21 



Notes on the Wororra tribe of North-Western 



Australia. 



By J. R. B. Love. 



(Communicated by Professor Sir E. C. Stirling, 

 M.D., F.R.S.) 



[Read November 11, 1915.] 



Map and Plates II. to VIII. 



Locality. 

 The Wororra occupy the country lying between the 

 Glenelg and Prince Regent Rivers and the sea, an area of 

 about 25 miles in width by about 60 miles at its greatest 

 length. 



Number and Composition of the Tribe. 



The tribe numbers probably about 300, and of these prob- 

 ably less than fifty are children under twelve years of age. 

 The men are of uncommonly fine physique, tall and handsome ; 

 but the majority of the women are rather undersized, and do 

 not compare favourably with the men in physique. It is 

 difficult to understand how it is that there are so few children 

 among such a vigorous and healthy people as are the Wororra. 

 Probably, however, the Wororra country carries as large a 

 population as it can support in its present condition. This, 

 with the fact that most of the married men are past middle 

 age, while a girl becomes married at about the age of ten 

 years, may possibly prevent the increase of the tribe. 



Marriage. 



An infant girl is betrothed to a man of the tribe, and at 

 the age of puberty, or even earlier, she becomes his wife. 

 The result is that the older men have usually several wives, 

 two being a common number, some of the older men having 

 as many as four, while the young men have none. 



Rumburrb. 

 Two persons who stand to each other in such relationship 

 that intermarriage between them is forbidden are said to be 

 "rumburrb" to one another. A man becomes rumburrb to his 

 mother-in-law. This relationship is most frequent between 

 man and woman, but it also exists between man and man, and 

 woman and woman. Either of such parties nAist not look 

 at, speak to, nor mention the name of the other. On 

 several occasions when I have inquired the name of a woman 



