TWO BORA GROUNDS OF THE KAMILA.ROI TRIBE. 421) 



path like her consort, her body was at right angles to it, with 

 her feet towards the path. All the usual yoivan patterns 

 and other devices imprinted on the turf, had been obliter- 

 ated by rain and dust storms. My guides said they com- 

 menced at the weeta's arbour and extended close to the 

 goonaba. 



About 25 yards beyond the two human figures was the 

 goomee, or heap of earth, on top of which Baiamai's fire 

 was kept burning. Between Baiamai's fire and the goonaba, 

 on the right hand side of the path, was a box tree, iu which 

 an imitation of an eagle-hawk's nest was built by the 

 natives. Steps were cut in the bark up to the nest, to 

 illustrate the Kamilaroi legend of climbing up to kill the 

 eagles and their young ones. 1 



At another place, on the left of the path, was a box tree 

 about 50 feet high, with a spiral line cut in the bark round 

 and round the bole from the ground up to a height of 

 about 30 feet, to represent a tree struck by lightning. A 

 pole 19 feet long was laid horizontally through a fork of 

 this tree, with a small bark koolamin at eacli end to provide 

 water for Baiamai's use during the ceremonies. This pole 

 had a spiral line cut in its bark the same as the tree, and 

 was supposed to have been carried there by the lightning. 

 Sometimes only one end of the pole has a koolamin for 

 water attached to it, while the other end is split as if 

 shattered by the lightning when placing it there. 



A box tree on the right of the path had a snake 4 feet 

 6 inches cut into the bark; and at another place on the left 

 was a box tree with an iguana 6 feet long cut upon it. 



I copied fourteen of the marked trees — eight growing on 

 the right and six on the left of the pathway, but those 



1 See my "Folk-Lore of the Australian Aborigines/' (Sidney, 1899), 

 pp. 11-14. 



