CEREMONIES. 
333 
the district of Adelaide, the simple rite of circum- 
cision is retained. Proceeding but a little farther to 
the banks of the Murray, and its neighbourhood, 
no such ceremony exists, nor have I ever heard of 
its having been observed any where on the south- 
eastern, or eastern parts of the continent. 
So also with respect to tattooing ; in one part of 
the continent it is adopted, in another it is rejected ; 
when it is practised, there are many varieties in the 
form, number, or arrangement of the scars, distin- 
guishing the different tribes, so that one stranger 
meeting with another any where in the woods, can at 
once tell, from the manner in which he is tattooed, 
the country and tribe to which he belongs, if not very 
remote. In the Adelaide district, Mr. Moorhouse 
has observed, that there are five stages to be passed 
through, before the native attains the rank of a bourka, 
or full grown man. The first is, that from birth to 
the tenth year, when he is initiated into the second, 
or Wilya kundarti, by being covered with blood, 
drawn from the arm of an adult ; he is then allowed 
to carry a wirri for killing birds, and a small wooden 
spade (karko) fot digging grubs out of the ground. 
At from twelve to fourteen, the third stage is entered, 
by having the ceremony of circumcision performed, 
which takes place in the following manner. Early 
in the morning, the boys to be circumcised are 
seized from behind, and a bandage is fastened over 
the eyes of each ; they are then led away from the 
presence of the women and children to a distance of 
