ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA.. 616 



It not infrequently happens that while a batch of noviti- 

 ates are passing through the Wonggoa, and before the tribes 

 disperse, such of the young men present who have submitted 

 to the requisite course of instruction at previous meetings, 

 are taken charge of by the headmen, and are admitted to 

 the fmal degree of tyibbauga. Tliis is done to avoid the 

 trouble and delay of mustering the people again. It will 

 in some respects be more convenient to describe the pro- 

 cedure respecting one of the novices only, asking the reader 

 to remember that they are all treated alike. The following 

 details were related to me by a man who had been thus 

 initiated. 



The candidate for initiation is taken from the single men's 

 camp early in the morning, unknown to the women. A rug 

 is thrown over his head, and he is escorted by some strange 

 men to a retired spot a little way out of sight. Here a Are 

 has been lighted beside which are lying ready for use 

 several bundles of the dry outer bark shed in the spring 

 time by the upper branches of some forest trees. A man 

 steps up to a youth and catches hold of the hair on one 

 side of the head whilst another man singes it off, little by 

 little by applying a lighted taper made of the bark just 

 referred to. This is done carefully and takes a good deal 

 of time — just sufficient blaze being applied to remove the 

 hair without injuring the boy's skin. The hair on the other 

 side of the head is singed off in the same manner. Along 

 the middle zone of the skull, from the forehead to the back 

 of the head, a strip of hair, about two inches wide, is left 

 intact, and is curled into a ridge. Both sides of the head 

 from which the hair has been removed are then daubed 

 with pipeclay mixed with common earth. The hair in the 

 armpits, and the pubic hair, is also singed off. If any of 

 the youths have an inceptive beard it is similarly dealt with. 



It should be explained that the hair on the sides of the 

 boy's head is not, wholly consumed, like that growing on 



