68 R. H. MATHEWS. 



the latter into lesser divisions, bearing the names of animals, or 

 other natural objects, which from their analogy to the well known 

 North American tribal divisions, have been called totems. It is 

 evident therefore that an aboriginal native inherits a group and 

 a sectional name, followed by that of his totem. For example, a 

 man of the Kamilaroi tribe may belong to the group Kupathin, 

 section Ippai, and totem Emu. In addition to these ancestral 

 titles, each blackfellow has his own personal name, as Fleet- 

 foot. 



The individuals belonging to any group, section, or totem, do 

 not collect into certain localities by themselves, separate from the 

 rest, but are dispersed indiscriminately throughout the whole 

 tribal territory — members of each section and totem being found 

 in all the local divisions. It is possible for all the totems in the 

 community to be represented in the same locality. This dispersion 

 of the totems is due to the interuiarriage of the individuals of 

 which the groups and sections forming the social community are 

 composed. 



As the intermarriages of the groups, sections and totems will be 

 fully explained later on, it is only necessary to say here that, in 

 nearly all Australian tribes descent is reckoned through the 

 mother only — the father being generally disregarded in determin- 

 ing; the division to which the children belong. There are also 

 strict totemic regulations of universal prevalence which prevent 

 persons of the same totem from either marrying or having sexual 

 intercourse with each other. 



In dealing with this subject it will be preferable to take the 

 divisions existing in each of the colonies separately, stating shortly 

 who was the first to observe them, and then to give particulars 

 of their structure and geographic range, from information collected 

 by myself. 



South Australian Divisions. 



The Rev. 0. W. Schurmann was the first to place on record the 

 rules of marriage and descent in force among the aborigines of 



