1900.] MATHEWS-—SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES. 629 
as soon as it is clear, blood is sprinkled over his body from the arms 
of some of the initiated and he is required to drink a small quantity, 
wnich must be that of a man older and stronger than himself. He 
is then laid on a heap of green bushes piled up on the ground to 
serve as a platform, where a man who is not a relative cuts certain 
lines on the back of his shoulders, on his chest and on the arms 
with a sharp flake of stone similar to that used in circumcision. 
The position and extent of the scarring is regulated by the custom 
of the tribe to which the novitiate belongs. During these proceed- 
ings the men standing around make a great noise. After this cut- 
ting, which is all done on the same day, a coat of ground charcoal 
mixed with grease is applied to his body, and he is kept at that 
place for two or three days. 
He’ is then taken away into the scrubs by some initiated men 
who act as his guardians and provide him with food. He is not 
permitted to speak above a whisper, and firesticks are occasionally 
held close to the wounds to make them open and protrude as much 
as possible during the process of healing, in order to leave raised 
scars. Every evening about sundown he is freshly painted with a 
mixture of charcoal and grease on the arms, chest and face, the 
mixture being applied freely to the gashes in the flesh. 
In the course of about six weeks preparations are made for 
returning the graduate to the tribe. He is now at liberty to go in 
quest of such articles of food as game, honey, roots and so on. 
Next he is painted with red ochre and grease on the lower parts of 
his body and on the hands and arms as far as the elbows. He is 
then taken to a spot near the main camp, where he is met and wel- 
comed by the old men. A feast then takes place at which he con- 
tributes all the provisions he may have succeeded in obtaining, and 
gives presents to the men who participated in the ceremony of 
scarring his body. 
As already stated, the youths are taken away from the women 
after they are circumcised, again when they are subincised, 
and again after their bodies are scarred. During these long so- 
journs in the bush with the old men they are permitted to see and 
listen to certain dances and songs, the secret lore of their fore- 
fathers and the traditional customs of the tribe. A mystic lan- 
guage or vocabulary is also inculcated, which is known only to 
those who have passed through the prescribed course of instruction. 
Every man and woman, all the animals, plants and surrounding 
