88 MATHEWS—SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES. (Jan. 19, 
mother’s phratry, which may be exemplified in tabular form as 
under: 
TABLy. Nos 3; 
Phratry. Husband. Wife. Offspring. 
A Kookoojiba, Koocheebinga, Koocheebinga. 
B Koocheebinga, Kookoojiba, Kookoojiba. 
Among the coastal tribes, in order to prevent} consanguineous 
marriages, the chief old men appoint certain women to be wumree 
to certain young men, and the men thus selected are also uumree 
to these women. This can be illustrated by supposing that a 
woman who is wumree to a certain man has a son and a daughter. 
The man, who may be called A, who is also wumree to her, takes 
her daughter as his wife, and if he himself has a sister he is sup- 
posed to give her to the woman’s son, who would, of course, be his 
wife’s brother. ‘Tien the man A and his wife’s brother would _be- 
come what the natives call maratho, which signifies that they must 
always assist one another in time of danger. A man and woman 
who are wzumree, therefore, stand in, the relationship of son-in-law 
and mother-in-law. They never speak to one another as long as 
they live, and avoid looking at each other if possible, yet remaining 
the best of friends. 
Female children are betrothed in their infancy to such of the 
males as may be entitled to claim them as their wives in accord- 
ance with the laws of the tribe. A man is supposed to contribute 
something in the way of food to his future wife, until she is old 
enough to go and cohabit with him. 
Where the law permits, women who have very dark hair and 
complexions are appointed wwmree to men whose complexions and 
hair are lighter, and wce versa. This distinction in the color is 
also apparent in the betrothals, a lighter girl being betrothed to a 
darker boy, and a darker girl to a lighter boy. In all cases, how- 
ever, the parties who are zzmrce, and also those who are betrothed, 
must belong to opposite phratries.* 
The tribes who adjoin the Kookatha nation on the west are sub- 
stantially the same people in language and customs, and extend 
onwards into western Australia. Commencing about Israelite Bay 
1The Parnkalla divisions, Kirraroo and Matturri, are known at least as far 
west as Murat Bay, owing to the intermarriage of the people of the two nations. 
