34 
Naming of Natural Oljects.—Many native words have had a 
direct origin in their formation. They are imitative of the calls 
of birds, express characteristic actions, or imply similarity to 
other familiar objects. The bell-bird (Oreoica petroica) is called 
*ban-ban-balelle,” the value and distribution of the separate 
syllables of this word corresponding to the never-ceasing call of 
that bird. So also the mopork* (Ninox boobook) is called 
* kore-gore,” which name is in allusion to the sound of the 
nightly call of the bird. A blue hawk goes by the name of 
“kaleya gadabongu," signifying “ emu-egg-breaker," from the 
fact that this bird is known to steal and eat emu eggs. Sarco: 
stemma, australe, to which white man has given the name of 
“milk bush,” on account of its milky sap, the natives call 
“ epi-epi ”—“ epi” ordinarily meaning a female's breast. 
Naming of Heavenly Bodies.—Further may be noted the for- 
mation of names for the heavenly bodies by comparing them with 
earthly objects. The Southern Cross is compared with the claw 
of an eaglehawk (Aquila audaz), receiving the name “ Warrida- 
jinna.” The Coalsack, situated close to the Cross, is compared 
with a resting emu, and consequently the name “ Kaleya- 
pubanye" has resulted. The Milky Way is talked of as a water- 
course or creek-bed, viz, “Karu.” 
Silent Correspondence.— The strict silence that has to be 
observed while stalking game has given rise to silent correspon- 
dence by means of signs and gestures.t Thus a native, having 
come upon a fresh track of a kangaroo, wishes to convey the fact 
to his companion, some little distance off, without producing, at 
the same time, any cause to attract the attention of the game. 
This he achieves by imitating the leaping of the kangaroo with 
his hand—at the same time representing the direction of the 
track and the distance which separates the individual imprints 
in the sand. This, in other words, informs the second native 
whether the kangaroo was in full flight or leisurely hopping 
along. Similarly the winding track left in the sand by a snake 
is indicated by a zigzag motion of the hand in a direction corres- 
ponding with the course of the track. A peculiar method 
adopted to indicate upon asking the direction in which a certain 
thing or natural feature is situated is to turn the head facing in 
the particular direction, protruding the lips in an ugly, snout- 
like manner and using either of the words “ würnma ” or tale,” 
according to whether the object is far away or close at hand. 
ж The bird that gives the familiar ‘‘ mo-pok callis now generally 
recognised to be the boobook-owl (Ninox boobook), although up till 
recently it was supposed to be the tawny shouldered frog-mouth 
(Podargus ).—See Campbell: ** Nests and Eggs of Austr. Birds”: 1900. 
+See E. C. Stirling: Gesture or Sign Language, Anthrop., Horn 
Exped., p. 111. 
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