MARRIAGE AND DESCENT AMONG AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES. 127 



given in the Wombya organisation, which has been illustrated 

 more fully, in order to avoid repetition. 



In the Kamilaroi and Parnkalla systems, according to the tables, 



the men, as well as the women, can marry the offspring of their 



father's sister, or of their mother's brother, subject to conditions 



to be mentioned presently. This also applies to the "alternative" 



marriages of the Wombya. By using a diagram this can be made 



more clear : — 



Diagram No. 2. 



Brother and Sister. 



Cousins. 



Taking an example from the Kamilaroi system it can be demon- 

 strated that A = Kubbi ; B = A's father Kumbo ; C = B's sister 

 Butha ; D = C's daughter Ippatha. Kubbi marries Ippatha, the 

 daughter of his father's sister. If we had traced the blood through 

 Kubbi's mother Matha, it could have been shown that he married 

 his mother's brother's daughter. Again, if A be a female, the 

 genealogy of her husband can be followed, in the same way, through 

 her father's sister, or her mother's brother, showing that she 

 marries a son of one of these. If we further consider Kubbi = A, 

 and assume that his father, Kumbo = B, is an emu, then B's sister 

 C is also an emu. 1 Referring to diagram No. 2, it is apparent 

 that A is the son of an Emu man, B ; and that D, his wife, is the 

 daughter of an Emu woman, C. 



Putting the above example in another form, it will be seen that 

 the son of a brother marries the daughter of a sister ; and not only 

 so, but the son of an emu marries the daughter of an emu. To 

 prevent the union of persons of such consanguinity there are 

 customary laws in aboriginal society which make it incumbent 

 that the brother and sister relationship here referred to shall be 

 collateral or tribal only, and not of the full blood. It may not 



1 Proc. Boy. Geog. Soc, Q., Vol. x., p. 22. 



