6 Baldwin Spencer : Blood <tnd SJtade Divisions. 



in a female descent tribe all the children of the brother will be 

 " light-blooded," and all those of his sister " dark-blooded." 



It is difficult to form any theory as to what the aboriginal 

 really means by this differentiation of " shade " and " blood," 

 so far as actual colour is concerned, and yet the idea is so widely 

 spread that there must be something behind it, though this, I 

 feel sure, has nothing to do with actual " colour " or *' shade," 

 in regard to which there is no difference so far as the members 

 of different moieties are concerned. In connection with this I 

 was much struck with the fact, when minutely examining one 

 day twenty men of the Arunta tribe, representing both moieties, 

 and all sub-classes, that not only was I myself unable to detect 

 any difference in colour amongst them, but the natives themselves- 

 were equally unable to do so. 



After a very careful, long and close examination of natives 

 belonging to many tribes from Lake Eyre in the south across 

 the continent to Darwin in the north, and in the Territory from 

 Daly River on the west to the Gulf of Carpentaria on the east, 

 my experience has been that, though there are great variations 

 in physical measurements, yet, on the other hand, so far as 

 colour is concerned, there is an extraordinary uniformity, and 

 no indication whatever, physically or mentally, of the union of 

 two distinct races, such as is assumed to have taken place by 

 various writers. The extraordinary variations in regard to 

 physical structure, customs, beliefs and arts of Australian 

 aboriginals cannot possibly be accounted for, or explained by 

 such a theory. 



