32 RED OCHRE AND ITS USE BY THE ABORIGINES. 



Now. all the specimens show that the red oxide of 

 iron resulting from roasting was subsequently removed, 

 but not as we would suppose by either crushing the 

 whole specimen or by grinding, but by scraping the 

 roasted pieces. The red crust was scraped off by means 

 of a tronatta, and the traces left behind by this operation 

 are. most chraracteristic. They consist in a number of 

 parallel, short scratches, which might almost be com- 

 pared to the scratches of ice-worn boulders. The ap- 

 pearance of the specimens, the curved scratched surface, 

 sometimes exhibiting faces like a crystal, conclusively 

 proves that the red crust cannot have been removed by 

 grinding, but must have been taken off by scraping. 



The question how the red ochre was removed from 

 the roasted piece of iron ore is of some importance. It 

 has generally been assumed that the so-called " mor- 

 tiers " of Europe were nothing else but a kind of palette 

 for grinding colours, in particular red ochre. Similar 

 " mortiers " have been found in Tasmania, and I possess 

 two typical specimens from Melton-Mow^bray. The ap- 

 pearance of all the pieces of red ochre conclusively 

 proves that the colour was removed by scraping, and 

 not by grinding ; the hypothesis that this peculiar kind 

 of stones served as palettes is no longer tenable. 



We may therefore assume that the Aborigines first 

 roasted a suitable piece of iron ore, and afterwards 

 scraped off the roasted crust, mixing the powder with 

 grease, and then rubbed the whole mixture well into 

 the hair, where it eventually dried, forming the peculiar 

 ringlets which were the chief adornment of the " pug- 

 gana " (i). 



And iw'liat may be the origin of this peculiar custom ? 

 Strzelecki assumes that it was done to prevent the gene- 

 ration of vermin ; but if this is correct, why did only the 

 men and not the women resort to it? I think Ling 

 Roth is quite justified in refuting this somewhat illogical 

 theor}^, but he offers no other explanation. Perhaps the 

 following hypothesis may be nearer the mark : — • 



The Tasmanian word for red ochre is ba-la-wine, 

 which literally translated means " blood." The Tas- 

 manian smeared " blood " on his hair, though this blood 



(i) Adult Aborigine. 



