258 SOCIAL EVOLUTION 



very important part of their life. 44 In Australia, the 

 natives devote much time to the initiation of the young- 

 men into the rights and privileges of the tribe. These 

 initiation ceremonies are regarded as such an important 

 means of conserving the traditions of the people, that 

 the whole tribe occupies itself for three months together 

 with these elaborate functions. The education of the 

 Australian boy includes three sets of ceremonies. When 

 the boy has reached the age of twelve, the first ceremony 

 of ' ' throwing up in the air ' ' is performed. Then his nose 

 is bored for a nose-ring. Three or four years later, at 

 puberty, far more formidable ceremonies are undertaken 

 and a very painful operation is undergone. These rites 

 last ten days, during which the boy must not speak except 

 to answer questions. He is pledged to secrecy concern- 

 ing all that he sees and hears. He is impressed with the 

 importance of obeying the tribal precepts and learns 

 reverence for the superiority of the old men. At the age 

 of from twenty to twenty-five a still more impressive 

 series of rites is conducted which often lasts for several 

 months. In this period there are dances and the churinga 

 or sacred emblems are exhibited. Ceremonies imitating 

 various totem animals are performed with elaborate cos- 

 tumes. The young man is made to feel his importance 

 and responsibility in this initiation into all the mysteries 

 of the clan. The feeling of reverence for the old men 

 which is inculcated and the sense of pride at the posses- 

 sion of all this mysterious knowledge, tends to develop a 

 deeper sense of unity and tribal cohesion. 45 



The ceremonial life of primitive peoples is bound up 

 with a belief in magic. This belief is supplemented in 



44 See figure 79. 



45 Spencer and Gillen, op. cit., chs. vii-ix; and Chapin, op. cit., pp. 36-40. 



