168 The Glassificatory System of 



The terms of kinship used by one of those South 

 Australian tribes, the Narrinyeri, have been partially 

 furnished to me by the Kev. Geo. Taplin, of the Point 

 Macleay Mission. The information which he gives me is so 

 extremely valuable, as far as it goes, that I am j&Ued with 

 regret because it goes no farther. Narrinyeri is a word 

 signifying " belonging to men," and is arrogated to them- 

 selves by that tribe as their exclusive right. They consider 

 other nations to be unworthy of the title, and speak of them 

 contemptuously, as merkani, or wild. Here we have 

 amusingly reproduced the (Sap^apoL of the Greeks, and the 

 undertone of contempt which is heard in our own 

 " foreigner." Human nature is the same all the world over, 

 and every nation says in its heart, " We are the people." 

 As far as I can jvidge from the terms of kinship supplied by 

 Mr. Taplin, the Narrinyeri system is Turanian. It has the 

 following specific terms : Maiyanowe or Mutthanowe, my 

 grandparent ; Nanghai, my father ; Nainkowa, my mother ; 

 Wanowi, my uncle ; Barno, my aunt ; Gelanowe, my elder 

 brother ; Maranowe, my elder sister ; Tarte, my j^ounger 

 brother or sister ; Porlean, my child, Nanghare, my nephew 

 or niece, a male speaking ; Mbari, my nephew or niece, a 

 female speaking ; Maiyarare or Mutthari, my grandchild ; 

 together with a number of terms whose exact meaning I am 

 uoable at present to ascertain ; but which are probably 

 either resolvable into the terms already given, or traces of 

 new regulations restricting the old license. It is possible, 

 however, that we may find in them evidences of an arrested 

 development of Turanian ideas. 



One remarkable peculiarity of the system is that I call 

 my son-in-law and my daughter-in-law " my grandchildren," 

 and they call me " grandfather." This peculiarity I find in 

 the Fraser's Island system also, which was furnished to me 

 by the Rev. E. Fuller. Now among all the Australian 

 Aboriginal tribes concerning which I have been able to 

 gather information, there exists a singular taboo between a 

 man and his mother-in-law. "When a blackfellow is 

 brought into accidental contact with his mother-in-law," 

 says one of my correspondents, " his mingled shame, fear, 

 and wrath, are quite ludicrous to behold." " If a native is 

 compelled to speak to his mother-in-law," writes another, 

 " they will tarn back to back, and shout as if they were far 

 distant the one from the other." 



If this taboo prevail between a woman and her father-in- 



