118 R. H. MATHEWS. 



Sociology of the Barkunjee Tribes. 



In 1898 I wrote a paper 1 describing the initiation cere- 

 monies of the Barkunjee and their congeners, accompanied 

 by a map exhibiting the boundaries of the extensive region 

 which they occupied in the western portion of New South 

 Wales. I now desire to very briefly refer to their sociology. 



The people of these tribes are segregated into two 

 primary divisions, of which the intermarrying laws and the 

 descent of the progeny will be easily understood from the 

 accompanying table and explanatory letterpress. 



TABLE VII. 



Phratry. Husband. Wife. Son. Daughter. 



A Mukkungurra Kilpungurraga Kilpungurra Kilpungurraga 



B Kilpungurra Mukkungurraga Mukkungurra Mukkungurraga 



The feminine form of the divisions is distinguished from 

 the masculine by the suffix ga. A Mukkungurra usually 

 marries a Kilpungurraga, as in the above table and the 

 resulting offspring are Kilpungurra and Kilpungurraga. In 

 such case a man's son's child marries a sister's son's child. 

 But if a Mukkungurra takes a Mukkungurraga as his con- 

 jugal mate, that represents the marriage of a man's sou's 

 child with a sister's daughter's child. This conclusively 

 demonstrates that there is no exogamy among the Bar- 

 kunjee people. 



Every man woman and child bears the name of some 

 animal, plant or natural object as his or her totem, which 

 is in all cases inherited from the female parent. There is 

 a further partition of the people into Muggulu and Ngipuru, 

 meaning sluggish blood and swift blood. A Muggula may 

 belong to either phratry and a Ngipuru individual has the 

 same scope. That is, these "blood" divisions, like the 

 totems, are dispersed indiscriminately throughout the tribal 

 territory. 



1 This Journal, xxxn., pp. 233 - 250. 



