231 



band goes to the lukara with a stick, and fetches his wife back 

 again, which rarely passes off without much turmoil. The preg- 

 nant women also live in the lukara, and build themselves one or 

 more huts, from wdiich the young men usually keep away. By 

 day the young natives sit in the shade (hunja) of a tree, and by 

 night sleep in the open-air ; if it rains, they see where they can 

 get a lodging. A village is called tmara, a single hut lunga — • 

 i.e., shade, the only purpose it is intended for. Wherever the 

 shadow falls, there they sit or lie, in the morning on the western, 

 in the evening on the eastern side, at mid-day inside, or under a 

 tree, the lire being close by. At night all sleep outside, even 

 during the cold winter, arranging themselves between the fires. 

 It is only during rainy weather that they go inside their huts. 

 When a member of the family dies, the hut is burnt down, and 

 the whole village shifted to some distant place. A council-hut is 

 not built. If the men desire to discuss anything, they sit aside 

 in the shade of a tree, or under the open sky. 



g. FOOD. 



Although the country is but poor, the natives have a number 

 of articles of food, many of them not of a choice or very diges- 

 tible nature. They divide these nominally into four classes, viz., 

 (1) garra, meat; (2) ntjaba, worms and beetles; (3) vianay 

 plants, vegetables ; (4) unkuala, sweets. 



1. Garra. Their meat consists of marsupials, tanatana ; birds, ^ 

 deha ; fishes, irhunga : lizards, loatjira ; snakes, apma. 



The natives hunt all kinds of marsupials with the greatest zest, 

 from the largest kangaroo down to the smallest mouse-like animal, 

 or dig them out of the ground. The larger the animal the better 

 pleased they are, but they refuse none. The hunting of these is 

 the privilege of the men, accompanied by the bigger boys. They leave 

 in the morning, taking with them their spears, tmera, and sticks, 

 usually going in pairs, or several together. They like windy or 

 stormy weather best. On such occasions they hasten away, for 

 the game is confused, and remains crouching, or hiding the head 

 in a bush. The hunters advance against the wind, or sideways 

 to it, in order that they may be neither heard nor scented, and in 

 this way they usually secure abundant booty. They often light 

 extensive fires to cowfuse the animals, and make it easy for them 

 to spear them. They employ all sorts of decoys. Espying some 

 game at a distance, one of them endeavors to attract its atten- 

 tion by various movements, while the other approaches unseen 

 from behind to spear it. They also go out hunting in bright 

 moonlight. The women are allowed to dig out the animals which 

 burrow. 



Lizards or snakes are captured by means of spears, sticks, or 



