NOTES ON SOME NATIVE TRIBES OF AUSTRALIA. LB 
labouring among the tribes in the Adelaide district, they 
discovered and described two kinds of bullroarers, a smaller 
and a larger, used by the aborigines in their secret 
ceremonies. The ‘kadnomarngutta’ they speak of as 
being ‘‘a thin, oval piece of wood, about five inches long, 
and an inch and a half wide, tied to a string by which the 
natives swing it rapidly round, and thus cause a humming 
noise. Kemales and children are not allowed to see it, 
much less to use it.’? The ‘wimmarri’ was the same in 
shape as the ‘kadnomarngutta’ but larger. It was invoked 
in the incantations of the natives whilst out hunting.’ The 
name of the instrument was also repeated while the bodies 
of the youths were being scarred, believing that it would 
soothe the pain. 
VII. NAMING OF SOME NATIVE LANGUAGES. | 
A custom of wide geographic distribution, is that of 
naming a language after its negative adverb. In 1846, Mr. 
G. Windsor Earl in his paper ‘*On the Aboriginal Tribes of 
the Northern Coast of Australia,’’ reports as follows :— 
‘‘The Coburg Peninsula is occupied by four distinct tribes. 
They are distinguished among each other by the term 
which in the particular dialect of each designates the 
monosyllable ‘No.’ About Croker Island and Raffles’ Bay 
the tribe is termed ‘Yaako.’ The Port Essington tribe 
goes by the name of ‘ Yarlo’; the western tribe by that of 
‘Tyi’; and the great southern tribe by that of ‘ Oitbi.’’” 
In 1866, Rev. Wm. Ridley’ in his book on the Kamilaroi 
tribe of New South Wales, also records the nomenclature 
of the language from the negative adverb. ‘Kamil’ means 
‘No.’ This method of distinguishing a language, extends 
+ Grammar of the Language of the Natives of Adelaide, 1840, pp. 7, 
55, and 73. 
? Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, (London, 1846), vol. xv1., 
pp. 241 - 242. 
3 Kamilaroi’, Dippil, etc., (Sydney, 1866), p. 14. 
