ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA. 213 



have shown the marriages of his offspring with that of his 

 sister Ippatha Bl. But if we go over to the other side of 

 the diagram, and run Ippai D back to his grandmother, 

 Ippatha Bl, it becomes evident that Ippai D marries his 

 mother's mother's brother's daughter's daughter, Kubbitha 

 O, for the ' direct ' alliance ; and he mates with his mother's 

 mother's brother's son's daughter, Ippatha E, for the 'rare* 

 marriage. The proper husband for any given woman is 

 ascertain ed in the same manner, and need not be further 

 exemplified. 



In studying the foregoing rules and the diagram, it will 

 be manifest that any individual's pedigree, when followed 

 back to the grand parents, is subject to several variations. 

 We can either trace a man back, (1) to his father's father; 

 (2) to his father's mother ; (3) to his mother's father ; or, 

 (4) to his mother's mother. From that point the descent 

 is followed out as in the examples given above. It is for 

 the elders of the tribe to settle what particular genealogy 

 will be adopted when choosing a husband or wife for any 

 given person. Previous family marriages and a number of 

 other matters are considered in arranging this point. 

 Although polygamy is practised, a man is not allowed a 

 wife from each of the four lines of descent. If more than 

 one wife is allotted, they must belong to the same lineage 

 as the first, if available. 



The rules of intermarriage and descent illustrated in the 

 preceding six paragraphs, were briefly outlined by me in 

 1900, when treating the Kamilaroi laws, in which I showed 

 that a man marries the daughter of his father's father's 

 sister's son. 1 



It has not been thought necessary to encumber the fore- 

 going examples with the 'blood' and the 'shade' distinc- 



1 " Marriage and Descent among the Australian Aborigines," Journ. 

 Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales, Vol. xxxiv., page 126. 



