116 W. J. ENRIGHT. 



there, and was at once received by them as one of the initiated. 

 I remained in the camp " with the women and children," as they 

 jocularly expressed it, while Mr. Mathews took all the initiated 

 men into a secluded place in the bush near by, where a Winggerah 1 

 was held, at which he explained that he had told me all the secrets 

 of the keeparra and had imposed upon me the usual obligations 

 of secrecy. As soon as they were satisfied, I was summoned, and 

 shown the sacred goonanduckyer 2 and was formally admitted as a 

 member of the tribe entitled to all the privileges of an initiate. 



With the help of Mr. R. H. Mathews, 1 have been able to 

 obtain the following information, though not without considerable 

 difficulty: — The place of initiation at Forster, New South Wales, 

 consisted of a large circular space called " boolbung," about thirty 

 feet in diameter, resembling a circus ring. This is connected with 

 another smaller circle called " goonambung " situated in a very 

 secluded part of the bush, by a pathway (goolga) about a quarter 

 of a mile in length ; the trees along which for some distance from 

 the goonambung have geometrical figures and representations of 

 various animals carved on their trunks. In the centre of the 

 goonambung a fire was lighted, and was kept burning. My 

 enquiries proved that the ground at Forster differs but little from 

 that described by Mr. Mathews in " The Keeparra Ceremony of 

 Initiation," ;! to which I would refer my readers for more minute 

 details. 



When a tribe has a number of youths who have attained the 

 proper age for initiation, a messenger 4 is sent out to summon the 

 neighbouring tribes to assist in the creremony. The messenger 



1 A secret council ot initiates. 



2 Bullroarer used in the keeparra. 



3 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxvi., 321 - 323. 



4 The jerson of this messenger is quite sacred, and whatever differences 

 there may be between the tribe summoning and the tribe summoned, the 

 utmost amity must outwardly prevail at this time, and any interference 

 with the person of the messenger would be promptly resented and 

 avenged, not only by the tribe to which he belonged, but also by the 

 neighbouring tribes. 



