LXXII. AUSTRALIA--Continued
THE AUSTRALIAN SPEAR AND ITS MANY FORMS -- THE THROWING-SPEAR OR JAVELIN -- A GROUP OF AUSTRALIAN SPEARS -- THE LIGHTNESS OF THE SHAFT -- THE MANY-POINTED FISH-SPEAR -- INGENIOUS MODE OF TIPPING THE POINTS WITH BONE, AND FASTENING THEM TO THE SHAFT -- ELASTICITY OF THE POINTS -- DOUBLE USE AS PADDLE AND SPEAR -- AN ELABORATELY-MADE WEAPON -- FLINT-HEADED SPEARS -- EXCELLENCE OF THE AUSTRALIAN AS A THROWER OF MISSILES -- THE CLUB, THE STONE, AND THE “KANGAROO-RAT” -- THE THROW-STICK, MIDLAH, OR WUMMERAH -- PRINCIPLE ON WHICH IT IS CONSTRUCTED -- MODES OF QUIVERING THE SPEAR -- DISTANCE TO WHICH IT CAN BE THROWN -- THE UNDERHAND THROW -- ACCURACY OF AIM -- SPEARING THE KANGAROO -- THE BOW AND ARROW -- STRENGTH OF THE BOW -- THE RATTAN STRING AND INGENIOUS KNOT -- CAREFUL MANUFACTURE OF THE ARROWS -- PRESUMED ORIGIN OF THE WEAPONS -- THE BOOMERANG AND ITS VARIOUS FORMS -- MODE OF THROWING THE WEAPON -- ITS PROBABLE ORIGIN -- STRUCTURE OF THE BOOMERANG -- THE AUSTRALIAN SHIELD, ITS FORMS AND USES -- THE WOODEN AND THE BARK SHIELDS.
We now come to the various forms of the spears which are used by the native Australians.
The usual weapon is slight, and scarcely exceeds in diameter the assagai of Southern Africa. It is, however, considerable longer, the ordinary length being from nine to eleven feet. As a general rule, the spear is constructed after a very rude fashion, and the maker seems to care but little whether the shaft be perfectly straight, so that the weapon be tolerably well balanced. There are several specimens of Australian spears in my collection, one of which (a weapon that has evidently been a favorite one, as it shows marks of long usage) is twice bent, the second bend counteracting the former, and so bringing the weapon tolerably straight.
The butt of the Australian spear, like that of the South African assagai, is very slight, the shaft tapering gradually from the head, which is about as large as a man’s finger, to the butt, where it is hardly thicker than an artist’s pencil. This, being one of the common spears, is simply sharpened at the end, and a few slight barbs cut in the wood. I have, however, specimens in which there is almost every variety of material, dimensions, and structure that can be found in Australia.
Some of these are made on the same principle as that which has just been described, but differ from it in having a separate head, made of hard and heavy wood. This is deeply cut with barbs; so that the weapon is a more formidable one than that which is made simply from one piece of wood. The head of one of these spears is shown at fig. 7 in the illustration “Heads of Spears,” on page 731.
Several of the spears are perfectly plain, being simply long sticks, pointed at the larger end. These, however, have been scraped very carefully, and seem to have had more pains bestowed upon them than those with more elaborate heads. These spears are about eight feet in length.
Then there are other spears with a variable number of heads, and of variable dimensions. The commonest form of multiheaded spears has either three or four points; but in every other respect, except number, the spear heads are constructed in the same manner. One of these spears, now before me, has a shaft about nine feet in length, and rather more than an inch in diameter at the thickest part, which, as is usual with Australian spears, is just below the head. The wood of which it is made is exceedingly light and porous; but this very quality has unfortunately made it so acceptable to the ptilinus beetles that they have damaged it sadly, and rendered it so brittle that a very slight shock would snap it. Indeed, the shaft of one of them was broken into three pieces by a little child stumbling against it while coming down stairs.
The four points which constitute the head are cut from the gum-tree, the wood of which is hard and durable, and can be trimmed to a very sharp point without danger of breakage. Each of them is twenty inches in length, and they are largest in the middle, tapering slightly at one end so as to permit of their being fastened to the shaft, and being scraped to a fine point at the other end.
On examination I find that the large end of the shaft has been cut into four grooves, in each of which is placed the butt end of one of the points, which is fixed temporarily by black-boy gum. Wedgelike pegs have then been pushed between the points, so as to make them diverge properly from each other, and, when they have assumed the proper position, they have been tightly bound together with cord. A layer of black-boy gum has then been kneaded over the string, so as to keep all firmly together.
So much for the mode of putting on the points, the end of one of which may be seen at fig. 3 in the illustration. My own specimen, however, is better made than that from which the sketch has been taken. The reader will perceive that there is a barb attached to the point, and lashed in its place by string. In my specimen the barb is made of a piece of bone about as long as a skewer, and sharply pointed at both ends. In the example shown in the illustration, the barb merely projects from the side of the point, whereas in my specimen the bone answers the purpose both of point and barb. In order to enable it to take the proper direction, the top of the wooden point is bevelled off, and the piece of bone lashed to it by the middle, so that one end becomes the point of the weapon, and the other end does duty for the barb. Wishing to see how this was done, I have cut away part of the lashings of one of the four points, and have been much struck with the ingenuity displayed by the maker in fastening the bone to the point, so as to make it discharge its double duty. The barbs are all directed inward, so that, when the native makes a stroke at a fish, the slippery prey is caught between the barbs, and held there just as is an eel between the prongs of the spear. The elasticity of the four long points causes them to diverge when they come upon the back of a fish, and to contract tightly upon it, so that the points of the barbs are pressed firmly into its sides.
This spear also stands the native instead of a paddle, and with it he contrives to guide his fragile bark with moderate speed. How he manages to stand erect in so frail a vessel, to paddle about, to strike the fish, and, lastly, to haul the struggling prey aboard, is really a marvel. The last-mentioned feat is the most wonderful, as the fish are often of considerable size, and the mere leverage of their weight at the end of a ten-foot spear, added to the violent struggles which the wounded fish makes, seems sufficient to upset a far more stable vessel.
Yet the natives manage to pass hour after hour without meeting with an accident, and in one of their tiny boats, which seem scarcely large enough to hold a single European, even though he should be accustomed to the narrow outrigger skiff, or the comparatively modern canoe, two men will be perfectly comfortable, spearing and hauling in their fish, and even cooking them with a fire made on an extemporized hearth of wet sand and stones in the middle of the canoe.
Night is the favorite time for fish spearing, and then the sight of a number of natives engaged in the watery chase is a most picturesque one. They carry torches, by means of which they see to the bottom of the water, and which have also the advantage of dazzling the fish; and the effect of the constantly moving torches, the shifting glare on the rippled water, and the dark figures moving about, some searching for fish, others striking, and others struggling with the captured prey, is equally picturesque and exciting. The torches which they use are made of inflammable bark: and the whole scene is almost precisely like that which is witnessed in “burning the water,” in North America, or, to come nearer home, “leistering” in Scotland.
In the daytime they cannot use the torch, and, as the slightest breeze will cause a ripple on the surface of the water that effectually prevents them from seeing the fish, they have an ingenious plan of lying flat across the canoe, with the upper part of the head and the eyes immersed in the water, and the hand grasping the spear ready for the stroke. The eyes being under the ripple, they can see distinctly enough.
I have often employed this plan when desirous of watching the proceedings of sub-aquatic animals. It is very effectual, though after a time the attitude becomes rather fatiguing, and those who are not gymnasts enough to be independent as to the relative position of their heads and heels are apt to find themselves giddy from the determination of blood to the head.
Another spear, also used for fishing, and with an elaborate head, is seen at fig 8. In this spear one point is iron, and the other two are bone. The weapon is remarkable for the manner in which the shaft is allowed to project among the points, and for the peculiar mode in which the various parts are lashed together. This specimen comes from the Lower Murray River.
There is in my collection a weapon which was brought from Cape York. It is a fishing spear, and at first sight greatly resembles that which has just been described. It is, however, of a more elaborate character, and deserves a separate description. It is seven feet in length, and very slender, the thickest part of the shaft not being more than half an inch in diameter. It has four points, two of which are iron and without barbs, the iron being about the thickness of a crow-quill, and rather under three inches in length. The two bone points are made from the flat tail-bone of one of the rays, and, being arranged with the point of the bone in front, each of these points has a double row of barbs directed backward, one running along each edge.
At fig. 6 of the same illustration is seen a very formidable variety of the throwing-spear. Along each side of the head the native warrior has cut a groove, and has stuck in it a number of chips of flint or quartz, fastened in their places by the black-boy gum, just as has been related of the saw. The workmanship of this specimen is, however, far ruder than that of the saw, the pieces of flint not being the same size, nor so carefully adjusted. Indeed, it seems as if the saw maker laid aside the fragments of flint which he rejected for the tool, and afterward used them in arming the head of his spear. One of these weapons in my collection is armed on one side of the head only, along which are arranged four pieces of obsidian having very jagged edges, and being kept in their places by a thick coating of black-boy gum extending to the very point of the spear.
At figs. 4 and 5 of the same illustration are seen two spear heads which remind the observer of the flint weapons which have of late years been so abundantly found in various parts of the world, and which belonged to races of men now long extinct. The spear heads are nearly as large as a man’s hand, and are made of flint chipped carefully into the required shape. They are flat, and the maker has had sufficient knowledge of the cleavage to enable him to give to each side a sharp and tolerably uniform edge. It will be observed that fig. 5 is much darker than fig. 4. This distinction is not accidental, but very well expresses the variety in the hue of the material employed, some of the spear heads being pale brown, and some almost black. The weapons are, in fact, nothing but elongations of the dagger shown in fig. 2, of the “tomahawks,” on page 722.
If the reader will look at figs. 1 and 2 of the illustration, he will see that there are two heads of somewhat similar construction, except that one is single and the other double. These spears were brought from Port Essington.
Specimens of each kind are in my collection. They are of great size, one being more than thirteen feet in length, and the other falling but little short of that measurement. In diameter they are as thick as a man’s wrist; and, however light may be the wood of which they are made, they are exceedingly weighty, and must be very inferior in efficiency to the light throwing-spears which have already been described. Of course such a weapon as that is meant to be used as a pike, and not as a missile. Besides these, I have another with three heads, and of nearly the same dimensions as the two others.
In every case the head and the shaft are of different material, the one being light and porous, and the other hard, compact, and heavy. Instead of being lashed together with the neatness which is exhibited in the lighter weapons, the head and shaft are united with a binding of thick string, wrapped carefully, but yet roughly, round the weapon, and not being covered with the coating of black-boy gum, which gives so neat a look to the smaller weapons. In the three-pointed spear, the maker has exercised his ingenuity in decorating the weapon with paint, the tips of the points being painted with red and the rest of the head white, while the lashing is also painted red.
In his wild state the Australian native never likes to be without a spear in his hand, and, as may be expected from a man whose subsistence is almost entirely due to his skill in the use of weapons, he is a most accomplished spear thrower. Indeed, as a thrower of missiles in general the Australian stands without a rival. Putting aside the boomerang, of which we shall presently treat, the Australian can hurl a spear either with his hand or with the “throw-stick,” can fling his short club with unerring aim, and, even should he be deprived of these missiles, he has a singular faculty of throwing stones. Many a time, before the character of the natives was known, has an armed soldier been killed by a totally unarmed Australian. The man has fired at the native, who, by dodging about, has prevented the enemy from taking a correct aim, and then has been simply cut to pieces by a shower of stones, picked up and hurled with a force and precision that must be seen to be believed. When the first Australian discoverer came home, no one would believe that any weapon could be flung and then return to the thrower, and even at the present day it is difficult to make some persons believe in the stone-throwing powers of the Australian. To fling one stone with perfect precision is not so easy a matter as it seems, but the Australian will hurl one after the other with such rapidity that they seem to be poured from some machine; and as he throws them he leaps from side to side, so as to make the missiles converge from different directions upon the unfortunate object of his aim.
In order to attain the wonderful skill which they possess in avoiding as well as in throwing spears, it is necessary that they should be in constant practice from childhood. Accordingly, they are fond of getting up sham fights, armed with shield, throw-stick, and spear, the latter weapon being headless, and the end blunted by being split and scraped into filaments, and the bushy filaments then turned back, until they form a soft fibrous pad. Even with this protection, the weapon is not to be despised: and if it strike one of the combatants fairly, it is sure to knock him down: and if it should strike him in the ribs, it leaves him gasping for breath. This mimic spear goes by the name of “matamoodlu,” and is made of various sizes according to the age and capabilities of the person who uses it.
There is one missile which is, I believe, as peculiar to Australia as the boomerang, though it is not so widely spread, nor of such use in war or hunting. It is popularly called the “kangaroo-rat,” on account of its peculiar leaping progression, and it may be familiar to those of my readers who saw the Australian cricketers who came over to England in the spring of 1808. The “kangaroo-rat” is a piece of hard wood shaped like a double cone, and having a long flexible handle projecting from one of the points. The handle is about a yard in length, and as thick as an artist’s drawing-pencil, and at a little distance the weapon looks like a huge tadpole with a much elongated tail. In Australia the natives make the tail of a flexible twig, but those who have access to the resources of civilization have found out that whalebone is the best substance for the tail that can be found.
When the native throws the kangaroo-rat, he takes it by the end of the tail and swings it backward and forward, so that it bends quite double, and at last he gives a sort of underhanded jerk and lets it fly. It darts through the air with a sharp and menacing hiss like the sound of a rifle ball, its greatest height being some seven or eight feet from the ground. As soon as it touches the earth, it springs up and makes a succession of leaps, each less than the preceding, until it finally stops. In fact, it skims over the ground exactly as a flat stone skims over the water when boys are playing at “ducks and drakes.” The distance to which this instrument can be thrown is really astonishing. I have seen an Australian stand at one side of Kennington Oval, and throw the “kangaroo-rat” completely across it. Much depends upon the angle at which it first takes the ground. If thrown too high, it makes one or two lofty leaps, but traverses no great distance; and, if it be thrown too low, it shoots along the ground, and is soon brought up by the excessive friction. When properly thrown, it looks just like a living animal leaping along, and those who have been accustomed to traverse the country say that its movements have a wonderful resemblance to the long leaps of a kangaroo-rat fleeing in alarm, with its long tail trailing as a balance behind it.
A somewhat similarly shaped missile is used in Fiji, but the Fijian instrument has a stiff shaft, and it is propelled by placing the end of the forefinger against the butt, and throwing it underhanded. It is only used in a game in which the competitors try to send it skimming along the ground as far as possible.
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To return to our spears. It is seldom that an Australian condescends to throw a spear by hand, the native always preferring to use the curious implement called by the aborigines a “wummerah,” or “midlah,” and by the colonists the “throw-stick.” The theory of the throw-stick is simple enough, but the practice is very difficult, and requires a long apprenticeship before it can be learned with any certainty.
The principle of this implement is that of the sling; and the throw-stick is, in fact, a sling made of wood instead of cord, the spear taking the place of the stone. So completely is the throw-stick associated with the spear, that the native would as soon think of going without his spear as without the instrument whereby he throws it. The implement takes different forms in different localities, although the principle of its construction is the same throughout. In the illustration entitled “Throw-sticks,” on page 731, the reader may see every variety of form which the throw-stick takes. He will see, on inspecting the figures, that it consists of a stick of variable length and breadth, but always having a barblike projection at one end. Before describing the manner in which the instrument is used, I will proceed to a short notice of the mode of its construction, and the various forms which it takes.
In the first place, it is always more or less flattened; sometimes, as in fig. 3, being almost leaf-shaped, and sometimes, as in fig. 6, being quite narrow, and throughout the greater part of its length little more than a flattened stick. It is always made of some hard and elastic wood, and in many cases it is large and heavy enough to be serviceable as a club at close quarters. Indeed, one very good specimen in my collection, which came from the Swan River, was labelled, when it reached me, as an Indian club. This form of the throw-stick is shown at fig. 3.
This particular specimen is a trifle under two feet in length, and in the broadest part it measures four inches and a half in width. In the centre it is one-sixth of an inch in thickness, and diminishes gradually to the edges, which are about as sharp as those of the wooden sword already mentioned. Toward the end, however, it becomes thicker, and at the place where the peg is placed it is as thick as in the middle. Such a weapon would be very formidable if used as a club--scarcely less so, indeed, than the well-known “merai” of New Zealand.
That it has been used for this purpose is evident from a fracture, which has clearly been caused by the effect of a severe blow. The wood is split from one side of the handle half along the weapon, and so it has been rendered for a time unserviceable. The careful owner has, however, contrived to mend the fracture, and has done so in a singularly ingenious manner. He has fitted the broken surfaces accurately together, and has then bound them with the kangaroo-tail sinews which have already been mentioned. The sinews are flat, and have been protected by a thick coating of black-boy gum. Perhaps the reader may be aware that, when catgut is knotted, the ends are secured by scorching them, which makes them swell into round knobs. The sinew has the same property, and the native has secured the ends precisely as an English artisan would do.
The wood is that of the tough, hard, wavy-grained gum-tree. Whether in consequence of much handling by greasy natives, or whether from other causes, I do not know, but I cannot make a label adhere to it. To each of the specimens in my collection is attached a catalogue number, and though I have tried to affix the label with paste, gum, and glue, neither will hold it, and in a few days the label falls off of its own accord. This specimen has been cut from a tree which has been attacked by some boring insect, and the consequence is, that a small hole is bored through it edgewise, and has a very curious appearance. The hole looks exactly like that of our well-known insect, the great Sirex.
