TRANSFORMATION 241 



The question presents itself whether the belief in 

 reincarnation is found among other Australian tribes. 

 The answer must be that it is found, but our know- 

 ledge of the tribes is too limited to enable us to say 

 definitely that all of them have held it. Only among 

 a few of the tribes have systematic and prolonged in- 

 vestigations taken place by persons whose attention 

 has been directed to the point, and by them only 

 within recent years ; and the information we have is 

 in all cases imperfect. In the west of Victoria the 

 tribes from Avoca River to the boundary of South 

 Australia and from the Murray River to the Main 



held by these tribes and the Arunta, see Cent. Tribes, 513 ; North. 

 Tribes, 450. 



It is right to say that a somewhat different account from that 

 outlined above of the philosophy of all these tribes is given by 

 Mr. Strehlow, a German missionary who has lived for some years 

 among the Arunta. He seems to have had his attention first called 

 to the matter by inquiries addressed to him in consequence of the 

 works just cited. He therefore prosecuted researches among the 

 Arunta and Loritja, and has recently published the results through 

 the Municipal Museum of Frankfort on the Main. Space does not 

 allow me to examine these results at length. To some extent they 

 confirm the statements of Spencer and Gillen. The sexual relations 

 of men and women have nothing to do with birth. In some cases 

 birth may be the voluntary reincarnation of a primeval ancestor. It 

 is more usually the incarnation of a child-germ emanating from one 

 of such primeval ancestors and not previously born (Strehlow, i. 15 ; 

 ii. 51 sqq.). Reincarnation is a common feature of the belief of 

 peoples in the lower culture, and is as we shall see widely held in 

 Australia. Moreover the account given by Spencer and Gillen has 

 been confirmed by independent inquiry among the Arunta and 

 neighbouring tribes (Mathews, Proc. R. Soc. N. S. Wales, xl. 107, 

 sqq. ; xli. 147). Accordingly on the whole there seems little doubt 

 that it may be safely trusted. Mr. Strehlow's report, however, 

 agrees in some particulars with the beliefs of other tribes (infra 

 p. 242) ; and it may very likely represent the opinions of a section 

 of the Arunta and Loritja. 



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