ABORIGINAL BORA. 99 



The Bora is a great educational institution for the admission of 

 the youths of the tribes to the privileges, duties and obligations 

 of manhood, and is the most important ceremony practised by the 

 aborigines. The youths who are initiated, are carefully instructed 

 by the old men in their traditions — their moral and religious 

 codes — and the laws of consanguinity and intermarriage. The 

 ceremonies are intended to strengthen the authority of the older 

 men over the younger, and to impress in an indelible manner 

 those rules of conduct which form the moral law of the tribe. 

 This national rite partakes partly of a civil, and partly of a 

 Teligious character, and is the great educational system by which 

 the exact observance of the laws is inculcated. The games and 

 dances of their forefathers are also taught by the old men who 

 conduct the ceremonies. Meetings for the Bora are summoned 

 at irregular periods as emergencies arise ; they are generally 

 held in the summer on account of the greater chance of having 

 fine weather ; but they may be held at any time of the year. 

 The Bora mentioned by Mr. Glass, which will be referred to 

 presently, was held during May, June, and July, which are 

 winter months. The Bora which was held at the Mole, near 

 Quambone, last year took place in April, May and June. The 

 Kunopia Bora, referred to in this paper, was held in October, 

 November and December, 1891. The time of full moon is generally 

 selected for the commencement of the ceremonies, so as to have 

 light at night, but this also depends upon circumstances. The 

 ceremonial of the Bora is much the same in all parts of the colony; 

 there are a few variations in the mode of assembling the tribes, in 

 the form of the Bora grounds, and in the actual initiation, but so 

 far as I have been able to learn, there is no very essential difference. 

 It cannot be doubted, however, that the aborigines have left off 

 some of their native customs, in consequence of their contact with 

 Europeans, and it is every year becoming more difficult to obtain 

 reliable information about the Bora. 



I will now digress for a few minutes for the purpose of briefly 

 drawing attention to descriptions of Boras by other writers many 



