would appear to have beei 



The characterizing of gei 

 nifestly rehited t 



t the locality) each individual 

 in the tribe bears the name of an animal or plant which is his totem. 

 His totem is revered and protected by him. and although he may 

 eat of the totems of others he will not injure or eat of his own, 

 unless compelled by starvation to do so. Natives of the Narrinyeri 

 tribe do not scruple to eat their totems. Among them also the 

 bearers of the same totem constitute an exogamous clan. At 

 Mount Gambler, Victoria, there are two exogamous classes Kumite 

 and Kroki, each divided into live sub-classesf which bear totems, 

 and under the sub-classes all natural objects are classified. In 

 this case marriage is independent of tlie totem. I believe that 

 totemism in a more or less pronounced form prevails throughout 

 Australia, even where not recognized l)y Europeans. I remember 

 seeing a black boy playing with a little lizard, I thought he was 

 cruelly using it and remonstrated. He disclaimed hurtful inten- 

 tions and declared that it was a friend of liis, and another black 

 boy confirmed his statement. I did not know at the time the 

 importance of this admission, or J would have followed up the 

 discovery by enquiry, but I am of opinion that this was a trace of 

 totemism, the existence of which in the tribe referred to, none of 

 the whites had any idea of. 



It seems probable that the clan-name and the totem were once 

 identical, but that in certain places they have become ditterentiated 

 and the application of the principle of naming after animals has 

 become extended. By the Narrinyeri a man's totem is called his 

 ' ngaitye.' The Rev. G. Taplin refers + to a statement made by 

 Dr. G. Turner about a form of Samoan fetichism closely resemblmg 

 the Australian totemism. A man's god may appear in the form 

 of some particular animal which thenceforth becomes his object ot 

 worship and is protected by him, and the name for such animals 

 is 'aitu,' i.e. gods, a word bearing a striking resemblance to 



» The article on Tol 

 is should be done or : 



ism in the Encyclopedia 



s simply dei>endent upon the wider or m 

 'he definition in the article requires ' 

 nimal after which the ^oiip is named. 





X Native Tribes of South /. 



