276 K. H. MATHEWS AND M. M. EVERITT. 



To express an inclination, or the sense of " would like to," the 

 Gundungurra use "bil'-la" after the verbal pronoun. I would 

 like to go away, yer'-ra-bo-f-ya-bM'-la war'-ree. I would like to go 

 hunting, yer'-ra-bo-I'-ya-bil'-la ga/-din-bill-ee-ree. I would like to 

 drink, weem'-ba-lee-wi'-ee-ya-bir-la. 



Nouns are formed from verbs and other parts of speech by the 

 addition of war'-ree. To beat, ngoo-bee-ree. A beater, ngoo-boo- 

 war' ree. To give, yoon'-gee-ree. A giver, yoon'-go-war'-ree. To 

 hunt, ga'-ding-ba-la-ree. A hunter, ga/-doo-war'-ree. Sandy 

 country, jarr'-jarr'. A man belonging to the sandy country, jarr- 

 jarr-war'-ree-jee. 



[Note. — The reader will readily understand the difficulties 

 encountered in obtaining the outlines of the grammar of any 

 language which is entirely colloquial. We are aware that in the 

 preceding pages there are some errors in the orthography and 

 syntax, as well as other defects, these will receive attention in a 

 future article.] 



Initiation Ceremonies. 



The Kud'sha, or Nar'ramang, is an abridged form of initiation 

 ceremony practised among the tribes dealt with in this article. If 

 a tribe have one or more novices old enough to be initiated, and 

 it will be a considerable time before a Bunan will be held, it is 

 sometimes thought desirable or politic to inaugurate them into the 

 privileges of manhood by means of the Kudsha. Although it is 

 not necessary to muster the whole community, as is imperative in 

 the fuller ceremonial referred to, yet it is generally considered 

 safest to consult with the chief men of some of the neighbouring 

 tribes, who may also have a few youths ready to pass through the 

 ordeal. Messengers (jerra), who must be men who have been 

 initiated, are despatched to arrange the preliminaries, and when 

 the time arrives the people proceed to the appointed meeting 

 place. There are no circles formed on the ground, nor are there 

 any marked trees or figures cut in the turf, as at the Bunan 

 ceremony, all these embellishments being omitted in the Narra- 

 mang or Kudsha, There is, however, a level cleared space on the 



