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uttered, — in what manner I shall shortly show, — where as at other times he 

 is only alluded to by the general name of Biamban = master, or Papang = father, 

 or more generally by a simple gesture by pointed the forefinger of the right hand 

 towards the sky (bei den Coast-Murring). 



The pantomimic representation [wie in klassischen Mysterien] are of several 

 kinds; some are amusing pieces of buffoonery, others represent the different 

 totems; and others again are what may be truly called „moral lessons". Some 

 illustrations will make this clear. 



An old man runs into the magic circle carry ing a lump of wood as if it 

 were a young child. He imitates the crying of an infant, and this is supposed 

 to be a sick one. Other men now join him, who preteml to be doctors, examine 

 the child, and go through the usual remedial course — pretending to extract the 

 disease in the form of pieces of stone, wood, bone, and other rubbish; the whole 

 of this is very comically done, and even the old „doctors" themselves join in it. 



Another instance is where two old men are seen standung beyond the fire 

 at the edge of the magic circle; to the left and in the glo:m of the forest are 

 the other men crouching together. They are „Rock wallabies", and one old man 

 proceeds to „drive" them past the other one, whose business is supposed to be 

 to knock each one over as it passes, with some weapon. This of course repre- 

 sents the hunting of the Rock wallabies, by driving them past other hunters in 

 ambush. But this pantomime is intended to be comic. The wallabies are driven 

 one by one, hopping past the hunter, who, simulating weapons with pieces of 

 stick and back, always misses his object, and is therefore comically abused and 

 beaten by the driver. When the wallabies have all passed in front of the fire, 

 and have laid down in the shadow at the other side, the two old men rush to 

 the fire clapping their hands, and shouting the word meaning „Wallaby". All 

 the performers then rush in and form a dancing circle. shouting the word in time 

 to the dance. This dance is always of the same character. The legs are kept 

 somewhat apart, and at each jump the knees are slightly bent, but there is none 

 of the quivering used ad the Corroborree ; at the same time the arms, hanging 

 down, are swung to and fro across the front of the body: this is the scene — 

 a more complete „witches' sabbath u , than this, where a number of naked 

 blackfellows, raade truly hideous by being rubbed with charcoal, dance furiously 

 in this manner by night, round the magic fire, in the depths of the forest, shou- 

 ting some word in time to the dance. It is completed when the old men rush 

 into the ring and dance crouching, so that the tips of their fingers almost touch 

 the ground, or even on their knees, until sometimes, apparently overcome by 

 the magic influence, they fall down, seemingly in an exhausted State. 



Other dances merely represent the „totems 14 . For instance, the howlings 

 of what seems to be a pack of dingoes is heard in the forest. The sounds come 