The peculiarly-shaped handle is made entirely of black-boy gum, and, with the exception of a tendency to warp away from the wood, it is as firm as on the day when it was first made. The peg which fits into the butt of the spear is in this case made of wood, but in many throw-sticks it is made of bone. Figs. 1 and 2 are examples of this flattened form of midlah, and were drawn from specimens in Southern Australia. At figs. 4 and 5 may be seen examples of the throw-stick of Port Essington, one of which, fig. 4, is remarkable for the peculiarly-shaped handle. That of fig. 5 seems to be remarkably inconvenient, and almost to have been made for the express purpose of preventing the native from taking a firm hold of the weapon. Fig. 6 is an example of the throw-stick of Queensland, and, as may easily be seen, can be used as a club, provided that it be reversed, and the peg end used as a handle.
There is another form of throw-stick used in Northern Australia, an example of which may be seen at fig. 6. It is a full foot longer than that which came from the Murray, and is one of the “flattened sticks” which have been casually mentioned. It has a wooden spike for the spear-butt, and a most remarkable handle. Two pieces of melon-shell have been cut at rather long ovals, and have been fixed diagonally across the end of the weapon, one on each side. Black-boy gum has been profusely used in fixing these pieces, and the whole of the interior space between the shells has been filled up with it. A diagonal lashing of sinew, covered with the same gum, passes over the shells, and the handle is strongly wrapped with the same material for a space of five inches.
We will now proceed to see how the native throws the spear.
Holding the throw-stick by the handle, so that the other end projects over his shoulder, he takes a spear in his left hand, fits a slight hollow in its butt to the peg of the midlah, and then holds it in its place by passing the forefinger of the right hand over the shaft. It will be seen that the leverage is enormously increased by this plan, and that the force of the arm is more than doubled.
Sometimes, especially when hunting, the native throws the spear without further trouble, but when he is engaged in a fight he goes through a series of performances which are rather ludicrous to an European, though they are intended to strike terror into the native enemy. The spear is jerked about violently, so that it quivers just like an African assagai, and while vibrating strongly it is thrown. There are two ways of quivering the spear; the one by merely moving the right hand, and the other by seizing the shaft in the left hand, and shaking it violently while the butt rests against the peg of the throw-stick. In any case the very fact of quivering the spear acts on the Australian warrior as it does upon the African. The whirring sound of the vibrating weapon excites him to a pitch of frenzied excitement, and while menacing his foe with the trembling spear, the warrior dances and leaps and yells as if he were mad--and indeed for the moment he becomes a raving madman.
The distance to which the spear can be thrown is something wonderful, and its aspect as it passes through the air is singularly beautiful. It seems rather to have been shot from some huge bow, or to be furnished with some innate powers of flight, than to have been flung from a human arm, as it performs its lofty course, undulating like a thin black snake, and writhing its graceful way through the air. As it leaves the throw-stick, a slight clashing sound is heard, which to the experienced ear tells its story as clearly as the menacing clang of an archer’s bowstring.
To me the distance of its flight is not nearly so wonderful as the precision with which it can be aimed. A tolerably long throw-stick gives so powerful a leverage that the length of range is not so very astonishing. But that accuracy of aim should be attained as well as length of flight is really wonderful. I have seen the natives, when engaged in mock battle, stand at a distance of eighty or ninety yards, and throw their spears with such certainty that, in four throws out of six, the antagonist was obliged to move in order to escape the spears.
Beside the powerful and lofty throw, they have a way of suddenly flinging it underhand, so that it skims just above the ground, and, when it touches the earth, proceeds with a series of ricochets that must be peculiarly embarrassing to a novice in that kind of warfare.
The power of the spear is never better shown than in the chase of the kangaroo. When a native sees one of these animals engaged in feeding, he goes off to a little distance where it cannot see him, gathers a few leafy boughs, and ties them together so as to form a screen. He then takes his spears, throw-stick, and waddy, and goes off in chase of the kangaroo. Taking advantage of every cover, he slips noiselessly forward, always taking care to approach the animal against the wind, so that it shall not be able to detect his presence by the nostrils, and gliding along with studied avoidance of withered leaves, dry twigs, and the other natural objects which, by their rustling and snapping, warn the animal that danger is at hand.
As long as possible, the hunter keeps under the shelter of natural cover, but when this is impossible, he takes to his leafy screen, and trusts to it for approaching within range. Before quitting the trees or bush behind which he has been hiding himself, he takes his spear, fits it to the throw-stick, raises his arm with the spear ready poised, and never moves that arm until it delivers the spear. Holding the leafy screen in front of him with his left hand, and disposing the second spear and other weapons which cannot be hidden so as to look like dead branches growing from the bush, he glides carefully toward the kangaroo, always advancing while it stoops to feed, and crouching quietly behind the screen whenever it raises itself, after the fashion of kangaroos, and surveys the surrounding country.
At last he comes within fair range, and with unerring aim he transfixes the unsuspecting kangaroo. Sometimes he comes upon several animals, and in that case his second spear is rapidly fixed in the midlah and hurled at the flying animals, and, should he have come to tolerably close quarters, the short missile club is flung with certain aim. Having thrown all the missiles which he finds available, he proceeds to despatch the wounded animals with his waddy.
In the illustration No. 1, on the 739th page, the action of the throw-stick is well shown, and two scenes in the hunt are depicted. In the foreground is a hunter who has succeeded in getting tolerably close to the kangaroos by creeping toward them behind the shadow of trees, and is just poising his spear for the fatal throw. The reader will note the curious bone ornament which passes through the septum of the nose, and gives such a curious character to the face. In the background is another hunter, who has been obliged to have recourse to the bough screen, behind which he is hiding himself like the soldiers in “Macbeth,” while the unsuspecting kangaroos are quietly feeding within easy range. One of them has taken alarm, and is sitting upright to look about it, just as the squirrel will do while it is feeding on the ground.
The reader will now see the absolute necessity of an accurate aim in the thrower--an accomplishment which to me is a practical mystery. I can hurl the spear to a considerable distance by means of a throw-stick, but the aim is quite another business, the spear seeming to take an independent course of its own without the least reference to the wishes of the thrower. Yet the Australian is so good a marksman that he can make good practice at a man at the distance of eighty or ninety yards, making due allowance for the wind, and calculating the curve described by the spear with wonderful accuracy; while at a short distance his eye and hand are equally true, and he will transfix a kangaroo at twenty or thirty yards as certainly as it could be shot by an experienced rifleman.
In some parts of Australia the natives use the bow and arrow; but the employment of such weapons seems to belong chiefly to the inhabitants of the extreme north. There are in my collection specimens of bows and arrows brought from Cape York, which in their way are really admirable weapons, and would do credit to the archers of Polynesia. The bow is more than six feet long, and is made from the male, i. e. the solid bamboo. It is very stiff, and a powerful as well as a practised arm is needed to bend it properly.
Like the spear shaft, this bow is greatly subject to being worm-eaten. My own specimen is so honeycombed by these tiny borers that when it arrived a little heap of yellow powder fell to the ground wherever the bow was set, and, if it were sharply struck, a cloud of the same powder came from it. Fortunately, the same looseness of texture which enabled the beetle to make such havoc served also to conduct the poisoned spirit which I injected into the holes; and now the ravages have ceased, and not the most voracious insect in existence can touch the weapon. The string is very simply made, being nothing but a piece of rattan split to the required thickness. Perhaps the most ingenious part of this bow is the manner in which the loop is made. Although unacquainted with the simple yet effective bowstring knot, which is so well known to our archers, and which would not suit the stiff and harsh rattan, the native has invented a knot which is quite as efficacious, and is managed on the same principle of taking several turns, with the cord round itself just below the loop. In order to give the rattan the needful flexibility it has been beaten so as to separate it into fibres and break up the hard, flinty coating which surrounds it, and these fibres have then been twisted round and round into a sort of rude cord, guarded at the end with a wrapping of the same material in order to preserve it from unravelling.
The arrows are suitable to the bow. They are variable in length, but all are much longer than those which the English bowmen were accustomed to use, and, instead of being a “cloth yard” in length, the shortest measures three feet seven inches in length, while the longest is four feet eight inches from butt to point. They are without a vestige of feathering, and have no nock, so that the native archer is obliged to hold the arrow against the string with his thumb and finger, and cannot draw the bow with the fore and middle finger, as all good English archers have done ever since the bow was known.
The shafts of the arrows are made of reed, and they are all healed with long spikes of some dark and heavy wood, which enable them to fly properly. Some of the heads are plain, rounded spikes, but others are elaborately barbed. One, for example, has a single row of six barbs, each an inch in length, and another has one double barb, like that of the “broad arrow” of England. Another has, instead of a barb, a smooth bulb, ending gradually in a spike, and serving no possible purpose, except perhaps that of ornament. Another has two of these bulbs; and another, the longest of them all, has a slight bulb, and then an attempt at carving. The pattern is of the very simplest character, but it is the only piece of carving on all the weapons. The same arrow is remarkable for having the point covered for some two inches with a sort of varnish, looking exactly like red sealing-wax, while a band of the same material encircles the head about six inches nearer the shaft. The sailor who brought the weapons over told me that this red varnish was poison, but I doubt exceedingly whether it is anything but ornament.
The end of the reed into which the head is inserted is guarded by a wrapping of rattan fibre, covered with a sort of dark varnish, which, however, is not the black-boy gum that is so plentifully used in the manufacture of other weapons. In one instance the place of the wrapping is taken by an inch or so of plaiting, wrought so beautifully with the outside of the rattan cut into flat strips scarcely wider than ordinary twine, that it betrays the Polynesian origin of the weapons, and confirms me in the belief that the bow and arrow are not indigenous to Australia, but have only been imported from New Guinea, and have not made their way inland. The natives of Northern Australia have also evidently borrowed much from Polynesia, as we shall see in the course of this narrative.
The bow is usually about six feet in length, though one in my possession is somewhat longer. Owing to the dimensions of the bow and arrows, a full equipment of them is very weighty, and, together with the other weapons which an Australian thinks it his duty to carry, must be no slight burden to the warrior.
Ferocity of countenance is very characteristic of the race, and, as we shall see when we come to the canoes and their occupants, the people are very crafty: mild and complaisant when they think themselves overmatched, insolent and menacing when they fancy themselves superior, and tolerably sure to commit murder if they think they can do so with impunity. The only mode of dealing with these people is the safe one to adopt with all savages: i. e. never trust them, and never cheat them.
We now come to that most wonderful of all weapons, the boomerang. This is essentially the national weapon of Australia, and is found throughout the West country. As far as is known, it is peculiar to Australia, and, though curious missiles are found in other parts of the world, there is none which can be compared with the boomerang.
On one of the old Egyptian monuments there is a figure of a bird-catcher in a canoe. He is assisted by a cat whom he has taught to catch prey for him, and, as the birds fly out of the reeds among which he is pushing his canoe, he is hurling at them a curved missile which some persons have thought to be the boomerang. I cannot, however, see that there is the slightest reason for such a supposition.
No weapon in the least like the boomerang is at present found in any part of Africa, and, so far as I know, there is no example of a really efficient weapon having entirely disappeared from a whole continent. The harpoon with which the Egyptians of old killed the hippopotamus is used at the present day without the least alteration; the net is used for catching fish in the same manner; the spear and shield of the Egyptian infantry were identical in shape with those of the Kanemboo soldier, a portrait of whom may be seen on page 612; the bow and arrow still survive; and even the whip with which the Egyptian task masters beat their Jewish servants is the “khoorbash” with which the Nubian of the present day beats his slave.
In all probability, the curved weapon which the bird-catcher holds in his hand, and which he is about to throw, is nothing more than a short club, analogous to the knob-kerry of the Kaffir, and having no returning power. Varying slightly in some of its details, the boomerang is identical in principle wherever it is made. It is a flattish curved piece of wood, various examples of which may be seen in the illustration on the 731st page; and neither by its shape nor material does it give the least idea of its wonderful powers.
The material of which the boomerang (or bommereng, as the word is sometimes rendered) is made is almost invariably that of the gum-tree, which is heavy, hard, and tough, and is able to sustain a tolerably severe shock without breaking. It is slightly convex on the upper surface, and flat below, and is always thickest in the middle, being scraped away toward the edges, which are moderately sharp, especially the outer edge. It is used as a missile, and it is one of the strangest weapons that ever was invented.
In the old fairy tales, with which we are more or less acquainted, one of the strange gifts which is presented by the fairy to the hero is often a weapon of some wonderful power. Thus we have the sword of sharpness, which cut through every thing at which it was aimed, and the coat of mail, which no weapon would pierce. It is a pity, by the way, that the sword and the coat never seem to have been tried against each other. Then there are arrows (in more modern tales modified into bullets) that always struck their mark, and so on. And in one of the highest flights of fairy lore we read of arrows that always returned of their own accord to the archer.
In Australia, however, we have, as an actual fact, a missile that can be thrown to a considerable distance, and which always returns to the thrower. By a peculiar mode of hurling it the weapon circles through the air, and then describes a circular course, falling by the side of or behind the man who threw it. The mode of throwing is very simple in theory, and very difficult in practice. The weapon is grasped by the handle, which is usually marked by a number of cross cuts, so as to give a firm hold, and the flat side is kept downward. Then, with a quick and sharp fling, the boomerang is hurled, the hand at the same time being drawn back, so as to make the weapon revolve with extreme rapidity. A billiard-player will understand the sort of movement when told that it is on the same principle as the “screw-back” stroke at billiards. The weapon must be flung with great force, or it will not perform its evolutions properly.
If the reader would like to practice throwing the boomerang, let me recommend him, in the first place, to procure a genuine weapon, and not an English imitation thereof, such as is generally sold at the toy-shops. He should then go alone into a large field, where the ground is tolerably soft and there are no large stones about, and then stand facing the wind. Having grasped it as described, he should mark with his eye a spot on the ground at the distance of forty yards or so, and hurl the boomerang at it. Should he throw it rightly, the weapon will at first look as if it were going to strike the ground; but, instead of doing so, it will shoot off at a greater or less angle, according to circumstances, and will rise high into the air, circling round with gradually diminishing force, until it falls to the ground. Should sufficient force have been imparted to it, the boomerang will fall some eight or ten yards behind the thrower.
It is necessary that the thrower should be alone, or at least have only an instructor with him, when he practises this art, as the boomerang will, in inexperienced hands, take all kinds of strange courses, and will, in all probability, swerve from its line, and strike one of the spectators; and the force with which a boomerang can strike is almost incredible. I have seen a dog killed on the spot, its body being nearly cut in two by the boomerang as it fell; and I once saw a brass spur struck clean off the heel of an incautious spectator, who ran across the path of the weapon.
It is necessary that he choose a soft as well as spacious field, as the boomerang has a special knack of selecting the hardest spots on which to fall, and if it can find a large stone is sure to strike it, and so break itself to pieces. And if there are trees in the way, it will get among the boughs, perhaps smash itself, certainly damage itself, and probably stick among the branches. The learner should throw also against the wind, as, if the boomerang is thrown with the wind, it does not think of coming back again, but sails on as if it never meant to stop, and is sure to reach a wonderful distance before it falls.
Nearly thirty years ago, I lost a boomerang by this very error. In company with some of my schoolfellows, I was throwing the weapon for their amusement, when one of them snatched it up, turned round, and threw it with all his force in the direction of the wind. The distance to which the weapon travelled I am afraid to mention, lest it should not be believed. The ground in that neighborhood is composed of successive undulations of hill and vale, and we saw the boomerang cross two of the valleys, and at last disappear into a grove of lime-trees that edged the churchyard.
In vain we sought for the weapon, and it was not found until four years afterward, when a plumber, who had been sent to repair the roof of the church, found it sticking in the leads. So it had first traversed that extraordinary distance, had then cut clean through the foliage of a lime-tree, and lastly had sufficient force to stick into the leaden roofing of a church. The boomerang was brought down half decayed, and wrenched out of its proper form by the shock.
Should the reader wish to learn the use of the weapon, he should watch a native throw it. The attitude of the man as he hurls the boomerang is singularly graceful. Holding three or four of the weapons in his left hand, he draws out one at random with his right, while his eyes are fixed on the object which he desires to hit, or the spot to which the weapon has to travel. Balancing the boomerang for a moment in his hand, he suddenly steps a pace or two forward, and with a quick, sharp, almost angry stroke, launches his weapon into the air.
Should he desire to bring the boomerang back again, he has two modes of throwing. In the one mode, he flings it high in the air, into which it mounts to a wonderful height, circling the while with a bold, vigorous sweep, that reminds the observer of the grand flight of the eagle or the buzzard. It flies on until it has reached a spot behind the thrower, when all life seems suddenly to die out of it; it collapses, so to speak, like a bird shot on the wing, topples over and over, and falls to the ground.
There is another mode of throwing the returning boomerang which is even more remarkable. The thrower, instead of aiming high in the air, marks out a spot on the ground some thirty or forty yards in advance, and hurls the boomerang at it. The weapon strikes the ground, and, instead of being smashed to pieces, as might be thought from the violence of the stroke, it springs from the ground Antæus-like, seeming to attain new vigor by its contact with the earth. It flies up as if it had been shot from the ground by a catapult; and, taking a comparatively low elevation, performs the most curious evolutions, whirling so rapidly that it looks like a semi-transparent disc with an opaque centre, and directing its course in an erratic manner that is very alarming to those who are unaccustomed to it. I have seen it execute all its manœuvres within seven or eight feet from the ground, hissing as it passed through the air with a strangely menacing sound, and, when it finally came to the ground, leaping along as if it were a living creature.
We will now examine the various shapes of boomerangs, as seen in the illustration on the 731st page. Some of the specimens are taken from the British Museum, some from the collection of Colonel Lane Fox, some from my own, and the rest are drawn by Mr. Angas from specimens obtained in the country. I have had them brought together, so that the reader may see how the boomerang has been gradually modified out of the club.
