22 



from some man lie has told another man to give it to me, 

 and I have found that the first man is rumburrb to the 

 woman under discussion. 



Gestures denoting Relationship. 

 I have not sufficient knowledge of the tribe to describe 

 in detail the system of relationship, but a feature worth 

 noting is that each relationship has its corresponding gesture; 

 e.g., a man mentioning the name of another and then bending 

 up one arm so as to touch his shoulder with his finger-tips 

 implies that the other man is his "erraia," or tribal (not 

 necessarily actual) father. Similarly a man holding the 

 nipple of his breast between finger and thumb, and referring 

 to a woman, implies that the woman is his "karrunya," or 

 actual mother ; while the woman performing the same gesture 

 implies that the man mentioned is her "ebunnung," or actual 

 son. In the same fashion there exist a great many gestures 

 each implying special relationships. 



Gesture Language. 

 Apart from the gestures denoting relationships the 

 Wororra have not developed a system of these signs to the 

 extent that occurs in some of the Central Australian tribes, 

 in which the use of gestures has attained the level of a sign 

 language. The Wororra, however, have signs for a great 

 many animals and birds, and, in many cases, a different gesture 

 for the male and female of a species. 



Maintenance of Authority. 



In cases of wrongdoing, or of settling such matters as 

 •attendance at a corroboree, the authority of decision rests 

 usually, with the assembly of old men. 



I have not ascertained the existence, or non-existence, of 

 one definite leader in the tribal councils, but as far as I have 

 been able to judge influence seemed to be equally divided 

 between the oldest man of the tribe and another elderly man, 

 who, though not at all a powerful man physically, yet 

 commanded great respect in the tribe. 



The young men abide by the decision of the elders, and 

 though they not infrequently grumble among themselves and 

 make disrespectful statements concerning the elders, they 

 unhesitatingly obey. A common expression among grumbling 

 young men is that the old men are "nuru" (stinking). 



Responsibility of Relatives. 

 The law of common responsibility among certain relatives 

 for the offences of one of their number obtains. On one 



