120 R. H. MATHEWS. 
At the conclusion of this corroboree, one of the single men, who 
had gone away unobserved by the women, would sound the bull- 
roarer within hearing of the camp. The procession of the men, 
and the noise of the bull-roarer, are done for the purpose of mak- 
ing the women aware that a message has been received to attend 
a Burbung. The mothers of the boys who are old enough to be 
initiated are glad to hear this announcement, because their sons 
will be admitted to the rank of men of the tribe. 
In the course of a few days—or if the time were short, perhaps 
the next day—after receipt of the message, the tribe would make 
a start towards the place where the Burbung was to be held.’ On 
the journey thither, wherever the tribe camped at night a cor- 
roboree would be danced by the men, after which the bull-roarer 
would be sounded in the proximity of the camp. This journey 
would be performed by easy stages on account of the women and 
children and aged people having to accompany the rest. The 
entry of this mob into the main camp will be described under the 
heading ‘Arrival of Contingenis.” 
This is the only tribe which will be summoned directly by the 
local man, whom I have designated the initiator of the proceedings. 
There are now two mobs assembled on the Burbung ground,—the 
tribe of the initiator and that of the headman who sent the bunch 
of grass. It is now the turn of the latter to summon the next 
tribe, which he does by sending out a messenger bearing a bull- 
roarer and a few tails to the headman of some tribe in the com- 
munity in which he may have friends or relatives. This messenget 
would be one of his own men, but a man of the other tribe may — 
go with him to keep him company. The headman of this third 
tribe adopts a similar course in summoning a fourth tribe ; and 
this procedure will be followed until all the tribes whom they wish 
to be present are gathered at the Burbung camp. 
Arrival of Contingents.—When a tribe gets within a day’s 
journey, or perhaps a less distance, of the Burbung camp, the 
Sie ncaa anaes Onsen | sca Scanlan : 
1 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxv., 304. 