At fig. 4 is the short pointed stick which may either answer the purpose of a miniature club, a dagger, or an instrument to be used in the ascent of trees. Just below it is a club or waddy, with a rounded head, and at fig. 6 the head has been developed into a point, and rather flattened. If the reader will refer to figs. 6 and 7, he will see two clubs which are remarkable for having not only the knob, but the whole of the handle flattened, and the curve of the head extended to the handle.
The transition from this club to the boomerang is simple enough, and, indeed, we have an example (fig. 1) of a weapon which looks like an ordinary boomerang, but is in fact a club, and is used for hand-to-hand combat.
These figures show pretty clearly the progressive structure of the boomerang. The flattened clubs were probably made from necessity, the native not being able to find a suitable piece of wood, and taking the best that he could get. If, then, one of these clubs were, on the spur of the moment, hurled at an object, the superior value which this flatness conferred upon it as a missile would be evident as well as the curved course which it would take through the air. The native, ever quick to note anything which might increase the power of his weapons, would be sure to notice this latter peculiarity, and to perceive the valuable uses to which it could be turned. He would therefore try various forms of flattened missiles, until he at last reached the true boomerang.
The strangest point about the boomerang is, that the curve is not uniform, and, in fact, scarcely any two specimens have precisely the same curve. Some have the curve so sharp that it almost deserves the name of angle, for an example of which see fig. 8; others, as in fig. 9, have the curve very slight; while others, as in fig. 2, have a tendency to a double curve, and there is a specimen in the British Museum in which the double curve is very boldly marked. The best and typical form of boomerang is, however, that which is shown at fig. 3. The specimen which is there represented was made on the banks of the river Darling.
The natives can do almost anything with the boomerang, and the circuitous course which it adopts is rendered its most useful characteristic. Many a hunter has wished that he only possessed that invaluable weapon, a gun which would shoot round a corner, and just such a weapon does the Australian find in his boomerang. If, for example, he should see a kangaroo in such a position that he cannot come within the range of a spear without showing himself and alarming the animal, or say, for example, that it is sheltered from a direct attack by the trunk of a tree, he will steal as near as he can without disturbing the animal, and then will throw his boomerang in such a manner that it circles round the tree, and strikes the animal at which it is aimed.
That such precision should be obtained with so curious a weapon seems rather remarkable, but those of my readers who are accustomed to play at bowls will call to mind the enormous power which is given to them by the “bias,” or weighted side of the bowl, and the bold curves which they can force the missile to execute, when they wish to send the bowl round a number of obstacles which are in its way. The boomerang is used as a sort of aërial bowl, with the advantage that the expert thrower is able to alter the bias at will, and to make the weapon describe almost any curve that he chooses.
It is even said that, in case there should be obstacles which prevent the boomerang from passing round the tree, the native has the power of throwing it so that it strikes the ground in front of the tree, and then, by the force of the throw, leaps over the top of the branches, and descends upon the object at which it is thrown.
On page 739 is shown a scene on the river Murray, in which the natives are drawn as they appear when catching the shag, a species of cormorant, which is found there in great numbers. They capture these birds in various ways, sometimes by climbing at night the trees on which they roost, and seizing them, getting severely bitten, by the way, on their naked limbs and bodies. They have also a very ingenious mode of planting sticks in the bed of the river, so that they project above the surface, and form convenient resting-places for the birds. Fatigued with diving, the cormorants are sure to perch upon them; and as they are dozing while digesting their meal of fish, the native swims gently up, and suddenly catches them by the wings, and drags them under water. He always breaks the neck of the bird at once.
They are so wonderfully skilful in the water, that when pelicans are swimming unsuspectingly on the surface, the natives approach silently, dive under them, seize the birds by the legs, jerk them under water, and break both the wings and legs so rapidly that the unfortunate birds have no chance of escape.
Sometimes, as shown in the illustration, the natives use their boomerangs and clubs, knock the birds off the branches on which they are roosting, and secure them before they have recovered from the stunning blow of the weapon. When approaching cormorants and other aquatic birds, the native has a very ingenious plan of disguising himself. He gathers a bunch of weeds, ties it on his head, and slips quietly into the water, keeping his whole body immersed, and only allowing the artificial covering to be seen. The bird being quite accustomed to see patches of weeds floating along the water, takes no notice of so familiar an object, and so allows the disguised man to come within easy reach.
To return to the boomerang. The reader may readily have imagined that the manufacture of so remarkable an implement is not a very easy one. The various points which constitute the excellence of a boomerang are so light that there is scarcely an European who can see them, especially as the shape, size, and weight of the weapon differ so much according to the locality in which it was made. The native, when employed in making a boomerang, often spends many days over it, not only on account of the very imperfect tools which he possesses, but by reason of the minute care which is required in the manufacture of a good weapon.
Day after day he may be seen with the boomerang in his hand, chipping at it slowly and circumspectly, and becoming more and more careful as it approaches completion. When he has settled the curve, and nearly flattened it to its proper thickness, he scarcely makes three or four strokes without balancing the weapon in his hand, looking carefully along the edges, and making movements as if he were about to throw it. The last few chips seem to exercise a wonderful effect on the powers of the weapon, and about them the native is exceedingly fastidious.
Yet, with all this care, the weapon is a very rough one, and the marks of the flint axe are left without even an attempt to smooth them. In a well-used boomerang the projecting edges of the grooves made by various cuts and chips become quite polished by friction, while the sunken portion is left rough. In one fine specimen in my possession the manufacturer has taken a curious advantage of these grooves. Besides marking the handle end by covering it with cross-scorings as has already been described, he has filled the grooves with the red ochre of which the Australian is so fond, and for some eight inches the remains of the red paint are visible in almost every groove.
So delicate is the operation of boomerang making, that some men, natives though they be, cannot turn out a really good weapon, while others are celebrated for their skill, and can dispose of their weapons as fast as they make them. One of the native “kings” was a well-known boomerang maker, and his weapons were widely distributed among the natives, who knew his handiwork as an artist knows the touch of a celebrated painter. To this skill, and the comparative wealth which its exercise brought him, the king in question owed the principal part of his authority.
A fair idea of the size and weight of the boomerang may be gained by the measurements of the weapon which has just been mentioned. It is two feet nine inches long when measured with the curve, and two feet six inches from tip to tip. It is exactly two inches in width, only narrowing at the tips, and its weight is exactly eleven ounces. This, by the way, is a war boomerang, and is shaped like that which is shown in “Boomerangs” on page 731, fig. 3. Another specimen, which is of about the same weight, is shaped like that of fig. 8. It measures two feet five inches along the curve, two feet one inch from tip to tip, and is three inches in width in the middle, diminishing gradually toward the tips.
* * * * *
In order to enable them to ward off these various missiles, the natives are armed with a shield, which varies exceedingly in shape and dimensions, and, indeed, in some places is so unlike a shield, and apparently so inadequate to the office of protecting the body, that when strangers come to visit my collection I often have much difficulty in persuading them that such strange-looking objects can by any possibility be shields. As there is so great a variety in the shields, I have collected together a number of examples, which, I believe, comprise every form of shield used throughout Australia. Two of them are from specimens in my own collection, several from that of Colonel Lane Fox, others are drawn from examples in the British Museum, and the rest were sketched by Mr. Angas in the course of his travels through Australia.
As a general fact, the shield is very solid and heavy, and in some cases looks much more like a club with which a man can be knocked down, than a shield whereby he can be saved from a blow, several of them having sharp edges as if for the purpose of inflicting injury.
If the reader will look at the row of shields on page 742, he will see that figs. 2 and 3 exhibit two views of the same shield. This is one of the commonest forms of the weapon, and is found throughout a considerable portion of Western Australia. It is cut out of a solid piece of the ever useful gum-tree, and is in consequence very hard and very heavy. As may be seen by reference to the illustration, the form of the shield is somewhat triangular, the face which forms the front of the weapon being slightly rounded, and the handle being formed by cutting through the edge on which the other two faces converge. The handle is very small, and could scarcely be used by an ordinary European, though it is amply wide enough for the small and delicate looking hand of the Australian native. My own is a small hand, but is yet too large to hold the Australian shield comfortably.
The reader will see that by this mode of forming the handle the wrist has great play, and can turn the shield from side to side with the slightest movement of the hand. This faculty is very useful, especially when the instrument is used for warding off the spear or the club, weapons which need only to be just turned aside in order to guide them away from the body.
One of these shields in my own collection is a very fine example of the instrument, and its dimensions will serve to guide the reader as to the usual form, size, and weight of an Australian shield. It measures exactly two feet seven inches in length, and is five inches wide at the middle, which is the broadest part. The width of the hole which receives the hand is three inches and three-eighths, and the weight of the shield is rather more than three pounds.
The extraordinary weight of the shield is needed in order to enable it to resist the shock of the boomerang, the force of which may be estimated by its weight, eleven ounces, multiplied by the force with which it is hurled. This terrible weapon cannot be merely turned aside, like the spear or the waddy, and often seems to receive an additional impulse from striking any object, as the reader may see by reference to page 737, in which the mode of throwing the boomerang is described. A boomerang must be stopped, and not merely parried, and moreover, if it be not stopped properly, it twists round the shield, and with one of its revolving ends inflicts a wound on the careless warrior.
Even if it be met with the shield and stopped, it is apt to break, and the two halves to converge upon the body. The very fragments of the boomerang seem able to inflict almost as much injury as the entire weapon; and, in one of the skirmishes to which the natives are so addicted, a man was seen to fall to the ground with his body cut completely open by a broken boomerang.
It is in warding off the boomerang, therefore, that the chief skill of the Australian is shown. When he sees the weapon is pursuing a course which will bring it to him, he steps forward so as to meet it; and, as the boomerang clashes against the shield, he gives the latter a rapid turn with the wrist. If this manœuvre be properly executed, the boomerang breaks to pieces, and the fragments are struck apart by the movement of the shield.
Perhaps some of my readers may remember that “Dick-a-dick,” the very popular member of the Australian cricketers who came to England in 1868, among other exhibitions of his quickness of eye and hand, allowed himself to be pelted with cricket balls, at a distance of fifteen yards, having nothing wherewith to protect himself but the shield and the leowal, or angular club, the former being used to shield the body, and the latter to guard the legs. The force and accuracy with which a practised cricketer can throw the ball are familiar to all Englishmen, and it was really wonderful to see a man, with no clothes but a skin-tight elastic dress, with a piece of wood five inches wide in his left hand, and a club in his right, quietly stand against a positive rain of cricket-balls as long as any one liked to throw at him, and come out of the ordeal unscathed.
Not the least surprising part of the performance was the coolness with which he treated the whole affair, and the almost instinctive knowledge that he seemed to possess respecting the precise destination of each ball. If a ball went straight at his body or head, it was met and blocked by the shield; if it were hurled at his legs, the club knocked it aside. As to those which were sure not to hit him, he treated them with contemptuous indifference, just moving his head a little on one side to allow the ball to pass, which absolutely ruffled his hair as it shot by, or lifting one arm to allow a ball to pass between the limb and his body, or, if it were aimed but an inch wide of him, taking no notice of it whatever. The shield which he used with such skill was the same kind as that which has just been described, and was probably selected because its weight enabled it to block the balls without the hand that held it feeling the shock.
To all appearances, the natives expend much more labor upon the shield than upon the boomerang, the real reason, however, being that much ornament would injure the boomerang, but can have no injurious effect upon the shield. By reference to the illustration, the reader will see that the face of the shield is covered with ornament, which, simple in principle, is elaborate in detail.
There is a specimen in my collection which is ornamented to a very great extent on its face, the sides and the handle being perfectly plain. It has a number of lines drawn transversely in bands, which, however, are seven instead of five in number. Each band is composed of three zigzag grooves, and each groove has been filled with red ochre. The space between is filled in with a double zigzag pattern, and the effect of all these lines, simple as they are, is perfectly artistic and consistent.
The pattern, by the way, is one that seems common to all savage races of men, wherever they may be found, and is to be seen on weapons made by the ancient races now long passed away, among the Kaffir tribes of South Africa, the cannibal tribes of Central Western Africa, the inhabitants of the various Polynesian islands, the savages of the extreme north and extreme south of America, and the natives of the great continent of Australia.
At fig. 7 of the accompanying illustration may be seen a shield made of solid wood, in which the triangular form has been developed in a very curious manner into a quadrangular shape. The handle is made in the same manner as that of the former shield, i. e. by cutting through two of the faces of the triangle, while the front of the shield, instead of being a tolerably round face, is flattened out into a sharp edge. It is scarcely possible to imagine any instrument that looks less like a shield than does this curious weapon, which seems to have been made for the express purpose of presenting as small a surface as possible to the enemy.
The fact is, however, that the Southern Australian who uses these shields has not to defend himself against arrows, from which a man can only be defended by concealing his body behind shelter which is proof against them: he has only to guard against the spear and boomerang, and occasionally the missile club, all which weapons he can turn aside with the narrow shield that has been described.
One of these shields in my collection is two feet seven inches in length, rather more than six inches in width, and barely three inches thick in the middle. Its weight is just two pounds. Such a weapon seems much more like a club than a shield, and, indeed, if held by one end, its sharp edge might be used with great effect upon the head of an enemy. Like most Australian shields, it is covered with a pattern of the same character as that which has already been mentioned, and it has been so thoroughly painted with ochre that it is of a reddish mahogany color, and the real hue of the wood can only be seen by scraping off some of the stained surface. The name for this kind of shield is tamarang, and it is much used in dances, in which it is struck at regular intervals with the waddy.
In the British Museum is a shield which is much more solid than either of those which have been described. The manufacturer evidently found the labor of chipping the wood too much for him, and accordingly made much use of fire, forming his shield by alternate charring and scraping. The handle is rather curiously made by cutting two deep holes side by side in the back of the shield, the piece of wood between them being rounded into a handle. As is the case with most of the shields, the handle is a very small one. The face of the shield is much wider than either of those which have been noticed, and is very slightly rounded. It is ornamented with carved grooves, but rough usage has obliterated most of them, and the whole implement is as rough and unsightly an article as can well be imagined, in spite of the labor which has been bestowed upon it.
We now come to another class of shield, made of bark, and going by the title of Mulabakka. Shields in general are called by the name of Hieleman. Some of these bark shields are of considerable size, and are so wide in the middle that, when the owner crouches behind them, they protect the greater part of his body. As the comparatively thin material of which they are composed prevents the handle from being made by cutting into the shield itself, the native is obliged to make the handle separately, and fasten it to the shield by various methods.
The commonest mode of fixing the handle to a Mulabakka shield is seen at figs. 4 and 5, on page 742, which exhibit the front and profile views of the same shield. Another Mulabakka is shown at fig. 6. The faces of all the Mulabakka shields are covered with ornamented patterns, mostly on the usual zigzag principle, but some having a pattern in which curves form the chief element.
LXXIII. AUSTRALIA--Continued
REAL WAR UNKNOWN TO THE AUSTRALIANS -- FEUDS AND THE CAUSES OF THEM -- A SAVAGE TOURNAMENT -- VENGEANCE FOR DEATH -- THE TROPHY OF VICTORY -- AUSTRALIAN VENDETTA -- FIRE-SIGNALS -- DEATH OF TARMEENIA -- ORDEAL OF BATTLE -- CANNIBALISM AS AN ADJUNCT OF WAR -- DANCES OF THE ABORIGINES -- THE KURI DANCE AND ITS STRANGE ACCOMPANIMENTS -- THE PALTI DANCE -- THE CONCLUDING FIGURE -- DANCE OF THE PARNKALLA TRIBE -- ORDINARY CORROBBOREES -- THE KANGAROO DANCE -- TASMANIAN DANCE.
The mention of these various weapons naturally leads us to warfare; and that they are intended for that purpose the existence of the shields is a proof. Offensive weapons, such as the spear and the club, may be used merely for killing game; but the shield can only be employed to defend the body from the weapons of an enemy.
War, however, as we understand the word, is unknown among the Australians. They have not the intellect nor the organization for it, and so we have the curious fact of skilled warriors who never saw a battle. No single tribe is large enough to take one side in a real battle; and, even supposing it to possess sufficient numbers, there is no spirit of discipline by means of which a force could be gathered, kept together, or directed, even if it were assembled.
Yet, though real war is unknown, the Australian natives are continually fighting, and almost every tribe is at feud with its neighbor. The cause of quarrel with them is almost invariably the possession of some territory. By a sort of tacit arrangement, the various tribes have settled themselves in certain districts; and, although they are great wanderers, yet they consider themselves the rightful owners of their own district.
It mostly happens, however, that members of one tribe trespass on the district of another, especially if it be one in which game of any kind is plentiful. And sometimes, when a tribe has gone off on a travelling expedition, another tribe will settle themselves in the vacated district; so that, when the rightful owners of the soil return, there is sure to be a quarrel. The matter is usually settled by a skirmish, which bears some resemblance to the mêlée of ancient chivalry, and is conducted according to well-understood regulations.
The aggrieved tribe sends a challenge to the offenders, the challenger in question bearing a bunch of emu’s feathers tied on the top of a spear. At daybreak next morning the warriors array themselves for battle, painting their bodies in various colors, so as to make themselves look as much like demons, and as much unlike men as possible, laying aside all clothing, and arranging their various weapons for the fight.
Having placed themselves in battle array, at some little distance from each other, the opposite sides begin to revile each other in quite a Homeric manner, taunting their antagonists with cowardice and want of skill in their weapons, and boasting of the great deeds which they are about to do. When, by means of interposing these taunts with shouts and yells, dancing from one foot to the other, quivering and poising their spears, and other mechanical modes of exciting themselves, they have worked themselves up to the requisite pitch of fury, they begin to throw the spears, and the combat becomes general. Confused as it appears, it is, however, arranged with a sort of order. Each warrior selects his antagonist; so that the fight is, in fact, a series of duels rather than a battle, and the whole business bears a curious resemblance to the mode of fighting in the ancient days of Troy.
