144 R. H. MATHEWS. 
ment of the kooringal now gather round each novice in succession, 
as he lies in his camp, and sing Dhurramoolun’s song' over him, 
beating their boomerangs together while doing so :— 
Ghee’- bul, ghee-’ bul, oong- o- ga’ ga- la’- bi- an, 
Bah’- wan- bah’ goo- rar’ nga-dahn’-tha_ bay’- an. 
This chant is repeated a great many times without intermission. 
As the men finish singing over each novice they raise a shout, 
* Heh! Wah!” and when the ceremonial is concluded, both men 
and boys retire to rest for the night. 
Next morning the whole camp is roused up as usual, and the 
men and boys divide into little groups, each going away in differ- 
ent directions as before. Two or three men are despatched to the 
women’s camp to inform them that the kooringal and boys will 
return that evening. The kooringal go away ashort distance out 
of sight of the camp, where they clear a portion of the surface of 
the ground of all sticks and loose rubbish. Pieces of bark, barung | 
barung or dhooroong, similar in size and shape to those used at 
the Burbung when the boys were taken away are prepared 
ready for use. They also light one or more fires, and burn green 
bushes on them to make a smoke. The smoke, being charged 
with moisture from the green leaves, partakes somewhat of the 
nature of fog, and does not ascend as readily as ordinary smoke, 
but hangs about near the ground. ; 
When these preparations have been made, the guardians march 
the novices, with their eyes cast down, towards the cleared space, 
telling them that Dhurramoolun is going to burn them at a big 
fire which he has ready, and their attention is opportunely directed 
to the smoke hovering around them, but they are not permitted 
to raise their heads. 
In hilly districts, as on the Upper Murrumbidgee about Gun- 
dagai, where there is rocky country, the kooringal heat a few large 
stones in a fire at some place near to which the novices will be 
1“The Keeparra Ceremony of Initiation.”—Journ. Anthrop. ‘Inst., 
xxvi., 333; “The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes.”—Proc. Roy. Soc. Vic- 
toria, 1x., N.S., 167. 
