved trees around it, and is made to look up for 

 a moment at the carvings on them, and while he does so the 

 old men raise a shout.* When he has come to know all the 



* A fire is kept constantly burning in the centre of this ring ; with this 

 compare the Vestal fire at Rome. The boy is made to lie within the ring prone 