Generally the combatants stand in rather scattered lines, or, as we should say, in wide skirmishing order. The gestures with which they try to irritate their opponents are very curious, and often grotesque; the chief object being apparently to induce the antagonist to throw the first spear. Sometimes they stand with their feet very widely apart, and their knees straight, after the manner which will be seen in the illustrations of the native dances. While so standing, they communicate a peculiar quivering movement to the legs, and pretend to offer themselves as fair marks. Sometimes they turn their backs on their adversary, and challenge him to throw at them; or they drop on a hand and knee for the same purpose.
Mr. M’Gillivray remarked that two spearmen never throw at the same combatant: but, even with this advantage, the skill of the warrior is amply tested, and it is surprising to see how, by the mere inflection of the body, or the lifting a leg or arm, they avoid a spear which otherwise; must have wounded them. While the fight is going on, the women and children remain in the bush, watching the combat, and uttering a sort of wailing chant, rising and falling in regular cadence.
Sometimes the fight is a very bloody one, though the general rule is, that when one man is killed the battle ceases, the tribe to which the dead man belonged being considered as having been worsted. It might be thought that a battle conducted on such principles would be of very short duration; but the Australian warriors are so skilful in warding off the weapons of their antagonists that they often fight for a considerable time before a man is killed. It must be remembered, too, that the Australian natives can endure, without seeming to be much the worse for them, wounds which would kill an European at once. In such a skirmish, however, much blood is spilt, even though only one man be actually killed, for the barbed spears and sharp-edged boomerangs inflict terrible wounds, and often cripple the wounded man for life.
Other causes beside the quarrel for territory may originate a feud between two tribes. One of these cases is a very curious one. A woman had been bitten by a snake; but, as no blood flowed from the wound, it was thought that the snake was not a venomous one, and that there was no danger. However, the woman died in a few hours, and her death was the signal for a desperate war between two tribes. There seems to be but little connection between the two events, but according to Australian ideas the feud was a justifiable one.
The natives of the part of Australia where this event occurred have a curious idea concerning death. Should any one die without apparent cause, they think that the death is caused by a great bird called marralya, which comes secretly to the sick person, seizes him round the waist in his claws, and squeezes him to death. Now the marralya is not a real bird, but a magical one, being always a man belonging to a hostile tribe, who assumes the shape of the bird, and so finds an opportunity of doing an injury to the tribe with which he is at feud. Having made up his mind that the snake which bit the woman was not a venomous one, her husband could not of course be expected to change his opinion, and so it was agreed upon that one of a neighboring tribe with whom they were at feud must have become a marralya, and killed the woman. The usual challenge was the consequence, and from it came a series of bloody fights.
Like most savage nations, the Australians mutilate their fallen enemies. Instead, however, of cutting off the scalp, or other trophy, they open the body, tear out the fat about the kidneys, and rub it over their own bodies. So general is this custom, that to “take fat” is a common paraphrase for killing an enemy; and when two antagonists are opposed to each other, each is sure to boast that his antagonist shall furnish fat for him. As far as can be learned, they have an idea that this practice endues the victor with the courage of the slain man in addition to his own; and, as a reputation for being a warrior of prowess is the only distinction that a native Australian can achieve, it may be imagined that he is exceedingly anxious to secure such an aid to ambition.
Not from deliberate cruelty, but from the utter thoughtlessness and disregard of inflicting pain which characterizes all savages, the victorious warrior does not trouble himself to wait for the death of his enemy before taking his strange war trophy. Should the man be entirely disabled it is enough for the Australian, who turns him on his back, opens his body with the quartz knife which has already been described, tears out the coveted prize, and rubs himself with it until his whole body and limbs shine as if they were burnished. Oftentimes it has happened that a wounded man has been thus treated, and has been doomed to see his conqueror adorn himself before his eyes. Putting aside any previous injury, such a wound as this is necessarily mortal; but a man has been known to live for more than three days after receiving the injury, so wonderfully strong is the Australian constitution.
Sometimes these feuds spread very widely, and last for a very long time. Before the declaration of war, the opposing tribes refrain from attacking each other, but, after that declaration is once made, the greatest secrecy is often observed, and the warrior is valued the highest who contrives to kill his enemy without exposing himself to danger. Sometimes there is a sort of wild chivalry about the Australians, mingled with much that is savage and revolting. A remarkable instance of these traits is recorded by Mr. M’Gillivray.
An old man had gone on a short expedition in his canoe, while the men of his tribe were engaged in catching turtle. He was watched by a party belonging to a hostile tribe, who followed and speared him. Leaving their spears in the body to indicate their identity, they returned to shore, and made a great fire by way of a challenge. Seeing the signal, and knowing that a column of thick smoke is almost always meant as a challenge, the men left their turtling, and, on finding that the old man was missing, instituted a search after him. As soon as they discovered the body they lighted another fire to signify their acceptance of the challenge, and a party of them started off the same evening in order to inflict reprisals on the enemy.
They soon came upon some natives who belonged to the inimical tribe, but who had not been concerned in the murder, and managed to kill the whole party, consisting of four men, a woman, and a girl. They cut off the heads of their victims, and returned with great exultation, shouting and blowing conch-shells to announce their victory.
The heads were then cooked in an oven, and the eyes scooped out and eaten, together with portions of the cheeks. Only those who had been of the war-party were allowed to partake of this horrible feast. When it was over the victors began a dance, in which they worked themselves into a perfect frenzy, kicking the skulls over the ground, and indulging in all kinds of hideous antics. Afterward the skulls were hung up on two cross sticks near the camp, and allowed to remain there undisturbed.
Fire, by the way, is very largely used in making signals, which are understood all over the continent. A large fire, sending up a great column of smoke, is, as has already been mentioned, almost invariably a sign of defiance, and it is sometimes kindled daily until it is answered by another. If a man wishes to denote that he is in want of assistance, he lights a small fire, and, as soon as it sends up its little column of smoke, he extinguishes it suddenly by throwing earth on it. This is repeated until the required assistance arrives.
Some years ago, when the character and habits of the natives were not known so well as they are now, many of the settlers were murdered by the natives, simply through their system of fire-signalling. One or two natives, generally old men or women, as causing least suspicion, and being entirely unarmed, would approach the farm or camp, and hang about it for some days, asking for food, and cooking it at their own little fires.
The white men had no idea that every fire that was lighted was a signal that was perfectly well understood by a force of armed men that was hovering about them under cover of the woods, nor that the little puffs of smoke which occasionally arose in the distance were answers to the signals made by their treacherous guests. When the spies thought that their hosts were lulled into security, they made the battle-signal, and brought down the whole force upon the unsuspecting whites.
The Australians are wonderfully clever actors. How well they can act honesty and practise theft has already been mentioned. They have also a way of appearing to be unarmed, and yet having weapons ready to hand. They will come out of the bush, with green boughs in their hands as signs of peace, advance for some distance, and ostentatiously throw down their spears and other weapons. They then advance again, apparently unarmed, but each man trailing a spear along the ground by means of his toes. As soon as they are within spear range, they pick up their weapons with their toes, which are nearly as flexible and useful as fingers, hurl them, and then retreat to the spot where they had grounded their weapons.
The Australians have a tenacious memory for injuries, and never lose a chance of reprisal. In 1849, some men belonging to the Badulega tribe had been spending two months on a friendly visit to the natives of Múralug. One of their hosts had married an Itálega woman, and two of the brothers were staying with her. The Badulegas happened to remember that several years before one of their own tribe had been insulted by an Itálega. So they killed the woman, and tried to kill her brothers also, but only succeeded in murdering one of them. They started at once for their home, taking the heads as proof of their victory, and thought that they had done a great and praiseworthy action.
A similar affair took place among some of the tribes of Port Essington. A Monobar native had been captured when thieving, and was imprisoned. He attempted to escape, and in so doing was shot by the sentinel on duty. By rights his family ought to have executed reprisals on a white man; but they did not venture on such a step, and accordingly picked out a native who was on good terms with the white man, and killed him. The friends of the murdered man immediately answered by killing a Monobar, and so the feud went on. In each case the victim was murdered while sleeping, a number of natives quietly surrounding him, and, after spearing him, beating him with their waddies into a shapeless mass.
Should the cause of the feud be the unexplained death of a man or woman, the duty of vengeance belongs to the most formidable male warrior of the family. On such occasions he will solemnly accept the office, adorn himself with the red war-paint, select his best weapons, and promise publicly not to return until he has killed a male of the inimical tribe. How pertinaciously the Australian will adhere to his bloody purpose may be seen from an anecdote related by Mr. Lloyd.
He was startled one night by the furious barking of his dogs. On taking a lantern he found lying on the ground an old black named Tarmeenia, covered with wounds inflicted by spears, and boomerangs, and waddies. He told his story in the strange broken English used by the natives. The gist of the story was, that he and his son were living in a hut, and the son had gone out to snare a bird for his father, who was ill. Presently a “bungilcarney coolie,” i. e. an enemy from another tribe, entered the hut and demanded, “Why did your son kill my wife? I shall kill his father.” Whereupon he drove his spear into the old man’s side, and was beating him to death, when he was disturbed by the return of his son. The young man, a singularly powerful native, knowing that his father would be certainly murdered outright if he remained in the hut, actually carried him more than four miles to Mr. Lloyd’s house, put him down in the yard, and left him.
A hut was at once erected close to the house, and Tarmeenia was installed and attended to. He was very grateful, but was uneasy in his mind, begging that the constable might visit his hut in his nightly rounds, “’cos same bungilcarney coolie cum agin, and dis time too much kill ’im Tarmeenia.” The alarm of the old man seemed rather absurd, considering the position of the hut, but it was fully justified. About three weeks after Tarmeenia had been placed in the hut, Mr. Lloyd was aroused at daybreak by a servant, who said that the old black fellow had been burned to death. Dead he certainly was, and on examining the body two fresh wounds were seen, one by a spear just over the heart, and the other a deep cut in the loins, through which the “bungilcarney” had torn the trophy of war.
Occasionally a man who has offended against some native law has to engage in a kind of a mimic warfare, but without the advantage of having weapons. Mr. Lloyd mentions a curious example of such an ordeal.
“The only instance I ever witnessed of corporeal punishment being inflicted--evidently, too, by some legal process--was upon the person of a fine sleek young black, who, having finished his morning’s repast, rose in a dignified manner, and, casting his rug from his shoulders, strode with Mohican stoicism to the appointed spot, divested of his shield, waddy, or other means of defence. Nor, when once placed, did he utter one word, or move a muscle of his graceful and well-moulded person, but with folded arms and defiant attitude awaited the fatal ordeal.
“A few minutes only elapsed when two equally agile savages, each armed with two spears and a boomerang, marched with stately gait to within sixty yards of the culprit. One weapon after another was hurled at the victim savage, with apparently fatal precision, but his quick eye and wonderful activity set them all at defiance, with the exception of the very last cast of a boomerang, which, taking an unusual course, severed a piece of flesh from the shoulder-blade, equal in size to a crown-piece, as if sliced with a razor, and thus finished the affair.”
The lex talionis forms part of the Australian traditional law, and is sometimes exercised after a rather ludicrous fashion. A young man had committed some light offence, and was severely beaten by two natives, who broke his arm with a club, and laid his head open with a fishing spear. Considerable confusion took place, and at last the elders decided that the punishment was much in excess of the offence, and that, when the wounded man recovered, the two assailants were to offer their heads to him, so that he might strike them a certain number of blows with his waddy.
In the description of the intertribal feuds, it has been mentioned that the men who assisted in killing the victims of reprisal partook of the eyes and cheeks of the murdered person. This leads us to examine the question of cannibalism, inasmuch as some travellers have asserted that the Australians are cannibals and others denying such a propensity as strongly.
That the flesh of human beings is eaten by the Australians is an undeniable fact: but it must be remarked that such an act is often intended as a ceremonial, and not merely as a means of allaying hunger or gratifying the palate. It has been ascertained that some tribes who live along the Murray River have been known to kill and eat children, mixing their flesh with that of the dog. This, however, only occurs in seasons of great scarcity; and that the event was exceptional and not customary, is evident from the fact that a man was pointed out as having killed his children for food. Now it is plain, that, if cannibalism was the custom, such a man would not be sufficiently conspicuous to be specially mentioned. These tribes have a horrible custom of killing little boys for the sake of their fat, with which they bait fish-hooks.
Another example of cannibalism is described by Mr. Angas as occurring in New South Wales. A lad had died, and his body was taken by several young men, who proceeded to the following remarkable ceremonies. They began by removing the skin, together with the head, rolling it round a stake, and drying it over the fire. While this was being done, the parents, who had been uttering loud lamentations, took the flesh from the legs, cooked, and ate it. The remainder of the body was distributed among the friends of the deceased, who carried away their portions on the points of their spears; and the skin and bones were kept by the parents, and always carried about in their wallets.
* * * * *
It may seem strange that the mention of the weapons and mode of fighting should lead us naturally to the dances of the Australians. Such, however, is the case; for in most of their dances weapons of some sort are introduced. The first which will be mentioned is the Kuri dance, which was described to Mr. Angas by a friend who had frequently seen it, and is illustrated on the next page. This dance is performed by the natives of the Adelaide district. It seems to have one point in common with the cotillon of Europe, namely, that it can be varied, shortened, or lengthened, according to the caprice of the players; so that if a spectator see the Kuri dance performed six or seven times, he will never see the movements repeated in the same order. The following extract describes a single Kuri dance, and from it the reader may form his impressions of its general character:--
“But first the dramatis personæ must be introduced, and particularly described. The performers were divided into five distinct classes, the greater body comprising about twenty-five young men, including five or six boys, painted and decorated as follows: in nudity, except the yoodna which is made expressly for the occasion, with bunches of gum-leaves tied round the legs just above the knee, which, as they stamped about, made a loud switching noise. In their hands they held a katta or wirri, and some a few gum-leaves. The former were held at arm’s length, and struck alternately with their legs as they stamped. They were painted, from each shoulder down to the hips, with five or six white stripes, rising from the breast; their faces also, with white perpendicular lines, making the most hideous appearance. These were the dancers.
“Next came two groups of women, about five or six in number, standing on the right and left of the dancers, merely taking the part of supernumeraries; they were not painted, but had leaves in their hands, which they shook, and kept beating time with their feet during the whole performance, but never moved from the spot where they stood.
“Next followed two remarkable characters, painted and decorated like the dancers, but with the addition of the palyertatta--a singular ornament made of two pieces of stick put crosswise, and bound together by the mangna, in a spreading manner, having at the extremities feathers opened, so as to set it off to the best advantage. One had the palyertatta stick sideways upon his head, while the other, in the most wizard-like manner, kept waving it to and fro before him, corresponding with the action of his head and legs.
“Then followed a performer distinguished by a long spear, from the top of which a bunch of feathers hung suspended, and all down the spear the mangna was wound; he held the koonteroo (spear and feathers) with both hands behind his back, but occasionally altered the position, and waved it to the right and left over the dancers. And last came the singers--two elderly men in their usual habiliments; their musical instruments were the katta and wirri, on which they managed to beat a double note; their song was one unvaried, gabbling tone.
“The night was mild; the new moon shone with a faint light, casting a depth of shade over the earth, which gave a sombre appearance to the surrounding scene that highly conduced to enhance the effect of the approaching play. In the distance, a black mass could be discerned under the gum-trees, whence occasionally a shout and a burst of flame arose. These were the performers dressing for the dance, and no one approached them while thus occupied.
“Two men, closely wrapped in their opossum-skins, noiselessly approached one of the wurlies, where the Kuri was to be performed, and commenced clearing a space for the singers; this done, they went back to the singers, but soon after returned, sat down, and began a peculiar harsh and monotonous tune, keeping time with a katta and a wirri by rattling them together. All the natives of the different wurlies flocked round the singers, and sat down in the form of a horse-shoe, two or three rows deep.
“By this time the dancers had moved in a compact body to within a short distance of the spectators; after standing for a few minutes in perfect silence, they answered the singers by a singular deep shout simultaneously: twice this was done, and then the man with the koonteroo stepped out, his body leaning forward, and commenced with a regular stamp; the two men with the palyertattas followed, stamping with great regularity, the rest joining in: the regular and alternate stamp, the waving of the palyertatta to and fro, with the loud switching noise of the gum leaves, formed a scene highly characteristic of the Australian natives. In this style they approached the singers, the spectators every now and then shouting forth their applause. For some time they kept stamping in a body before the singers, which had an admirable effect, and did great credit to their dancing attainments; then one by one they turned round, and danced their way back to the place they first started from, and sat down. The palyertatta and koonteroo men were the last who left, and as these three singular beings stamped their way to the other dancers they made a very odd appearance.
“The singing continued for a short time, and then pipes were lighted; shouts of applause ensued, and boisterous conversation followed. After resting about ten minutes, the singers commenced again; and soon after the dancers huddled together, and responded to the call by the peculiar shout already mentioned, and then performed the same feat over again--with this variation, that the palyertatta men brought up the rear, instead of leading the way. Four separate times these parts of the play were performed with the usual effect; then followed the concluding one, as follows: after tramping up to the singers, the man with the koonteroo commenced a part which called forth unbounded applause; with his head and body inclined on one side, his spear and feathers behind his back, standing on the left leg, he beat time with the right foot, twitching his body and eye, and stamping with the greatest precision; he remained a few minutes in this position, and then suddenly turned round, stood on his right leg, and did the same once with his left foot.
