ABORIGINAL BORA. 113 



A short distance from the image of Baiamai was the imitation 

 of an eagle-hawk's nest* in a tree, twenty feet from the ground. 

 The blacks said there was an eagle-hawk's nest near Baiamai's 

 first home, and that he chased the eagle-hawk away. 



Not more than a dozen trees were carved, none being marked 

 higher than a man could reach from the ground. Five of the most 

 representative of these are delineated in Plate 3, figs. 8 to 12. I 

 may add that suitable trees for carving were scarce, the timber 

 consisting chiefly of small scrub trees. 



On the northern side of the track, near the effigy of the old king, 

 was the figure of an iguana about three feet long, cut out of 

 bark and fastened to a tree. 



A figure of the sun two feet in diameter, and one of the moon 

 eighteen inches, were cut out of bark, and hung on trees ; the sun 

 being at the eastern and the moon at the western extremity of the 

 symbolical representations I have been describing — perhaps to 

 indicate the sources of illumination by day and night. (Plate 3, 

 figs. 14 and 15.) 



Not far from the image of the sun were two male figures cut 

 out of bark, and fixed up against trees, one on each side of the 

 pathway. One of these had his head ornamented with emu's 

 feathers, and the other held in his hand a hielaman, or native 

 shield. These figures gave a visitor the impression that they were 

 warriors who had been placed there to guard the entrance to the 

 mystic silvan temple beyond. The natives said these figures 

 represented the two sons of Baiamai — Oobbarailbah and Byalla- 

 burra. 



On the track, about forty yards from the figure of Baiamai, in 

 the direction of the larger circle, was a big fire which was kept 

 burning day and night, called " Baiamai's fire." 



From the time the Bora was commenced until the ground was 

 abandoned, two of the old men kept guard over it day and 



* See Henderson's remarks at p. 101 of this paper, in reference to an 

 eagle's eyrie observed on the Bora ground described by him in 1832. 



H— July 4, 1894. 



