SOCIOLOGY OF SOME AUSTRALIAN TRIBES. 



107 



marital rights over three additional sections of women. 

 Choolum's wife may be either a Ningulum as in Table I., 

 or a Nooralum, or a Neenum, or a Noolum. That is, he can 

 espouse a Ningulum or a Nooralum from phratry A ; or a 

 Noolum or a Neenum from phratry B. Consequently Table 

 I. does not represent such a bisection of the community 

 into two intermarrying moieties as would constitute 

 exogamy. This at once raises the crucial question, Is there 

 any real exogamy in the Wombaia or kindred tribes? 



Further study of the actual intermarriages demonstrates 

 that the four sections of women into which Ohoolum can 

 marry are equally liable to be claimed as wives, though in 

 a different order, by three other sections of men, viz.: — ■ 

 Oheenum, Ohooralum and Chingnlum. I will now submit 

 another table, showing a category of four sections of 

 women from among whom four specific sections of men 

 must obtain their wives in accordance with aboriginal 

 custom. 



TABLE II. 

 Phratry. Husband. Wife. 



B 



Husband. 

 Choolum 

 Cheenum 

 Chooralum 

 Chingulum 



( Jamerum 

 ) Yacomary 

 j Bungarin 

 ( Palyarin 



Ningulum 

 Nooralum 

 Neenum 

 Noolum 



Palyareenya 

 Bungareenya 

 Yacomareenya 

 Neomarum 



Progeny. 



The children of each 

 individual woman 

 are the same as in 

 Table I., quite irres- 

 pectively of the name 

 of the husband. 



In consequence of any specific woman in the " Wife " 

 column of Table II. being eligible for marriage with any 

 one of four different sections of men in the " Husband " 

 column, it becomes evident that such a woman's child's 

 father might have any one of four section names, depend- 

 ing upon which husband she had married. Let us take 

 Palyarin the first name in the " Son" column of Table I. 

 as an example. If his mother, Ningulum, had married 