“In the mean while the two men with the mystic palyertatta kept waving their instruments to and fro, corresponding with the motions of their heads and legs, and the silent trampers performed their part equally well. The koonteroo man now suddenly stopped, and, planting his spear in the ground, stood in a stooping position behind it; two dancers stepped up, went through the same manœuvre as the preceding party with wonderful regularity, and then gave a final stamp, turned round, and grasped the spear in a stooping position, and so on with all the rest, until every dancer was brought to the spear, so forming a circular body.
“The palyertatta men now performed the same movement on each side of this body, accompanied with the perpetual motion of the head, leg, and arm, and then went round and round, and finally gave the arrival stamp, thrust in their arm, and grasped the spear: at the same time all sunk on their knees and began to move away in a mass from the singers, with a sort of grunting noise, while their bodies leaned and tossed to and fro; when they had got about ten or twelve yards they ceased, and, giving one long semi-grunt or groan (after the manner of the red kangaroo, as they say), dispersed.
“During the whole performance, the singing went on in one continued strain, and, after the last act of the performers, the rattling accompaniment of the singing ceased, the strain died gradually away, and shouts and acclamations rent the air.”
There are many other dances among the Australians. There is, for example, the Frog-dance. The performers paint themselves after the usual grotesque manner, hike their wirris in their hands, beat them together, and then squat down and jump after each other in circles, imitating the movements of the frog. Then there is the emu-dance, in which all the gestures consist of imitation of emu-hunting, the man who enacts the part of the bird imitating its voice.
In some parts of Australia they have the canoe dance, one of the most graceful of these performances.
Both men and women take part in this dance, painting their bodies with white and red ochre, and each furnished with a stick which represents the paddle. They begin to dance by stationing themselves in two lines, but with the stick across their backs and held by the arms, while they move their feet alternately to the tune of the song with which the dance is accompanied. At a given signal they all bring the sticks to the front, and hold them as they do paddles, swaying themselves in regular time as if they were paddling in one of their light canoes.
Another dance, the object of which is not very certain, is a great favorite with the Moorundi natives. The men, having previously decorated their bodies with stripes of red ochre, stand in a line, while the women are collected in a group and beat time together. The dance consists in stamping simultaneously with the left foot, and shaking the fingers of the extended arms. This dance is called Pedeku.
There is a rather curious dance, or movement, with which they often conclude the performance of the evening. They sit cross-legged round their fire, beating time with their spears and wirris. Suddenly they all stretch out their arms as if pointing to some distant object, rolling their eyes fearfully is they do so, and finish by leaping on their feet with a simultaneous yell that echoes for miles through the forest.
In his splendid work on South Australia, Mr. Angas describes a rather curious dance performed by the Parnkalla tribe, in which both sexes take part. Each man carries a belt made either of human hair or opossum fur, holding one end in each hand, and keeping the belt tightly strained. There is a slight variation in the mode of performing this dance, but the usual plan is for all the men to sit down, while a woman takes her place in the middle. One of the men then dances up to her, jumping from side to side, and swaying his arms in harmony with his movements. The woman begins jumping as her partner approaches, and then they dance back again, when their place is taken by a fresh couple.
Some persons have supposed that this dance is a religious ceremony, because it is usually held on clear moonlight evenings. Sometimes, however, it is performed during the day-time.
The commonest native dance, or “corrobboree,” is that which is known as the Palti, and which is represented on the 749th page. It is always danced by night, the fitful blaze of the fire being thought necessary to bring out all its beauties.
Before beginning this dance, the performers prepare themselves by decorating their bodies in some grotesque style with white and scarlet paints, which contrast boldly with the shining black of their skins. The favorite pattern is the skeleton, each rib being marked by a broad stripe of white paint, and a similar stripe running down the breast and along the legs and arms. The face is painted in a similar fashion. The effect produced by this strange pattern is a most startling one. Illuminated only by the light of the fire, the black bodies and limbs are scarcely visible against the dark background, so that, as the performers pass backward and forward in the movements of the dance, they look exactly like a number of skeletons endued with life by magic powers.
This effect is increased by the curious quivering of the legs, which are planted firmly on the ground, but to which the dancers are able to impart a rapid vibratory movement from the knees upward. The wirris, or clubs, are held in the hands, as seen in the illustration, and at certain intervals they are brought over the head, and clashed violently together. The Palti, as well as the Kuri dance is conducted by a leader, who gives the word of command for the different movements. Some of the dancers increase their odd appearance by making a fillet from the front teeth of the kangaroo, and tying it round their foreheads.
Once in a year, the natives of some districts have a very grand dance, called the “cobbongo corrobboree,” or great mystery dance. This dance is performed by the natives of the far interior. An admirable account of this dance was published in the Illustrated London News of October 3, 1863, and is here given. “The time selected for this great event is every twelfth moon, and during her declination. For several days previous a number of tribes whose territories adjoin one another congregate at a particular spot, characterized by an immense mound of earth covered with ashes (known amongst the white inhabitants as ‘a black’s oven’) and surrounded by plenty of ‘couraway’ or water holes. To this place they bring numbers of kangaroos, ’possums, emus, and wild ducks, and a large quantity of wild honey, together with the grass from the seeds of which they make a sort of bread.
“Upon the evening on which the ‘corrobboree’ is celebrated, a number of old men (one from each tribe), called by the natives ‘wammaroogo,’ signifying medicine men or charm men, repair to the top of the mound, where, after lighting a fire, they walk round it, muttering sentences and throwing into it portions of old charms which they have worn round their necks for the past twelve months. This is continued for about half an hour, when they descend, each carrying a fire-stick, which he places at the outskirts of the camp, and which is supposed to prevent evil spirits approaching. As soon as this is over, during which a most profound silence is observed by all, the men of the tribe prepare their toilet for the ‘corrobboree,’ daubing themselves over with chalk, red ochre, and fat.
“While the men are thus engaged, the gentler sex are busy arranging themselves in a long line, and in a sitting posture, with rugs made of ’possum skins doubled round their legs, and a small stick called ‘nullà-nullà’ in each hand. A fire is lighted in front of them, and tended by one of the old charmers. As the men are ready, they seat themselves cross-legged like tailors, and in regular ‘serried file,’ at the opposite side of the fire to the women, while one of the medicine men takes up his position on the top of the mound to watch the rising of the moon, which is the signal for ‘corrobboree.’ All is now still; nothing disturbs the silence save the occasional jabber of a woman or child, and even that, after a few minutes, is hushed. The blaze of the fire throws a fitful light along the battalion-like front of the black phalanx, and the hideous faces, daubed with paint and smeared with grease, show out at such a moment to anything but advantage.
“As soon as the old gentleman who has been ‘taking the lunar’ announces the advent of that planet, which seems to exercise as great an influence over the actions of these people as over many of those amongst ourselves, the ‘corrobboree’ commences. The women beat the little sticks together, keeping time to a peculiar monotonous air, and repeating the words, the burden of which when translated may be--
“‘The kangaroo is swift, but swifter is Ngoyulloman; The snake is cunning, but more cunning is Ngoyulloman,’ &c.,
each woman using the name of her husband or favorite in the tribe. The men spring to their feet with a yell that rings through the forest, and, brandishing their spears, boomerangs. &c., commence their dance, flinging themselves into all sorts of attitudes, howling, laughing, grinning, and singing; and this they continue till sheer exhaustion compels them to desist, after which they roast and eat the product of the chase, gathered for the occasion, and then drop off to sleep one by one.”
The reader will see that this great mystery “corrobboree” combines several of the peculiar movements which are to be found in the various dances that have already been described.
A dance of somewhat similar character used to be celebrated by the Tasmanians at the occasion of each full moon, as is described by Mr. G. T. Lloyd. The various tribes assembled at some trysting-place; and while the women prepared the fire, and fenced off a space for the dance, the men retired to adorn themselves with paint, and to fasten bunches of bushy twigs to their ankles, wrists, and waists.
The women being seated at the end of this space, one of the oldest among them strode forward, calling by name one of the performers, reviling him as a coward, and challenging him to appear and answer her charge. The warrior was not long in his response, and, bounding into the circle through the fire, he proclaimed his deeds of daring in war and in the hunt. At every pause he made, his female admirers took up his praises, vaunting his actions in a sort of chant, which they accompanied by extemporized drums formed of rolled kangaroo skins.
Suddenly, upon some inspiring allegretto movement of the thumping band, thirty or forty grim savages would bound successively through the furious flames into the sacred arena, looking like veritable demons on a special visit to terra firma, and, after thoroughly exhausting themselves by leaping in imitation of the kangaroo around and through the fire, they vanished in an instant. These were as rapidly succeeded by their lovely gins, who, at a given signal from the beldame speaker, rose en masse, and ranging themselves round the fresh-plied flames in a state unadorned and genuine as imported into the world, contorted their arms, legs, and bodies into attitudes that would shame first-class acrobats. The grand point, however, with each of the well-greased beauties was to scream down her sable sister.
This dance, as well as other native customs, has departed, together with the aborigines, from the island, and the native Tasmanians are now practically extinct. There is before me a photograph of the three remaining survivors of these tribes, which some sixty years ago numbered between six and seven thousand. That they should have so rapidly perished under the influence of the white man is explained from the fact that their island is but limited in extent, and that they are altogether inferior to the aborigines of the continent. They are small in stature, the men averaging only five feet three inches in height, and they are very ill-favored in countenance, the line from the nose to the corners of the mouth being very deep and much curved, so as to enclose the mouth in a pair of parentheses. The hair is cut very closely. This is done by means of two sharp-edged fragments of flint, broken glass being preferred since Europeans settled in the country. Cutting the hair is necessarily a tedious ceremony, only ten or twelve hairs being severed at a time, and upwards of three hours being consumed in trimming a head fit for a dance. Shaving is conducted after the same manner.
The general habits of the Tasmanian natives agree with those of the continent. The mode of climbing trees, however, is a curious mixture of the Australian and Polynesian custom. When the native discovers the marks of an opossum on the bark, he plucks a quantity of wire grass, and rapidly lays it up in a three-stranded plait, with which he encircles the tree and his own waist. By means of a single chop of the tomahawk he makes a slight notch in the bark, into which he puts his great toe, raises himself by it, and simultaneously jerks the grass band up the trunk of the tree. Notch after notch is thus made, and the native ascends with incredible rapidity, the notches never being less than three feet six inches apart.
Often, the opossum, alarmed at the sound of the tomahawk, leaves its nest, and runs along some bare bough, projecting horizontally from eighty to a hundred feet above the ground. The native walks along the bough upright and firm as if the tree were his native place, and shakes the animal into the midst of his companions who are assembled under the tree.
The natives never, in their wild state, wear clothes of any kind. They manufacture cloaks of opossum and kangaroo skins, but only in defence against cold. They are wonderful hunters, and have been successfully employed by the colonists in tracing sheep that had strayed, or the footsteps of the thief who had stolen them. The slightest scratch tell its tale to these quick-eyed people, who know at once the very time at which the impression was made, and, having once seen it, start off at a quick pace, and are certain to overtake the fugitive.
The untimely end of the aboriginal Tasmanians is greatly to be attributed to the conduct of a well-known chief, called Mosquito. He was a native of Sydney, and, having been convicted of several murders, was, by a mistaken act of lenity, transported to Tasmania, when he made acquaintance with the Oyster Bay tribe. Being much taller and stronger than the natives, he was unanimously elected chief, and took the command. His reign was most disastrous for the Tasmanians. He ruled them with a rod of iron, punishing the slightest disobedience with a blow of his tomahawk, not caring in the least whether the culprit were killed or not. He organized a series of depredations on the property of the colonists, and was peculiarly celebrated for his skill in stealing potatoes, teaching his followers to abstract them from the ridges, and to rearrange the ground so as to look as if it had never been disturbed, and to obliterate all traces of their footmarks with boughs.
Under the influence of such a leader, the natives became murderers as well as thieves, so that the lives of the colonists were always in peril. It was therefore necessary to take some decided measures with them; and after sundry unsuccessful expeditious, the natives at last submitted themselves, and the whole of them, numbering then (1837) scarcely more than three hundred, were removed to Flinder’s Island, where a number of comfortable stone cottages were built for them, infinitely superior to the rude bough huts or miam-miams of their own construction. They were liberally supplied with food, clothing, and other necessaries, as well as luxuries, and the Government even appointed a resident surgeon to attend them when ill. All this care was, however, useless. Contact with civilization produced its usual fruits, and in 1861 the native Tasmanians were only thirteen in number. Ten have since died, and it is not likely that the three who survived in 1867 will perpetuate their race.
That the singularly rapid decadence of the Tasmanians was partly caused by the conduct of the shepherds, and other rough and uneducated men in the service of the colonists, cannot be denied. But the white offenders were comparatively few, and quite unable themselves to effect such a change in so short a time. For the real cause we must look to the strange but unvariable laws of progression. Whenever a higher race occupies the same grounds as a lower, the latter perishes, and, whether in animate or inanimate nature, the new world is always built on the ruins of the old.
LXXIV. AUSTRALIA--Continued
DOMESTIC LIFE.
MARRIAGE -- PURCHASE AND EXCHANGE OF WIVES -- A ROUGH WOOING -- TREATMENT OF THE WIVES -- A BRUTAL HUSBAND -- NARROW ESCAPE -- A FAITHFUL COMPANION -- AUSTRALIAN MOTHERS -- TREATMENT OF THE NEW-BORN INFANT -- PRACTICE OF INFANTICIDE -- THE MOTHER AND HER DEAD CHILD.
We will now proceed to the domestic life of the native Australian, if, indeed, their mode of existence deserves such a name, and will begin with marriage customs.
Betrothal takes place at a very early age, the girl being often promised in marriage when she is a mere child, her future husband being perhaps an old man with two or three wives and a number of children. Of course the girl is purchased from her father, the price varying according to the means of the husband. Articles of European make are now exceedingly valued; and as a rule, a knife, a glass bottle, or some such article, is considered as a fair price for a wife.
Exchange is often practised, so that a young man who happens to have a sister to spare will look out for some man who has a daughter unbetrothed, and will effect an amicable exchange with him, so that a man who possesses sisters by his father’s death is as sure of a corresponding number of wives as if he had the means wherewith to buy them.
Until her intended husband takes her to wife, the betrothed girl lives with her parents, and during this interval she is not watched with the strictness which is generally exercised toward betrothed girls of savages. On the contrary, she is tacitly allowed to have as many lovers as she chooses, provided that a conventional amount of secrecy be observed, and her husband, when he marries her, makes no complaint. After marriage, however, the case is altered, and, if a former lover were to attempt a continuance of the acquaintance, the husband would avenge himself by visiting both parties with the severest punishment. There is no ceremony about marriage, the girl being simply taken to the hut of her husband, and thenceforth considered as his wife.
In some parts of Australia, when a young man takes a fancy to a girl he obtains her after a rather curious fashion, which seems a very odd mode of showing affection. Watching his opportunity when the girl has strayed apart from her friends, he stuns her with a blow on the head from his waddy, carries her off, and so makes her his wife. The father of the girl is naturally offended at the loss of his daughter, and complains to the elders. The result is almost invariably that the gallant offender is sentenced to stand the ordeal of spear and boomerang. Furnished with only his narrow shield, he stands still, while the aggrieved father and other relatives hurl a certain number of spears and boomerangs at him. It is very seldom that he allows himself to be touched, but, when the stipulated number of throws has been made, he is considered as having expiated his offence, whether he be hit or not.
Polygamy is of course practised, but to no very great extent. Still, although a man may never have more than two or three wives at a time, he has often married a considerable number, either discarding them, when they are too old to please his taste, or perhaps killing them in a fit of anger. The last is no uncommon mode of getting rid of a wife, and no one seems to think that her husband has acted cruelly. Indeed, the genuine native would not be able to comprehend the possibility of being cruel to his wife, inasmuch as he recognizes in her no right to kind treatment. She is as much his chattel as his spear or hut, and he would no more think himself cruel in beating his wife to death than in breaking the one or burning the other.
Since white men came to settle in the country the natives have learned to consider them as beings of another sphere, very powerful, but unfortunately possessed with some unaccountable prejudices. Finding, therefore, that breaking a wife’s limb with a club, piercing her with a spear, or any other mode of expressing dissatisfaction, shocked the prejudices of the white men, they ceased to mention such practices, though they did not discontinue them.
Quite recently, a native servant was late in keeping his appointment with his master, and, on inquiry, it was elicited that he had just quarrelled with one of his wives, and had speared her through the body. On being rebuked by his master he turned off the matter with a laugh, merely remarking that white men had only one wife, whereas he had two, and did not mind losing one until he could buy another.
Considering and treating the women as mere articles of property, the men naturally repose no confidence in them, and never condescend to make them acquainted with their plans. If they intend to make an attack upon another tribe, or to organize an expedition for robbery, they carefully conceal it from the weaker sex, thinking that such inferior animals cannot keep secrets, and might betray them to the objects of the intended attack.
The utter contempt which is felt by the native Australians for their women is well illustrated by an adventure which occurred after a dance which had been got up for the benefit of the white men, on the understanding that a certain amount of biscuit should be given to the dancers. When the performance was over, the biscuit was injudiciously handed to a woman for distribution. A misunderstanding at once took place. The men, although they would not hesitate to take away the biscuit by force, would not condescend to ask a woman for it, and therefore considered that the promised payment had not been made to them. Some of them, after muttering their discontent, slipped away for their spears and throwing-sticks, and the whole place was in a turmoil.
Fortunately, in order to amuse the natives, the white visitors, who had never thought of the offence that they had given, sent up a few rockets, which frightened the people for a time, and then burned a blue light. As the brilliant rays pierced the dark recesses of the forest, they disclosed numbers of armed men among the trees, some alone and others in groups, but all evidently watching the movements of the visitors whose conduct had so deeply insulted them. A friendly native saw their danger at once, and hurried them off to their boats, saying that spears would soon be thrown.
