Blood and Shade Divisions of Australian Tribes. 3 



all events in certain cases, the natives themselves have only a dim, 

 very unreliable and inconsistent knowledge, but are fitted in 

 to suit a theory either of the conflict of curly and straight haired 

 men, dark and light coloured, or sluggish and rapid blooded 

 peoples, are not due to the desire of the natives to explain the 

 long lost significance of the moiety names. 



On philological grounds Mr. Mathew has attempted to show 

 the equivalence of various moiety names to one another, and 

 has attributed to them meanings, such as eagle-hawk and crow, 

 which, in certain cases, are either apparently quite unknown to 

 the natives who use them, or concerning the exact application 

 of which the natives themselves are uncertain. 



Philological evidence derived from tribes that have no written 

 language, amongst whom words are continually changing, and 

 amongst whom, further, the same word in dififerent tribes may 

 liave quite a different meaning, more especially when, in order 

 to homologise words in use in various tribes, such as the names 

 of moieties, the elision or insertion of consonants, and a change 

 •of vowels is necessary, must be received with the greatest 

 -caution. 



Whilst fully realising that the question of " Bloods and 

 Shades " requires further investigation, more especially in view 

 of the fact that Dr. Rivers has drawn attention to a somewhat 

 similar feature in regard to the dual organisation in certain 

 parts of Melanesia, there are certain serious difficulties that 

 arise on closer examination of the matter so far as the evidence 

 as yet brought forward is concerned. I venture to suggest that 

 the reporters of such evidence as we possess, so far at least as 

 it relates to Australia, have scarcely recognised sufficiently what 

 it implies in regarjd. .to the colour sense and knowledge, both 

 ■anatomical and physiological, possessed by the aboriginals. In 

 the first place, when we are told that the Australian aboriginal 

 ;actually distinguishes the shades of colour of skin and blood, 

 or the straightness or curliness of hair, we may feel quite cer- 

 tain that we have not arrived at the true significance of the 

 matter. I have tested natives in many Australian tribes in re- 

 gard to their colour sense by means of the recognised colour 

 tests. So far as my experience goes they only differentiate 

 "between, and have distinct names for, what we call black, white, 

 red and yellow. I am, of course, only speaking of the aboriginal 

 in his natural state. This is to be associated with the fact that 

 charcoal, gypsum or pipeclay, red and yellow ochre are practically 



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