ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA. 207 



substituting ch for the j/, making it gatch, but omitting 

 the final hissing sound when pronouncing it. 



Where double I occurs, it often closely resembles dl ; thus 

 'kullu,' a lizard, could be spelt 'kudlu.' The same thing 

 happens with double n; thus, the word 'kuonai,' a yam- 

 stick, could almost be pronounced 'kiidnai.' M and b are 

 often interchangeable in the same way. 



In several native words, an indistinct sound of r seems 

 to come before some consonants. Thus, it is difficult to 

 distinguish between thurl-tha and thul-tha; between kur- 

 nu and ku-nu; between bur-al and burd-al. In modifying 

 the terminations of words for inflection or declension, r is 

 often changed into I. 



When there are double consonants, the second one must 

 begin the following syllable. 



Sociology of the Ngeumba Tribe. 

 In treating of the Ngeumba language in subsequent pages 

 the boundaries of this nation will be defined. I shall here 

 supply an abridged account of their social organisation, 

 which has never before been published. 



The community is divided into two primary phratries, 

 called Ngurrawun and Mumbun, with their feminine 

 equivalents Ngurrawunga and Mumbunga. The Ngurrawun 

 phratry is again divided into two sections called Ippai and 

 Kumbo, and the Mumbun phratry into two, called Kubbi 

 and Murri. In each of these sections the names of the 

 women are slightly different from those of the men, as will 

 appear from the following tabular synopsis, which also 

 shows what sections can intermarry, and to what section 

 the resulting offspring belongs : 



Table No. I. 

 Phratry Father Mother Son Daughter 



Nffurrawun 1 Ippai Kubbitha Murri Matha 



^ gunawun 1 Kumbo Matha Kubbi Kubbitha 