There was much excuse to be found for them. They had been subjected to one of the grossest insults that warriors could receive. To them, women were little better than dogs, and, if there were any food, the warriors first satisfied their own hunger, and then threw to the women any fragments that might be left. Therefore, that a woman--a mere household chattel--should be deputed to distribute food to warriors was a gross, intolerable, and, as they naturally thought, intentional insult. It was equivalent to degrading them from their rank as men and warriors, and making them even of less account than women. No wonder, then, that their anger was roused, and the only matter of surprise is that an attack was not immediately made. Australian warriors have their own ideas of chivalry, and, like the knights of old, feel themselves bound to resent the smallest aspersion cast upon their honor.
Mr. M’Gillivray, who narrates this anecdote makes a few remarks which are most valuable, as showing the errors which are too often committed when dealing with savages, not only those of Australia, but of other countries.
“I have alluded to this occurrence, trivial as it may appear, not without an object. It serves as an illustration of the policy of respecting the known customs of the Australian race, even in apparently trifling matters, at least during the early period of intercourse with a tribe, and shows how a little want of judgment in the director of our party caused the most friendly intentions to be misunderstood, and might have led to fatal results.
“I must confess that I should have considered any injury sustained on our side to have been most richly merited. Moreover, I am convinced that some at least of the collisions which have taken place in Australia between the first European visitors and the natives of any given district have originated in causes of offence brought on by the indiscretion of one or more of the party, and revenged on others who were innocent.”
Mr. M’Gillivray then proceeds to mention the well-known case of the night attack on Mr. Leichhardt’s expedition. For no apparent reason, a violent assault was made on the camp, and Mr. Gilbert was killed. The reason of this attack did not transpire until long afterward, when a native attached to the expedition divulged, in a state of intoxication, the fact that he and a fellow-countryman had grossly insulted a native woman.
Yet, in spite of this brutal treatment, the women often show a depth of affectionate feeling which raises them far above the brutal savages that enslave them. One remarkable instance of this feeling is mentioned by Mr. Bennett. She had formed an attachment to an escaped convict, who became a bushranger, and enabled him, by her industry and courage, to prolong the always precarious life of a bushranger beyond the ordinary limits.
The chief dangers that beset these ruffians are the necessity for procuring food, and the watch which is always kept by the police. Her native skill enabled her to supply him with food, and, while he was lying concealed, she used to fish, hunt, dig roots, and then to cook them for him. Her native quickness of eye and ear enabled her to detect the approach of the police, and, by the instinctive cunning with which these blacks are gifted, she repeatedly threw the pursuers off the scent. He was utterly unworthy of the affection which she bestowed on him, and used to beat her unmercifully, but, undeterred by his cruelty, she never flagged in her exertions for his welfare; and on one occasion, while he was actually engaged in ill-treating her, the police came upon his place of refuge, and must have captured him, had she not again misled them, and sent them to a spot far from the place where he was hidden. At last, he ventured out too boldly, during her accidental absence, was captured, tried and hanged. But up to the last this faithful creature never deserted him, and, even when he was imprisoned, she tried to follow him, but was reclaimed by her tribe.
When a native woman is about to become a mother she retires into the bush, sometimes alone, but generally accompanied by a female friend, and, owing to the strong constitution of these women, seldom remains in her retirement more than a day or so. Among the natives of Victoria, the ceremony attending the birth of a child is rather curious, and is amusingly described by Mr. Lloyd: “While upon the subject of the Australian aborigines, I must not omit to describe the very original modus operandi of the indigenous sage femme.
“The unhappy loobra (native woman) retired with her wise woman into some lone secluded dell, abounding with light sea-sand. A fire was kindled, and the wretched miam-miam speedily constructed. Then came the slender repast, comprising a spare morsel of kangaroo or other meat, supplied with a sparing hand by her stoical coolie (male native), grilled, and graced with the tendrils of green opiate cow-thistles, or the succulent roots of the bulbous leaf ‘mernong.’
“The sable attendant soon entered upon her interesting duties. One of the first was, to light a second fire over a quantity of prepared sand, that had been carefully divested of all fibrous roots, pebbles, or coarser matter. The burning coals and faggots were removed from thence, upon some nice calculation as to the period of the unfortunate little nigger’s arrival. When the miniature representative of his sable father beheld the light of day, a hole was scratched in the heated sand, and the wee russet-brown thing safely deposited therein, in a state of perfect nudity, and buried to the very chin, so effectually covered up as to render any objectionable movement on his or her part utterly impossible.
“So far as any infantine ebullitions of feeling are concerned, the learned sages femmes appeared to have a thorough knowledge as to the world-wide method of treating the mewling and puking importunities of unreasoning nurslings. They knew well that a two-hours’ sojourn in the desert sand, warm as it might be, would do much to cool the new comer, and temper it into compliance. At the expiration of that time, having acquired so much knowledge of earthly troubles, the well-baked juvenile was considered to be thoroughly done, and thereupon introduced to his delighted loobra mamma.”
Following the custom of many savage nations, the Australians too often destroy their children in their first infancy. Among the Muralug tribes the practice is very common. It has already been mentioned that the girls live very unrestrainedly before marriage, and the result is, that a young woman will sometimes have several children before her marriage. As a general rule, these children are at once killed, unless the father be desirous of preserving them. This, however, is seldom the case, and he usually gives the order “Márana teio,” i. e. Throw it into the hole, when the poor little thing is at once buried alive. Even those children which are born after marriage are not always preserved. In the first place, a woman will scarcely ever take charge of more than three children, and many a female child is destroyed where a male would be allowed to live.
All children who have any bodily defect are sure to be killed, and, as a general rule, half-caste children are seldom allowed to live. The mothers are usually ashamed to acknowledge these murders, but in one case the unnatural parent openly avowed the deed, saying that the infant was like a waragul, i. e. the native dog or dingo. The fact was that its father was a sailor who had fiery red hair, and his offspring partook of the same rufous complexion. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, one of which may be found in the case of the poor woman who was so faithful to her convict mate. She had a male child, which was brought up by the tribe to which she belonged, and they were so fond of him that they refused to give him up when some benevolent persons tried to obtain possession of him in order to educate him in civilization.
If, however, the child is allowed to live, the Australian mother is a very affectionate one, tending her offspring with the greatest care, and in her own wild way being as loving a parent as can be found in any part of the world. The engraving No. 2, on the next page, illustrates this devotion of Australian mothers to their children.
In nothing is this affection better shown than in the case of a child’s death. Although she might have consigned it when an infant to a living grave without a pang of remorse, yet, when it dies after having been nurtured by her, she exhibits a steady sorrow that exhibits the depth of affection with which she regarded the child. When it dies, she swathes the body in many wrappers, places it in her net-bul, or native wallet, and carries it about with her as if it were alive. She never parts with it for a moment. When she eats she offers food to the dead corpse, as if it were still alive, and when she lies down to sleep, she lays her head upon the wallet, which serves her as a pillow. The progress of decay has no effect upon her, and though the body becomes so offensive that no one can come near her, she seems unconscious of it, and never dreams of abandoning the dreadful burden. In process of time nothing is left but the mere bones, but even these are tended in the same loving manner, and even after the lapse of years the mother has been known to bear, in addition to her other burdens, the remains of her dead child. Even when the child has been from six to seven years old she will treat it in the same manner, and, with this burden on her back, will continue to discharge her heavy domestic duties.
LXXV. AUSTRALIA--Continued
FROM CHILDHOOD TO MANHOOD.
AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN -- CEREMONIES ATTENDANT ON BECOMING MEN -- ADMISSION TO THE RANK OF HUNTER -- CEREMONY OF THE KANGAROO -- THE KORADJEES AND THEIR DUTIES -- KNOCKING OUT THE TOOTH -- TRIAL BY ENDURANCE -- TEST OF DETERMINATION -- THE MAGIC CRYSTAL -- THE FINAL FEAST -- INITIATION AMONG THE MOORUNDI AND PARNKALLA TRIBE -- THE WITARNA, AND ITS DREADED SOUND -- THE WHISPERERS -- TAKING THE SECOND DEGREE -- THE APRON AND HEAD-NET -- THE THIRD AND LAST CEREMONY -- ENDURANCE OF PAIN -- A NAUO MAN -- STORY OF GI’ÔM -- MAKING KOTAIGA OR BROTHERHOOD.
Australian children, while they remain children, and as such are under the dominion of their mothers, are rather engaging little creatures. They cannot be called pretty, partly owing to the total neglect, or rather ignorance, of personal cleanliness, and partly on account of the diet with which they are fed. Their eyes are soft, and possess the half-wistful, half-wild expression that so peculiarly distinguishes the young savage. But they are never washed except by accident, their profuse black hair wanders in unkempt masses over their heads, and their stomachs protrude exactly like those of the young African savage.
In process of time they lose all these characteristics. The wistful expression dies out of their eyes, while the restless, suspicious glance of the savage takes its place. They become quarrelsome, headstrong, and insubordinate, and, after exhibiting these qualifications for a higher rank in life, they become candidates for admission into the rights and privileges of manhood. Among civilized nations, attaining legal majority is a simple process enough, merely consisting of waiting until the candidate is old enough; but with many savage nations, and specially with the Australians, the process of becoming men is a long, intricate, and singularly painful series of ceremonies.
These rites vary according to the locality in which they are celebrated, but they all agree in one point, namely,--in causing very severe pain to the initiates, and testing to the utmost their endurance of pain. As many of these rites are almost identical in different tribes, I shall not repeat any of them, but only mention those points in which the ceremonies differ from each other.
One of these customs, which seems to belong to almost every variety of savage life, namely, the loss of certain teeth, flourishes among the Australians. The mode of extracting the teeth is simple enough. The men who conduct the ceremony pretend to be very ill, swoon, and writhe on the ground, and are treated after the usual method of healing the sick, i. e. their friends make a howling and shouting, dance round and hit them on the back, until each sick man produces a piece of sharp bone.
This ceremony being intended to give the initiates power over the various animals, a series of appropriate ceremonies are performed. On the morning after the sharp bones have been mysteriously produced, the Koradjees, or operators, dress themselves up with bits of fur and other decorations, which are conventionally accepted as representing the dingo, or native dog. The wooden sword, which is thrust into a belt, sticks up over the back, and takes the place of the tail. The boys are then made to sit on the ground, while the koradjees run round and round them on all fours, thus representing dogs, and giving the lads to understand that the succeeding ceremony will give them power over dogs. In token of this power, each time that they pass the boys they throw sand and dust over them.
Here it must be remarked that the Australian natives are great dog-fanciers, the dog being to them what the pig is to the Sandwich Islanders. There is scarcely a lad who does not possess at least one dog, and many have several, of which they take charge from earliest puppyhood, and which accompany their masters wherever they go. Besides their value as companions, these dogs are useful for another reason. They are a safeguard against famine; for when a man is in danger of starving, he is sure to rescue himself by killing and cooking his faithful dog. The animal has never cost him any trouble. It forages for itself as it best can, and always adheres to its owner, and is always at hand when wanted. The object, therefore, of the first part of the ceremony is to intimate to the lads that they are not only to have dominion over the dogs, but that they ought to possess its excellent qualities.
The next part of the ceremony is intended to give them power over the kangaroos.
Accordingly, a stout native now appears on the scene, bearing on his shoulders the rude effigy of a kangaroo, made of grass; and after him walks another man with a load of brushwood. The men move with measured steps, in time to the strokes of clubs upon shields, wherewith the spectators accompany the songs which they sing. At the end of the dance, the men lay their burdens at the feet of the youths, the grass effigy signifying the kangaroo, and the brushwood being accepted as a sign of its haunts.
The koradjees now take upon themselves the character of the kangaroo, as they formerly personated the dog. They make long ropes of grass in imitation of the kangaroo’s tail, and fasten them at the back of their girdles. They then imitate the various movements of the kangaroo, such as leaping, feeding, rising on their feet and looking about them, or lying down on their sides and scratching themselves, as kangaroos do when basking in the sun. As they go through these performances, several men enact the part of hunters, and follow them with their spears, pretending to steal upon them unobserved, and so to kill them.
After a few more ceremonies, the men lie on the ground, and the boys are led over their prostrate bodies, the men groaning and writhing, and pretending to suffer horrible agony from the contact with uninitiates. At last the boys are drawn up in a row, and opposite to them stands the principal koradjee, holding his shield and waddy, with which he keeps up a series of regular strokes, the whole party poising their spears at him, and at every third stroke touching his shield.
The operators now proceed to the actual removal of the tooth. The initiates are placed on the shoulders of men seated on the ground, and the operator then lances the gums freely with the sharp bone. One end of a wummerah, or throw-stick, is next placed on the tooth, and a sharp blow is struck with the stone, knocking out the tooth, and often a piece of gum also if the lancing has not been properly done.
Among another tribe, the initiate is seated opposite a tree. A stick is then placed against the trunk of the tree, with its other end resting on the tooth. The operator suddenly pushes the lad’s head forward, when, as a matter of course, the tooth comes out. The blood is allowed to flow over the spot, and, as it is a sign of manhood, is never washed off.
The tooth being finally extracted, the boy is led to a distance, and his friends press the wounded gum together, and dress him in the emblems of his rank as a man. The opossum fur belt, or kumeel, is fastened round his waist, and in it is thrust the wooden sword, which he, as a warrior, is now expected to use. A bandage is tied round his forehead, in which are stuck a number of grass-tree leaves; his left hand is placed over his mouth, and for the rest of the day he is not allowed to eat.
In some parts of the country there is a curious addition to the mere loss of the tooth. The warriors stand over the lad, exhorting him to patience, and threatening him with instant death if he should flinch, cry out, or show any signs of pain. The operators then deliberately cut long gashes all down his back, and others upon his shoulders. Should he groan, or display any symptoms of suffering, the operators give three long and piercing yells, as a sign that the youth is unworthy to be a warrior. The women are summoned, and the recreant is handed over to them, ever after to be ranked with the women, and share in their menial and despised tasks.
Even after passing the bodily ordeal, he has to undergo a mental trial. There is a certain mysterious piece of crystal to which various magic powers are attributed, and which is only allowed to be seen by men, who wear it in their hair, tied up in a little packet. This crystal, and the use to which it is put, will be described when we come to treat of medicine among the Australians.
The youth having been formally admitted as a huntsman, another ring is formed round him, in order to see whether his firmness of mind corresponds with his endurance of body. Into the hands of the maimed and bleeding candidate the mysterious crystal is placed. As soon as he has taken it, the old men endeavor by all their arts to persuade him to give it up again. Should he be weak-minded enough to yield, he is rejected as a warrior; and not until he has successfully resisted all their threats and cajoleries is he finally admitted into the rank of men.
The ceremony being over, a piercing yell is set up as a signal for the women to return to the camp, and the newly-admitted man follows them, accompanied by their friends, all chanting a song of joy, called the korinda braia. They then separate to their respective fires, where they hold great feastings and rejoicings (see engraving No. 1, page 759); and the ceremonies are concluded with the dances in which the Australians so much delight.
As may be gathered from the account of these ceremonies, the lad who is admitted into the society of hunters thinks very much of himself, and addresses himself to the largest game of Australia; namely, the emu and the dingo. When he has succeeded in killing either of these creatures, he makes a trophy, which he carries about for some time, as a proof that he is doing credit to his profession. This trophy consists of a stick, a yard or so in length, to one end of which is tied the tail of the first dingo he kills, or a huge tuft of feathers from the first emu. These trophies he displays everywhere, and is as proud of them as an English lad of his first brush, or of his first pheasant’s tail.
Among the Moorundi natives, who live on the great Murray River, another ceremony is practised. When the lads are about sixteen years old, and begin to grow the beard and moustache which become so luxuriant in their after-life, preparations are quietly made by sending for some men from a friendly tribe, who are called, from their office, the weearoos, or pluckers. When they have arrived, the lads who have been selected are suddenly pounced upon by some one of their own tribe, and conducted to the place of initiation, which is marked by two spears set in the ground, inclining to each other, and being decorated with bunches of emu feathers. They are then smeared over with red ochre and grease, and the women flock round them, crying bitterly, and cutting their own legs with mussel-shells, until they inflict horrible gashes, and cause the blood to flow abundantly. In fact, a stranger would think that the women, and not the lads, were the initiates.
The boys lie down, with their heads to the spears, surrounded by their anxious friends, who watch them attentively to see if they display any indications of flinching from pain. The weearoos now advance, and pluck off every hair from their bodies, thus causing a long and irritating torture. When they have endured this process, green branches are produced, and fastened to the bodies of the lads, one being worn as an apron, and the others under the arms. Two kangaroo teeth are then fastened in the hair, and the young men, as they are now termed, are entitled to wear a bunch of emu feathers in their hair.
With another tribe there is a curious variation. The initiate is brought to the selected spot by an old man, and laid on his back in the midst of five fires, each fire consisting of three pieces of wood laid across each other so as to form a triangle. An opossum-skin bag is laid on his face, and the various operations are then performed.
Among the Parnkallas, and other western tribes, there are no less than three distinct ceremonies before the boys are acknowledged as men.
The first ceremony is a very simple one. When the boys are twelve or fifteen years old, they are carried away from the women, and are blindfolded. The operators then begin to shout the words “Herri, herri” with the full force of their lungs, swinging at the same time the mysterious instrument called the witarna.
This mysterious implement is a small shuttle-shaped piece of wood, covered with carved ornaments, and being suspended, by a hole cut at one end, from a string made of plaited human hair. When swung rapidly in the air, it makes a loud humming or booming sound. The witarna is kept by the old men of the tribe, and is invested with sundry and somewhat contradictory attributes. Its sound is supposed to drive away evil spirits, and at the same time to be very injurious to women and children, no uninitiated being allowed to hear it. Consequently the women are horribly afraid of it, and take care to remove themselves and their children so far from the place of initiation that there is no chance of being reached by the dreaded sound.
