1903.] MATHEWS—LANGUAGES OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 259 
PREPOSITIONS. 
In front, munggara. In rear, wallungga. Between, pimita. 
On the other side, kawatadyula. On this side, ilamgidda, Up, 
kaba. Down, warri. Around, kokari. 
Conjunctions and interjections are omitted. 
NUMERALS. 
One, kurrukun. Two, bulari. 
A Mystic or SECRET LANGUAGE. 
Before concluding this short article on the speech of the Austra- 
lian aborigines, I wish to refer to a secret language, used by the 
men at the ceremonies of initiation, but which is never spoken in 
the presence of women, or in the presence of those youths who 
have not yet entered upon the prescribed course of initiation. 
Whilst the novitiates are away in the bush in charge of the elders 
of the tribe, they are taught a mystic name for surrounding objects 
of every-day life, for animals, for parts of the human body, and 
short sentences of general utility. This language is different in 
different tribes. 
I was the first author to draw attention to this mystic tongue,* 
and during the past year I contributed to the Royal Society of New 
South Wales some vocabularies of the secret languages of the 
Kurnu’ and other Australian tribes. I consider my discovery of 
this secret form of speech is of great linguistic importance, and 
invite my readers to peruse the vocabularies referred to. 
In connection with this subject it may be mentioned that in 1901 
I contributed an article to the Royal Geographical Society of 
Queensland, on some ‘‘ Aboriginal Songs at Initiation Ceremo- 
nies,’?* in which I published several sacred chants in the secret 
tongue, which are the first songs of the kind ever set to music. 
VOCABULARY OF ANEWAN WORDS. 
The following vocabulary, containing about 210 of the most im- 
portant words in general use by the Anéwan tribes, has been pre- 
pared by me from notes taken in the camps of the aborigines. 
1 Yourn. Anthrop. /nst., London, Vol. xxv, p. 310. 
2 Journ. Roy. Soc. N. S. Wales, Vol. xxxvi, pp. 157-160. 
3 Queensland Geographical Journal, Vol. xvii, pp. 61-63. 
