igog.] 



OF THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES. 



317 



out of sight. Possibly nearly all the specimens recovered by Mr. 

 Officer had originally been concealed with earth, but the violent 

 winds of that district had blown the sandy soil away and left them 

 visible. The grave was on a sandhill about three miles back from 

 the river and was therefore out of the way of the white men, whose 

 principal traffic lay along the course of the stream. 



Helmet-shaped objects, called kurno, known to have been worn 

 on the heads of widows as a sign of mourning, were made from 

 gypsum, burnt and pounded fine, and mixed with water. A fiber 



Fig. 6 shows the interior of the cap, with the marks or impression of 

 the net, and the size of its meshes, plainly discernible. This cap weighs il 

 lbs. I oz., and has been formed of kopai or gypsum in the way already de- 

 scribed. The specimen was found on a native grave on Lower Budda run, 

 Darling river. I am indebted to Mr. F. W. Beattie for the two photographs, 

 which he took at my request. 



or rush net was first placed on the woman's head to protect the hair, 

 and the soft mixture applied outside until it resembled a cap, hence 

 called " widow's caps " by the Europeans. The mixture was not all 

 put on at the same time but by a series of additions extending over a 

 few weeks. The marks of the meshes of the net are distinctly visible 

 in the interior of some of the " caps " of this kind which have been 

 preserved by white men. When the mourning cap had been worn 