When the witarna has been duly swung, and the blindfolded boys have for the first time heard its booming sound, the operators advance, and blacken the faces of the boys, ordering them at the same time to cease from using their natural voices, and not to speak above a whisper until they are released from their bondage. They remain whisperers for several months, and, when they resume their voices, assume the title of warrara.
They remain in the condition of warrara for at least two, and sometimes three years, when they undergo a ceremony resembling the circumcision of the Jews. Their hair is tied in a bunch on the top of the head, is not allowed to be cut, and is secured by a net.
The net used for this purpose is made out of the tendons drawn from the tails of kangaroos. When they kill one of these animals, the natives always reserve the tendons, dry them carefully in the sun, and keep them in reserve for the many uses to which they are put. The sinews taken from the leg of the emu are dried and prepared in the same manner. In order to convert the sinew into thread, two of the fibres are taken and rolled upon the thigh, just as is done with the fibre of the bulrush root. A thread of many yards long is thus spun, and is formed into a net with meshes made exactly after the European fashion. Sometimes it is left plain, but usually it is colored with red ochre, or white with pipe-clay, according to the taste of the wearer. These tendons, by the way, are valued by the white colonists, who use them chiefly for whip-lashes, and say that the tendon is more durable than any other material.
The initiates of the second degree are also distinguished by wearing a bell-shaped apron, made of opossum fur spun together, and called “mabbirringe.” This is worn until the third and last ceremony. The young men are now distinguished by the name of Partnapas, and are permitted to marry, though they are not as yet considered as belonging to the caste, if we may so call it, of warriors.
Even now, the young men have not suffered sufficient pain to take their full rank, and in course of time a ceremony takes place in which they become, so to speak, different beings, and change, not only their appearance, but their names. Up to this time, they have borne the names given to them by their mothers in childhood, names which are always of a trivial character, and which are mostly numerical. For example, if the first child be a boy, it is called Peri (i. e. Primus); if a girl, Kartanya (i. e. Prima). The second boy is Wari (or Secundus), the second girl Waruyau, and so on. Sometimes the name is taken from the place where the child was born, or from some accidental circumstance, such as the appearance of a bird or insect, or the falling of a shower of rain. But, when the youth becomes a man, he puts away this childish name, and chooses another for himself, which marks him out as a man and a warrior. The process of converting a lad into a man is admirably told by Mr. G. F. Angas:--
“In the third and last ceremony the young men are styled Wilyalkanye, when the most important rites take place. Each individual has a sponsor chosen for him, who is laid on his back upon another man’s lap, and surrounded by the operators, who enjoin him to discharge his duties aright. The young men are then led away from the camp, and blindfolded; the women lamenting and crying, and pretending to object to their removal.
“They are taken to a retired spot, laid upon their stomachs, and entirely covered over with kangaroo skins; the men uttering the most dismal wail imaginable, at intervals of from three to five minutes. After lying thus for some time, the lads are raised, and, whilst still blindfolded, two men throw green boughs at them, while the others stand in a semicircle around, making a noise with their wirris and voices combined, which is so horrible that the wild dogs swell the hideous chorus with their howlings. Suddenly one of the party drops a bough, others follow; and a platform of boughs is made, on which the lads are laid out. The sponsors then turn to and sharpen their pieces of quartz, choosing a new name for each lad, which is retained by him during life. These names all end either in alta, ilti, or ulta. Previous to this day they have borne the names of their birth-places, &c.; which is always the case amongst the women, who never change them afterward. The sponsors now open the veins of their own arms, and, raising the lads, open their mouths, and make them swallow the first quantity of blood.
“The lads are then placed on their hands and knees, and the blood caused to run over their backs, so as to form one coagulated mass; and when this is sufficiently cohesive, one man marks the places for the tattooing by removing the blood with his thumb nail. The sponsor now commences with his quartz, forming a deep incision in the nape of the neck, and then cutting broad gashes from the shoulder to the hip down each side, about an inch apart. These gashes are pulled open by the fingers as far as possible; the men all the while repeating very rapidly, in a low voice, the following incantation:--
“‘Kanya, marra, marra, Kano, marra, marra, Pilbirri, marra, marra.’
When the cutting is over, two men take the witarnas, and swing them rapidly round their heads, advancing all the time toward the young men. The whole body of operators now draw round them, singing and beating their wirris, and, as they reach the lads, each man puts the string of the witarna over the neck of every lad in succession. A bunch of green leaves is tied round the waist, above which is a girdle of human hair; a tight string is fastened round each arm just above the elbow, with another about the neck, which descends down the back, and is fixed to the girdle of hair; and their faces and the upper part of their bodies, as far as the waist, are blackened with charcoal.
“The ceremony concludes by the men all clustering round the initiated ones, enjoining them again to whisper for some months, and bestowing upon them their advice as regards hunting, fighting and contempt of pain. All these ceremonies are carefully kept from the sight of the women and children; who, when they hear the sound of the witarna, hide their heads, and exhibit every outward sign of terror.”
The illustration No. 1, on page 765, is given in order to show the curious appearance which is sometimes presented by the men when they have successfully passed through their various ordeals. The name of the man was Mintalta, and he belonged to the Nauo tribe, which lives near Coffin’s Bay. In his hand he holds the waddy, and, by way of apron, he wears a bunch of emu feathers. Across his breast are seen the bold ridges which mark his rank as a man, and others are seen upon his arms. His beard is gathered into a long pointed tuft, and decorated with a little bunch of white cockatoo feathers at the tip. In his hair he wears two curious ornaments. These are not feather plumes, as they seem to be in the illustration, but are simply slender sticks of white wood, scraped so as to let the shavings adhere by one end. Indeed, they are made exactly like those little wooden brooms that are sometimes hawked by German girls about the streets, or, to use a more familiar simile, like the curly-branched trees in children’s toy-boxes.
Many of the particulars which have been and will be related of the domestic life of the Australians were obtained in a very curious manner. In the autumn of 1849 some persons belonging to H.M.S. Rattlesnake were out shooting, when they came across a native woman, or gin, dressed rather better than the generality of native women, as she wore a narrow apron of leaves. To their astonishment, the supposed gin addressed them in English, saying that she was a white woman, and desired their help. They immediately furnished her with some clothing, and brought her on board the Rattlesnake, where she contrived to make known her sad story. Her name was Thomson, and she was the widow of the owner of a small vessel. Cruising one day in search of a wreck, the pilot missed his way, a gale of wind came on, and the vessel was dashed on a reef on the Eastern Prince of Wales Island. The men tried to swim on shore through the surf, but were drowned, while the woman was saved by a party of natives, who came on board the wreck after the gale had subsided, and took her ashore.
The tribe into whose hands she had fallen was the Kowrárega, which inhabits Muralug, on the Western Prince of Wales Island. When she got ashore, one of the principal men, who fully held the popular idea that the white men are the ghosts of dead natives, recognized in Mrs. Thomson a daughter named Gi’ôm, who had long ago died. He accordingly took her home as his daughter, she was acknowledged by the tribe as one of themselves, and was forced to become the wife of one of the natives, called Boroto.
For nearly five years she was kept prisoner by the blacks, and, although she could see many English ships pass within a few miles, she was so closely watched that escape was hopeless. At last, when the smoke signals told the tribe that another vessel was approaching, Gi’ôm cleverly worked on the cupidity of the aborigines, and persuaded them to take her to the mainland, promising them to procure plenty of axes, knives, tobacco, and other things which an Australian savage values above all things, and saying that she had lived so long with the natives that she could not think of leaving them. When she was safely lodged on board, many of her friends came to see her, bringing presents of fish and turtle, but always expecting an equivalent. Boroto was one of the visitors, and in vain tried to persuade her to return. When she definitely refused, he became very angry, and left the ship in a passion, declaring that, if he or any of his friends could catch her ashore, they would take off her head and carry it to Muralug. Not feeling the least doubt that the threat would be fulfilled, she never ventured on shore near those parts of the coast which the Kowráregas seemed likely to visit.
Being a woman of no education, she had in the course of her sojourn among the natives almost forgotten how to express herself in her native tongue, and for some time mixed Kowrárega words and phrases with English in a very curious manner. A vast amount of valuable information was obtained from her, but when she was restored to civilization, she forgot the language and customs of savage life with singular rapidity, her untrained mind being unable to comprehend the mutual relationship of ideas, and utterly incapable of generalization.
From her was learned the curious but dreadful fact that many of the really unprovoked assaults on ships’ crews while unsuspectingly visiting the shore were instigated by white men, who had degraded themselves into companionship with native tribes, and, by reason of their superior knowledge, had gained a supremacy over them. One of these men had lived with the Badu tribe many years, and, having heard of a white woman among the Kowráregas, visited Muralug, and tried to induce Gi’ôm to leave Boroto and share his fortunes. Who he was is not known. He goes by the name of Wini, and is supposed to be an escaped convict, who repels the visits of English ships, lest he should be captured and sent back to prison. By means of his instigations, the Badu people became so violently opposed to all white men that any European who visited that part of the country would do so at the imminent hazard of his life.
Among many of these tribes, there is a custom which is common also to many savages in all parts of the world. This is the custom of making “kotaiga,” or brotherhood, with strangers. When Europeans visit their districts, and behave as they ought to do, the natives generally unite themselves in bonds of fellowship with the strangers, each selecting one of them as his kotaiga. The new relations are then considered as having mutual responsibilities, each being bound to forward the welfare of the other.
The memory of the natives is wonderful, and, even if a ship does not repeat a visit until after a lapse of several years, no sooner does she arrive than the natives swarm on board, and at once pick out their kotaigas. They bring presents to their guests while on board; they accompany them joyfully to the shore; they carry their bags and haversacks for them; they take them on hunting, shooting, and fishing excursions, point out the game, retrieve it, no matter where it may have fallen, and carry it home on their shoulders rejoicing. Of course they expect biscuit and tobacco in return for their kind offices, but the wages are very cheap, and their services are simply invaluable. The rescue of Mr. M’Gillivray and his party from the threatened attack of the natives was owing to the fact that one of them, the friendly native who gave him warning, and saw him and his party safely off in their boats, was his kotaiga, and bound in honor to save him.
INDEX.
A.
Abyssinia, 641.
Accawaios, So. America, 1222.
Admiralty Islanders, 970.
Adoption of Parents, Namaquas, 279.
AGRICULTURE among the Badema, 367. Bakalai, 492. Batoka, 350. Bayeye, 338. Bouka, 971. Dinka, 470. Djour, 448. Fuegians, 1168. Gani, 430. Guianans, 1246. Hebrides, New, 972. Hottentots, 231. Kaffirs, 138, 139-144. Manganjas, 355. Ovambos, 319. Shekiani, 522. Wasagara, 407. Watusi, 409.
Ahitas, Philippine Islands, 920.
Ahts, Vancouver’s Island, 1354.
Ajitas, Philippine Islands, 920.
Alapu-ches, Chili, S. A., 1190.
Alfoërs, New Guinea, 905.
Alfouras, New Guinea, 905.
Amaharas, Africa, 667.
Amakosa, Africa, 12.
Amaponda, Africa, 12.
Amaswazi, Africa, 12.
Amatonga, Africa, 12.
Amazonians, So. Am., 1215.
Amazons, Africa, 567.
Amazulu, Africa, 12.
Amulets, see Charms.
AMUSEMENTS among the Ahts, 1336. Apono, 487. Araucanians, 1204. Australians, 748-753. Bayeye, 339. Bechuanas, 293, 297. Begharmis, 639. Bosjesmans, 262-4. Camma, 509. Co-yukons, 1375. Damaras, 313. Dory, 917. Dyaks, 1141-1144. Esquimaux, 1349. Fanti, 553. Fijians, 954. Gallas, 671. Ghoorkas, 1424. Guianans, 1252-1255. Hottentots, 234-236. Indians, N. A., 1285-1298, 1320-1325. Ishogo, 479. Japanese, 1454, 1462. Kaffirs, 144-147. Korannas, 270. Madi, 433. Makololo, 335. Malemutes, 1374. Maories, 845. Marquesans, 1049. Namaquas, 278. Ovambos, 320. Pelew Islanders, 1108. Samoans, 1026. Sandwich Islanders, 1092-1096. Shooas, 629. Tahitans, 1062, 1063. Tasmanians, 753. Tibboos, 633. Tongans, 995, 996, 1004. Tuaricks, 634. Tungusi, 1380. Wanyoro, 426. Wanyamuezi, 390-393. Waraus, 1261. Watusi, 409. Zealanders, New, 818-822.
Ancient Europe, 1473.
Andamaners, 888.
Anecdote of Korannas, 269.
Anecdotes of Bosjesmans, 267.
Aneiteum, New Hebrides, 975.
Angolese, Africa, 380.
ANIMALS of Australia, 701. Guiana, 1222. Fondness for in Guiana, 1258. Dogs of Esquimaux, 1346. Of Africa, 126. Of Kaffirs, 127, 140. Of India, 1416-1421.
Apingi, Africa, 488.
Apono, Africa, 484.
Aprons of Kaffirs, Africa, 48.
Arabs, Africa, 687.
Araucanians, S. A., 1190.
Arawaks, Guiana, 1222.
ARCHITECTURE of Abyssinia, 667. Ahts, 1369. Ancient Europe, 1473. Andamaners, 892. Apono, 487. Australians, 784-786. Bakalai, 491. Balonda, 378. B ari, 464. Bayeye, 339. Bechuanas, 297, 299. Bedouins, 682. Begharmis, 635. Bonny, 601. Bornabi, 1103. Bornuese, 626. Bosjesmans, 251. Britain, New, 970. Caledonians, New, 884. Dahome, 562. Damaras, 310-311. Dor, 447. Dory, 914. Dyaks, 1149-1150. Egbas, 592. Esquimaux, 1335. Fijians, 956. Fuegians, 1165. Gani, 429. Guianans, 1245-1270. Guinea, New, 912. Hassaniyeh, 686. Hervey Islanders, 1037. Hottentots, 227, 228. Hovas, 690. Indians, N. A., 1329. Ingeletes, 1375. Ireland, New, 970. Ishogos, 476. Japanese, 1461. Kaffirs, 56, 62, 207. Kanemboos, 627. Kingsmill Islanders, 1038. Madi, 433. Makololo, 328. Malagasy, 690. Malemutes, 1374. Maories, 866. Mapuchés, 1192. Marquesans, 1049. Mexicans, 1272. Nicobarians, 896. Niuans, 1056. Nubians, 674. Obongos, 482. Ostiaks, 1384. Outanatas, 901. Ovambos, 316. Patagonians, 1185. Pelew Islanders, 1108. Samoans, 1031. Shekiani, 522. Shillooks, 472. Shooas, 629. Siamese, 1472. Society Islanders, 1073. Tungusi, 1379. Waganda, 419. Wanyamuezi, 389. Waraus, 1268. Wazaramo, 406.
Armor of Japanese, 1460.
Art of Japanese, 1465.
Ashangos, Africa, 480.
Ashanti, Africa, 554.
Ashira, Africa, 496.
Assagais, Kaffir, Africa, 94, 100.
Aurora, description of, 1352.
Australia, Polynesia, 694.
Ayhuttisahts, Vancouver’s Island, 1354.
B.
Badema, Africa, 367.
Baenda-pezi, or Go-Nakeds, Batoka, 349.
Bahurotsi, Africa, 280.
Bakalai, Africa, 491.
Bakoba, Africa, 337.
Bakwains, Africa, 280.
Balonda, Africa, 369.
Balondo, Africa, 369.
Bamairis, Africa, 286.
Bamangwato, Africa, 295.
Bantus, Africa, 11.
Banyai, Africa, 361.
Barber, Chinese, 1427.
Barea, Africa, 668.
Bari, Africa, 462.
Barolongs, Africa, 280.
Bathing, Japanese, 1453, 1454.
Batlapis, Africa, 280.
Batlares, Africa, 286.
Batoanas, Africa, 337.
Batoka, Africa, 348.
Batonga, Africa, 348.
Bayeye, Africa, 337.
Beauty, see Women.
Bechuanas, Africa, 280.
Bedouins, Africa, 681.
Begharmis, Africa, 635.
Betrothal, see Marriage.
Blackfeet, North America, 1273.
Bonny, Africa, 600.
Bornabi, Caroline Islands, 1103.
Bornuese, Africa, 620.
Bosjesman, Africa, 242.
Bouka, Polynesia, 971.
Brahmins, India, 1408.
Britain, New, Polynesia, 969.
Brumer’s Island, Australasia, 907.
Bubes, Africa, 610.
BURIAL of the dead among Abyssinians, 659. Ahitas, 921. Ahts, 1373. Ajitas, 921. Alfoërs, 906. Angolese, 328-383. Apingi, 490. Apono, 488. Araucanians, 1210. Ashira, 503. Australians, 772-777. Balonda, 380. Bari, 464. Bechuanas, 300. Camma, 520. Co-yukons, 1375. Dahome, 588. Damaras, 314. Dory, 917. Dyaks, 1160. Esquimaux, 1351. Fanti, 550. Fijians, 965-967. Of Fijian chief, 965. Hottentots, 241. Indians, N. A., 1330. Kaffir, 200-295. Karague, 405. Kingsmill Islanders, 1043. Krumen, 548. Latookas, 459. Makololo, 336. Manganjas, 360. Marquesans, 1051. Mincopies, 895. Mpongwé, 527. Nicobarians, 897. Niuans, 1056. Obongos, 483. Patagonians, 1189. Pelew Islanders, 1109. Samoïedes, 1382. Siamese, 1472. Sioux, 1330. Society Islanders, 1076. Sowrahs, 1389. Tongans, 1004. Waganda, 421. Wanyamuezi, 396. Wanyoro, 428. Wazaramo, 406. Zealand, New, 869-874.
