ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA. 351 



There is a deep lagoon or large waterhole at the foot of 

 the mountain, said to contain all kinds of fish which fre- 

 quent either the sea or the fresh water. In this lagoon 

 there is plenty of nyiwun (congevoi) attached to the rocks 

 around the margin or projecting above the surface of the 

 water. A large rock overhangs one side of the lagoon, and 

 away in one of its dark corners is the camping place of 

 Dyillagamberra, who lives upon the fish and congevoi. 1 On 

 the hillside, above the waterhole, the ground is strewn 

 with different kinds of shells, such as oyster shells, cockle- 

 shells, mussel shells and the like. 



In time of drought, if two or three old men go to this 

 lagoon and ask Dyillagamberra to make rain, he pours 

 immense quantities of water out of the hole, and causes a 

 flood in the Tuross river, accompanied by great rain. When 

 asking Dyillagamberra to cause showers, the old men go 

 through certain ceremonial incantations, and throw a stone 

 into the lagoon to produce a surface ripple. They also 

 mention the locality and the people affected by the drought. 

 Sometimes the rain comes so suddenly that the people have 

 to seek shelter in caves, or in hollow trees, or under large 

 logs. Occasionally the showers are accompanied by hail. 



How the Wongaibon obtained Fire. — In tne far-away 

 past the aborigines had no fire, but had to cook their meat 

 in the sun. After a while it was observed that two old 

 women, gimma, the kangaroo-rat, and yummar, the bronze- 

 wing-pigeon, always had sweet, tender meat to eat. They 

 had a small bag in which they carried the fire, shut up in 

 a nut of the needle-bush or thinku. These women used to 

 go out into the bush by themselves and cook whatever 

 game they caught, and put the fire out. Different members 

 of the tribe tried to find out what was done by the two 

 women in the bush, but all to no purpose, because they 



1 Colocasia macrorrhiza. 



