112 R. H. MATHEWS. 
located upon the upper portion of the last named river. As 
previously stated,’ the articles referred to were the first ever 
published describing the details of the Burbung of the Wiradthuri — 
tribes ; in short, practically nothing was known respecting this 
ceremony until the first of these articles appeared. 
In the present paper it is proposed to deal with the southern 
portion of the Wiradthuri community, whose initiation ceremonies 
differ in many respects from those of their northern brethren. 
These people occupy the Murrumbidgee River from Jugiong to 
Hay, extending southerly to the Murray ; and reaching northerly 
up the Lachlan River to about the effluxion of the Willandra 
Billabong, where they join the northern section above referred to. 
It will be seen therefore that the present communication, read in 
connection with my former papers, deals with the Burbung cere- 
monies of the entire Wiradthuri community, comprising the 
numerous tribes spread over a wide zone of country stretching 
from the Murray almost to the Barwon, a distance of about four 
hundred miles. The Wiradthuri language is the most widely 
spread of the aboriginal tongues of New South Wales. 
On the eastward of the southern half of the Wiradthuri com- 
munity are a number of adjoining tribes scattered over the coastal 
district of New South Wales from Two-fold Bay almost to Sydney, 
among whom the initiation ceremony is known as the Bunan, 4 
description of which has been furnished by me to the Anthropo 
logical Society at Washington.2. Among the tribes who adopt the 
Bunan form of initiation, there is an abbreviated ceremony 
termed the Kuringal, which has been described by my fellow 
worker, Mr. A. W. Howitt,’ and is further illustrated and 
explained by me ina subsequent article.* Lying between the : 
northern half of the Wiradthuri territory and the sea coast, the 
1 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxv., 295. 
2 «The Bunan Ceremony of New South Wales.””—American Antbropo 
logist, 1x., 327 — 344. 
3 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., x111., 482 — 459. 
4 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxv., 316, 317, plate xxvii. 
