THE BURBUNG OR INITIATION CEREMONY. 141 
bodies day by day, and the guardians keep the novices carefully 
painted red. 
It is not essential that the men and boys should remain at the 
same camp every night ; they may stay one or more nights at the 
same place, or a fresh camping ground may be reached every night. 
When taking the boys from one camp to another, the rugs are 
kept over their heads, and they are under the vigorous surveillance 
of their guardians. When walking along through the bush, the 
kooringal and guardians are joking with each other all the time. 
If any of them see an iguana going up a tree, they say he is com- 
ing down ; if a small bird is seen they say it is very large ; if the 
day is cold, they remark that it is hot, and soon. At each of 
these statements, which is always the opposite of the truth, a 
shout is given, and all the men laugh. The novices are not per- 
mitted to laugh at anything that is said or done, no matter how 
amusing or preposterous it may be. 
Human ordure! was given to the novices on more than one 
occasion during their stay in the bush. The sound of the bull- 
roarer would be heard in the adjacent forest shortly before sunset 
and some of the guardians would say to the novices, “ Here comes 
Dhurramoolum to feed you with excrement.” Preparations for 
this ceremony had been made during the afternoon, Small pieces 
of bark had been cut, about six inches square, and slightly charred 
in the fire, and on each of these a small portion of excrement was 
deposited by the old men. These pieces of bark with their contents, 
were now brought and placed before each novice as they sat at 
the camp fire, and they had to eat the ordure without a murmur 
in the presence of the headman. They were also compelled to 
drink urine collected in a coolamin for the pupose.* 
On the third or fourth day after leaving the Burbung one of 
the middle front teeth of the upper jaw is taken out of each of the 
Ce aac ed aioe Se 
t i Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes.”—Journ. Anthrop. Inst., 
Xxy., 3 . 
2« he paper of the New England Tribes.”—Proc. Roy. Soc. Vic- 
toria, rx., N 
