INHABITANTS OF AUSTRALIA. 379 



bora before being admitted as equals into the societ}^ o£ tbe men. In a large 

 number of tribes two incisors of the upper jaw are broken or extracted. Most of 

 tbe youths are subjected to circumcision, or else to various kinds of extremely 

 painful mutilations. They are also required to run down a kangaroo in the chase, 

 to remain alone in the forest without food for several days at the risk of their 

 lives, to endure horrid tortures without wincing, and so on. Amongst the Kurnai 

 of South Australia these probations end in a magnetic sleep, after which the youths 

 wake up "men." Then at last they are entitled to wear the girdle, bracelets, the fron- 

 tal band, and other ornaments, indicating that they have reached the virile state. 



These initiatory ceremonies are usually concluded with a corrohori, or tribal 

 gathering, held during the full moon, combining the administration of justice, par- 

 liaments, solemn treaties of alliance, and concluding with theatrical representations, 

 midnight dances, feasts, and orgies. Once initiated, the youths may take part in 

 the songs, dances, and oratorical displays. As members of the clan they are 

 branded on the breast or thigh with the kohong, that is, the national emblem, some 

 plant or animal, like the totem of the North American Redskins. But these 

 emblems are at times insignificant enough, a simple ant or spider, or other 

 small insect. The person so marked must henceforth show his respect for the 

 talisman that symbolises the family group, holding himself as the inseparable 

 companion or kinsman of all bearing the same totem, as well as of all natural 

 objects associated with his particular kobong. Thus during the funeral rites care 

 must be taken that the body be buried under a tree regarded as belonging to the 

 same clan. 



Tattooing is often limited to the figure of the kobong, but in some tribes the 

 body is covered with symmetrical scarifications of a rude design, incised by means 

 of sharp shells. On the north-east coast the natives also follow the Papuan custom 

 of piercing the cartilage of the nose and introducing a bit of stick or a kangaroo 

 bone, which impedes the respiration and obliges those so adorned to keep the 

 mouth open. According to the various occasions of war, feasts, or mourning they 

 paint the face and body in red, yellow, white, or black colours. White is an indica- 

 tion of grief, while red is the sacred colour reserved for the great events of the 

 tribal life. 



Before the arrival of the Europeans the natives of the tropical regions went 

 naked, or restricted their attire to a few rags or waist-bands of fibre, while in the 

 colder southern districts the women wore a smock or tunic of kangaroo skin. The 

 northern tribes still paint the face and body in various colours, and near Port 

 Darwin the white streaks traced on the black ground of the face give from a 

 distance the effect of a death's head. But the form and pattern of dress and orna- 

 ment, as well as of the dwellings, vary endlessly. In one place the only shelter 

 are the natural caves and rocks, in another a screen of foliage, hovels, and even, 

 rude stone structures. The weapons also differ greatly, though the most prevalent 

 are spears, clubs, and darts with fish-bone or flint heads. In certain districts the 

 aborigines still make use of unpolished stone hatchets, but the bow and arrow are 

 unknown, except along a small strip of the east coast. 



