ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA. 315 



anything. During the afternoon one of the men, who is 

 remarkable for a rotundity of stomach, goes on ahead, and 

 with the assistance of some friends who accompany him, 

 disguises himself as a woman, and lies down in a sheltered 

 place. His friends then stick spears into the ground all 

 around him. Presently the rest of the party, apparently by 

 chance, pass along that way, and pretend that they suppose 

 the person lying within the circle of spears is a woman 

 about to give birth to a child. The novices are brought 

 forward to see the woman, and a number of men dance 

 round outside the spears, singing : 



Bandhanggorba wirralgin ngaia. 



The dancing and singing only lasts a short time, and then 

 all the party proceed with their hunting. On arriving at 

 the place which has been agreed upon as their camping 

 ground for the night, a yard is made for the novices in the 

 usual manner. Between this yard and the quarters of the 

 men, a space is cleared of the loose surface rubbish, and a 

 fire lit to provide the necessary illumination. After the 

 evening meal has been disposed of, the novices are con- 

 ducted out of their yard and are put sitting down in front 

 of the fire, while the men go through various burlesque 

 representations. These performances consist for the most 

 part of imitating animals, or of scenes from the daily life 

 of the people, and are all accompanied by much merriment 

 and obscenity. Some of the animals selected are the 

 totems of those present, whilst others are connected with 

 the myths and superstitions current among the different 

 tribes. 



During the next day, the burlesque of "Thunder," muri- 

 muriiva, is enacted. The novices are brought up to a place 

 where several men are kneeling ia a row, with pieces of 

 bark in their hands. These pieces of bark are about two 

 feet six inches long and about six inches broad at the widest 



