Il6 ABORIGINES NAMES OF MINERALS AND ROCKS. 



represented certain Tasmanian rocks, most probably 

 diabas and granite. I am now in the position to con- 

 firm this opinion — in fact, it is now possible to make 

 out the meaning of the first and last word, and as the 

 remaining two are in all probability identical with the 

 first, the problem has been satisfactorily solved. 



Lenn-parenna 



is unquestionably a composite word, and at least two 

 words are known to me in which the word " parenna."' 

 forms the attribute. These are 



Matta-perenna:=Penis 

 Commena-purrenahr=rbeard. 



The first of these two words is composed of matta=. 

 ball=testicles and 



Perenna=spear. 

 the second of 



Commena=^chin, and 

 Purrenah spear. 



We have, therefore, 



Matta — perenna 

 Ball — spear=:pennis 

 Cemmena — perenna 

 'Chin=spear:=^beard. 



The last composition is rather illustrative ; the- 

 bristles growing on the chin look like tiny spears. Now,, 

 if we analyse the word 



Lenn-parenna, 



we have 



Lenn — loinT=stone, 

 Parenna^spear, 



therefore the literal translation is 



Stone — spear, 



or, as we would say, spear stone. Now, can we identif}- 

 any of the rocks with this " spear stone " ? The answer 

 is, Yes, and the identification is as easy as it is plain. It 

 is the basalt that is meant by the word spear stone. The 

 fine cokuims of basalt — for instance at Cape Raoul — 

 make it perfectly intelligible why the Aborigines should 

 call this rock spear stone. There is hardly anything 



