xxj AUSTRALIAN AND POLYNESIAN RACES 465 



resemble each other in the most remote parts of the world, 

 and in languages which in most respects are quite unlike 

 each other. So, the words for father and mother — the 

 infantile ha, fa, ma — occur in every part of the world, 

 though sometimes transposed in their meaning. Similar 

 resemblances to the Australian have been found by other 

 writers among the languages of the hill tribes of India, 

 and with these peoples there is much more agreement in 

 physical characters. 



Mr. Curr also adduces a number of curious customs 

 which are common to Australia and Africa, such as the 

 great importance attached to sorcery ; the forming raised 

 scars on the body ; the habit of knocking out the front 

 teeth ; the practice of a form of circumcision ; the prohi- 

 bition of marriage Avithin certain class-divisions ; the forms 

 of burial, and a few others. But some of these customs 

 are very widespread among savages, and unless it can be 

 shown that a considerable number of them are strictly 

 limited to Australia and Africa thej^ can afford no proof 

 of a common origin of the two races. More interesting 

 is the fact that the peculiar Australian weapon, the 

 boomerang, finds its nearest representative among the 

 Abyssinians and the ancient Egyptians, though it is doubt- 

 ful whether it had with these people the same peculiarities 

 of returning and erratic flight. It is possible that the 

 weapon was more widely spread in early times, but was 

 gradually superseded by the bow and other superior weapons; 

 but it can hardly be held to prove any identity of race. 



Resemblance of Australians to the Ainos. 



If we look broadly, and without prejudice or preposses- 

 sion at the physical features of the Australians, it is evi- 

 dent that they cannot be classed either with the Negroid 

 or the Mongolian types of man. There remains only the 

 Caucasian, and, though of a very low type, in all essential 

 features they agree with these ; and if we look abroad for 

 other isolated fragments of the same race, we find one of 

 them in the Ainos, or hairy people, of Japan. These 

 curious people agree in many respects with the best types 



VOL. I. H H 



