ON THE ORGANISATION OF AUSTRALIAN TRIBES. ays 
the son of some particular friend. He could do this with the consent of the girl’s 
brothers, own or tribal, but if so, he would have to arrange for some other girl to be 
given in excnange for her to the oldest of her own or tribal brothers. It was, there- 
fore, a certain group of young men in tnis tribe who exchanged the girls of another 
group which was sister to them for wives to themselves. The most usual manner of 
arranging these exchanges was at the time when all the people were assembled at 
one of the great tribal gatherings, at the termination of which, and before the people 
left for their homes, a kind of fair was held for the bartering of things which they 
had brought with them.* Before such a meeting the young men who were 
matrimonially disposed, and who were in a position to take wives, made themselves 
acquainted about the girls who were disposable. Two such young men would seat 
themselves near each other at this assembly, and when the Headman announced : 
‘“‘ Now you can exchange the things you have brought and make friends,” the two 
young men hand to each other the articles they wish to exchange. During the day 
they keep together and make much of each other. Towards evening, when they have 
become good friends, one will say, ‘“‘I will give you my sister for a wife.”{+ If the 
other has a girl to exchange he promises her and the matter is arranged. 
In the Murring tribes of the south coast of New South Wales, marriages were 
arranged solely by the fathers, and very often in the following manner } :—At the 
termination of the Bora ceremonies, at which the whole inter-marrying community 
was necessarily assembled, a meeting was held for barter. At this marriages were 
arranged. For instance, a man whose son had been admitted to the rank of 
manhood, and who in the ordinary course of events would by and bye be permitted 
by the Headman and the elders to marry, would announce that he wanted a wife for 
his son. Every one there knew the relationships of everyone else, and as these 
matters matrimonial had been discussed in the camps, the probability was that some 
other man would say that he would give his daughter. This implied that the father 
of the boy would on his part give a sister of his son, own or tribal, to a brother of 
the girl. This matter being settled, the girl was considered as the boy’s future wife, 
and when he had finished his term of probation, when his father and the Headman 
of the locality gave their consent, the youth’s father would tell him to take his sister 
with him and go and get his wife. The exchange would thus, in fact, be finally made 
by the two young men. 
An exception to the general rule is afforded by the Wakelbura tribe, as to which 
Mr. Muirhead says :—‘‘Girls were betrothed as infants by their mothers, and 
connected with this practice there is in this tribe no restriction upon the man and 
the mother of his wife seeing or speaking to each other.” 
* Such meetings for barter seem to have been very common in other tribes of South-eastern Australia. 
} Djadjt=elder sister—go tuk=younger sister also include mother’s sister’s daughter. 
{ In these tribes there was paternal descent. In the Wotjobaluk tribe, just mentioned, descent was in the female 
line. ‘Lhe line of descent seems to have had a strong influence on the right of betrothal in many of these tribes. 