Bushman, Africa, 242.
Button, Chinese, 1429.
C.
Caledonians, New, 883.
Camanchees, N. A., 1289.
Camma, Africa, 504.
CANNIBALISM among Ahts, 1372. Andamaners, 891. Australians, 747. In Britain, New, 970. Bonny, 602. Caledonia, New, 885. Among Caribs, 1240. Fans, 530-535. Fijians, 942-946. Fuegians, 1167. In Ireland, New, 970. Among Isle of Pines Men, 887. Kingsmill Islanders, 1040. Maories, 834-837. Marquesans, 1051. Niuans, 1056. Papuans, 900. Samoans, 1022-1023. Sandwich Islanders, 1091. Society Islanders, 1073. Solomon Islanders, 968. Tanna, 972. Tungusi, 1379.
CANOES, making and skill in management of, among Admiralty Islanders, 971. Ahts, 1362. Australians, 701-717. Batoka, 349. Bayeye, 338. Bouka, 971. Brumer Islanders, 908-911. Caledonians, New, 829. Dyaks, 1136. Esquimaux, 1344. Fanti, 549. Fijians, 932. Fuegians, 1168. In Guinea, New, 913. Among Indians, N. A., 1325. Krumen, 544. Makoba, 340. Makololo, 327. Maories, 825. Marquesans, 1051. Mincopies, 890. Nicobarians, 897. Niuans, 1056. Outanatas, 902. Papuans, 900. Pelew Islanders, 1107. Samoans, 1020. In San Christoval, 970. Among Society Islanders, 1074, Solomon Islanders, 969. Waraus, 1222, 1262.
Caribs, Guiana, S. A., 1222.
Caroline Islands, 1100.
CASTE, among Damaras, 312. Karague, 399. Khonds, 1393. Sowrahs, 1385. Zealanders, New, 792.
Catlin’s portrait of Indian dandy, 1279.
CATTLE of the Balonda, 376. Bosjesmans, 254. Damaras, 310. Hottentots, 233. Kaffirs, 66-71. Kytch, 439. Latookas, 454. Malagasy, 690. Namaquas, 277. Shooas, 629. Watusi, 409.
CEREMONIES, connected with Accession of son, Damaras, 314. Battle, before and after, New Zealand, 851. Becoming men, Australians, 761-764. Birth, Abyssinians, 658. Fijians, 954, New Zealanders, 816. Burial of King, Fijians, 967. Cementing friendship, Balondos, 378. Cooking war dish, Ashangos, 480. Coronation, Congoese, 616, Mpongwé, 527. Customs, Dahomans, 573. Death of King, Tongans, 993-994. Death and Mourning, Camma, 520. Drinking kava, Tongans, 985-990. Entering boyhood, Kaffirs, 18. Fallen in war, Caledonians, New, 886. Feast of First Fruits, Tongans, 990-993. Funeral of Finow, Tongans, 998. Going to War, Bechuanas, 292. Head-worship, Dahomans, 587. Homage to Manono, Samoans, 1022. Initiation of Cannibal, Malemutes, 1372. Kangaroo, Australians, 762. King, appearing before, Dahomans, 574. Making brotherhood, Australians, 767, Araucanians, 1205. Marriage, Kaffirs, 86, Samoans, 1031, Sowrahs, 1386. M’paza, or twin, Ishogos, 479. Moon, full, Camma, 510, Fans, 539. Moon, New, Karagne, 401, Mincopies, 895. Mourning, Australians, 772. Ox of the Girl, Kaffirs, 86. Ox of the Surplus, Kaffirs, 86. Receiving Guests, Waganda, 419. Reception into “Mides,” N. A. Indians, 1310. Religious, Abyssinians, 658, Esquimaux, 1350. “Rupack,” Pelew Islanders, 1104. Sacrificial, Kaffirs, 172, Society Islanders, 1075. Setting apart “piai” men, Guiana, 1263. Shedding of blood, Dyaks, 1159. Sickness, Tongans, 998. Society of hunters, Australians, 763. Sprinkling water, Dahomans, 588, New Zealand, 817. Tow-tow, Tongans, 994-995. Visiting, Fijians, 940.
CHARMS among Abyssinians, 665, 666. Angolese, 381. Apingi, 490. Australians, 771. Bechuanas, 292. Dyaks, 1158. Fans, 539. Indians, N. A., 1313. Kaffir, 181-183. Karague, 402. Namaquas, 277. Nubians, 674. Waganda, 419. Wanyoro, 428.
Charming serpents, India, 1416.
Cherokees, No. America, 1331.
Chickasaws, No. America, 1319.
CHILDREN, treatment of among Andamaners, 892. Arawaks, 1247. Australians, 757, 758. Bakalai, 492. Co-yukons, 1375. Esquimaux, 1349. Fijians, 954. Flat-heads, 1319, 1320. Indians, Gran Chaco, 1214. Indians, N. A., 1319. Ingeletes, 1375. Ishogo, 479. Kaffir, 16-18. Madi, 433. Mapuchés, 1192. Outanatas, 901. Patagonians, 1186. Samoans, 1009. Wanyamuezi, 393. Zealanders, New, 816, 817.
Chinese, China, 1426.
Chinnooks, No. America, 1319.
Choctaws, No. America, 1319.
Chopsticks, Chinese, 1431.
Christie’s sketch, Bosjesman, 266.
Chuanas, Africa, 280.
CLEANLINESS among Abyssinians, 667. Bakalai, 492, 493. Esquimaux, 1333. Fuegians, 1168. Kaffirs, 45. Madi, 430. Manganjas, 359. Ostiaks, 1384. Wanyamuezi, 393. Wanyoro, 422-426. Waraus, 1258. Watusi, 409.
Commi, Africa, 504.
COMPLEXION of Abyssinians, 642. Ahitas, 290. Ahts, 1355. Angolese, 380. Apingi, 488. Australians, 694. Bakalai, 492. Balondo, 370. Batoka, 348. Begharmis, 636. Bosjesmans, 243. Bouka, 971. Caledonians, New, 883. Camma, 505. Djibbas, 464. Dyaks, 1111. Egbas, 590. Esquimaux, 1333. Fans, 529. Fanti, 549. Fijians, 922. Fuegians, 1162. Gallas, 671. Hebrides, New, 972. Hervey Islanders, 1032. Hottentots, 217. Hovas, 690. Indians, Gran Chaco, 1211. Indians, N. Am. 1273. Isle of Pines Men, 887. Japanese, 1449. Karague, 399. Kingsmill Islanders, 1038. Krumen, 545. Makololo, 327. Marquesans, 1047. Mundurucús, 1215. Neam-Nam, 442. Nicobarians, 896. Nubians, 673. Obongos, 482. Outanatas, 900. Papuans, 898. Patagonians, 1172. Pelew Islanders, 1104. Samoans, 1008. Sandwich Islanders, 1081. Shekiani, 522. Siamese, 1468. Solomon Islanders, 968. Tahitans, 1058. Tanna Islanders, 972. Tongans, 977. Vaté Islanders, 972. Waraus, 1222. Zealanders, New, 792.
Congoese, Africa, 614.
Cooking, see Food.
Cook’s Islanders, Polynesia, 1032.
Co-yukons, Alaska, 1375.
Cree tribe, North America, 1313.
Creeks, North America, 1331.
Crow tribe, North America, 1273.
“Crowing” of Damaras, 310.
Crucifixion, Chinese, 1439.
Crucifixion, Japanese, 1461.
CRUELTY to aged among Fijians, 954. Indians, 1320. Namaquas, 278. To prisoners, Fijians, 954.
Customs, Dahome, 573.
CUSTOMS, curious, of Alfoërs, 906. Araucanians, 1205. Ashanti, Yam and Adai, 559. Caledonians, New, 887. Dyaks, 1136. Fijians, Loloku of the sail, 967. Guianans, 1247. Hervey Islanders, 1034. Kanemboos, 627. Kingsmill Islanders, 1040. Marquesans, 1049. Obongos, domestic, 482. Ovambos, at meals, 322. Tahitans, 1061. Tchuktchi, 1378. Tongans, 982.
D.
Dacotahs, North America, 1307.
Dahomans, Africa, 561.
Damaras, Africa, 304.
Dancing, see Amusements.
DANCES of Ahts, doctor’s nook, 1366, roof, 1366. Apono, giant, 487. Arawaks, puris, 1252. Australians, kuri, 748, palti, 752, kangaroo, 752, pedeku, 751, frog, 751, corrobboree, 752. Bechuanas, 297. Bosjesmans, 262. Camma, gorilla, 509. Damaras, 313. Dyaks, sword, 1143, war, 1143, head, 1143. Esquimaux, 1349. Fans, full moon, 539. Fijians, 955. Guianans, maquarri, 1255. Hottentots, melon, 235. Indians, N. A., scalp, 1286, buffalo, 1297, ball-play, 1320, pipe, 1320, beggar’s bear, 1320, dog, 1320, eagle, 1323, braves, 1323, green corn, 1323, snow-shoe, 1323, slave, 1323. Kaffir, wedding, 55. Korannas, 270. Latookas, funeral, 459. Madi, 433. Malemutes, 1374. Marquesans, 1049. New Guinea, war, 917. New Zealand, war, 845. Niuans, war, 1055. Pelew Islanders, 1108. Samoans, wedding, 1031. Shooas, 668. Tasmanians, 753. Tungusi, 1380. Wanyamuezi, 390. Watusi, 409.
Dankallis, Africa, 671.
Delawares, North America, 1331.
Dingan, Kaffir chief, visit to, 91.
Dingan at home, 207.
Dinkas, Africa, 469.
Djibba, Africa, 464.
Djour, Africa, 448.
Dog eater, initiation of, Ahts, 1371.
Dôr, Africa, 444.
Dory, Africa, 914.
DRESS among Abyssinians, 642-647. Accawaios, 1222. Admiralty Islanders, 970. Ahts, 1355. Andamaners, 889. Apingi, 489. Apono, 484. Ashango, 480. Ashanti, 554. Ashira, 496. Australians, 699-705. Bakalai, 492. Balonda, 370. Bari, 463, 464. Batoka, 348. Bayeye, 339. Bechuanas, 284. Bedouins, 681. Bonny, 603. Bornabi, 1103. Bornuese, 621. Bosjesmans, 246. Bouka, 971. Britain, New, 969. Brumer’s Islanders, 907. Bubes, 610. Caledonians, New, 883. Caribs, 1222. Chinese, 1429. Congoese, 616. Co-yukons, 1375. Dahomans, 568. Damaras, 306. Dinkas, 469. Djibbas, 467. Dor, 447. Dory, 914. Dyaks, 1112-1116-1118. Egbas, 591. Esquimaux, 1334. Fans, 529. Fanti, 549. Fijians, 926-928. Fuegians, 1162. Gallas, 671. Gani, 430. Guianans, 1256-1258. Hebrides, New, 972. Hervey Islanders, 1032. Hottentots, 222. Hovas, 690. Indians, Gran Chaco, 1212. Indians, North America, 1275, 1276. Ireland, New, 969. Ishogos, 479. Isle of Pines Men, 887. Japanese, kami-samo, 1449-1453. Kaffirs, 28-51, 53, change of on betrothal, Kaffir, 51. Kanemboos, 627. Karague, 405. Khonds, 1389. Kingsmill Islanders, 1038. Korannas, 270. Krumen, 545. Kytch, 436. Latookas, 453. Madi, 430-433. Makoba, 339. Makololo, 327. Malagasy, 690. Malemutes, 1374. Manganja, 356. Mapuchés, 1190-1191. Marquesans, 1044. Mpongwé, 524. Musguese, 639. Namaquas, 275. Neam-Nam, 442. Nicobarians, 896. Niuans, 1055. Nubians, 673. Nuehr, 468. Obbo, 434. Obongos, 482. Outanatas, 900. Ovambos, 316. Papuans, 900. Patagonians, 1173. Pelew Islanders, 1104. Romanzoff Islanders, 1100. Samoans, 1009, 1013, 1014. Samoïedes, 1383. Sandwich Islanders, 1081. Shillooks, 472. Shir, 461. Shooas, 630. Siamese, 1468. Solomon Islanders, 969. Soumaulis, 672. Sowrahs, 1386. Tahitans, 1059. Tibboos, 630. Tongans, gnatoo, 977. Tuaricks, 634. Vaté Islanders, 972. Wagogo, 385. Wanyamuezi, 386. Waraus, 1269. Wasagara, 407. Watusi, 408. Wazaramo, 406. Zealanders, New, 807-813.
DRINKS, intoxicating, of Abyssinia, 657. Apingi, 490. Apono, 484. Ashira, 498. Araucanians, 1203. Balonda, 377. Chinese, 1429. Congoese, 616. Dyaks, 1145. Fans, 539. Guianans, 1251. Kaffir, 152. Karague, 400, 401. Krumen, 546. Manganja, 359. Wanyamuezi 393, 394. Waraus, 1269.
Dust signals of Outanatas, 902.
Dutulu, adventures of, 69.
Dyaks, Land, Borneo, 1110.
Dyaks, Sea, 1110.
E.
Eastern Islands, 1100.
Economy of Chinese, 1443.
Egbas, Africa, 590.
Elephant catching, Bayeye, 338.
Elephant, white, Siam, 1471.
Endurance, see Strength.
Errumanga, New Hebrides, 975.
Esquimaux, N. America, 1333.
ETIQUETTE among Abyssinians, 657. Ashiras, 498. Araucanians, 1205. Balonda. 377. Batokas, 350. Bonny, 601. Cammas, 505-509. Dahomans, 566, 585. Fijians, 940, 941. Japanese, 1459. Kaffir, 87, 148, 160. Makololo, 326. Maories, 824, 850. Mapuchés, 1193. Samoans, 1009. Siamese, 1471. Tahitans, 1069. Waganda, 410. Wanyanmuezi, 389. Waraus, 1261. Watusi, 408.
Europe, Ancient, 1473.
F.
Fans, Africa, 529.
Fans, Chinese, 1430.
Fans, war, Japanese, 1461.
Fanti, Africa, 548.
FEASTS of Abyssinians, raw flesh, 656. Abyssinians, wedding, 658. Ahts, 1364. Arawaks, piwarri, 1252. Chinese, of lanterns, 1431. Fans, marriage, 536. Fijians, given to gods, 942. Fuegians, 1167. Indians, N. A., dog, 1330. Kaffir, first fruits, 172. Malemutes, 1374. Samoans, wedding, 1031. Waikato, hui, 827.
Feet of women, Chinese, 1428.
Female soldiers, Dahomans, 567.
Fetishes, Ashanti, 559.
Fijians, Australia, 922.
FIRE-MAKING among Australians, 786. Dyaks, 1151. Fuegians, 1168. Kaffir, 100.
FISHING among Ahts, 1356-1361. Australians, 710, 728. Badema, with nets, 367. Balonda, 377. Bayeye, 388. Chinese, with cormorants, 1444. Dyaks, 1118, 1132. Esquimaux, 1343. Fijians, turtle, 931. Fuegians, 1166. Guinea, New, 913. Hervey Islanders, 1037. Kanemboos, 627. Malemutes, whale, 1361, salmon, 1360. Maories, 830-833. Marquesans, 1051. Ostiaks, 1384. Ovambo, 320. Samoans, 1026. Sandwich Islanders, 1086. Shillooks, 472.
Flat Heads, N. America, 1319.
FOOD of, and modes of eating among Abyssinians, 655. Ahts, 1364. Andamaners, 891. Angolese, manioc, 381. Araucanians, 1200. Ashira, 497. Australians, turtle and snakes, 702-714. Bakalai, 492. Balonda, manioc, 376. Banyai, 366. Bechuanas, 296. Bedouins, 684. Bosjesmans, 252. Caledonians, New, 885. Chinese, bird-nests, 1432. Damaras, 313. Dyaks, 1118-1144. Esquimaux, 1336, special dainties, 1337. Fans, 534. Fijians, 941, 942. Fuegians, 1166, 1168. Guianans, 1248, 1249. Hervey Islanders, 1037. Hottentots, 232, 233. Kaffir, 131, 132, 147-151, 157. Kytch, 439. Makololo, 326. Mandingoes, 608. Maories, 827-834. Mpongwé, 524. Mundurucús, 1220. Neam-Nam, 442. Ovambo, 322. Patagonians, 1185. Samoans, palolo, 1030, 1031. Sandwich Islanders, 1086. Shir tribe, 462. Shoas, 668. Swiss Lake-dwellers, 1474. Tungusi, 1380. Wanyamuezi, 394. Wanyoro, 426. Waraus, 1269.
Form of women, Hottentots, 218.
Fox tribe, N. America, 1323.
Fuegians, Tierra del Fuego, 1161.
Funerals, see Burial.
FURNITURE, Japanese, 1462. Kaffir, 206. See Architecture.
G.
Gallas, Africa, 671.
GAMES of Abyssinians, the ladies, 653. Araucanians, pelican, 1204. Avas, 1204. Dyaks, 1141-1143. Fijians, 954. Indians, N. A., archery, 1285, chung-chee, 1324, al-kol-lock, 1324, pagessan, or bowl, 1324, ball, 1324, leaping rock, 1329. Japanese, children’s, 1462. Japanese mall, 1454, ladder balancing, 1456, top spinning, 1456, butterfly trick, 1456. Makololo, children’s, 332. New Zealand children’s, 818. Society Islanders, children’s, 1095. Wanyamuezi, children’s, 393.
Gani, Africa, 429.
Ghou Damup, Africa, 304.
Ghoorkas, India, 1395.
Gilbert Islands, 1100.
Gold washing, Ashanti, 555.
Gonaquas, Africa, 274.
Goura, musical instrument, Bosjesmans, 264.
GOVERNMENT, mode of among Abyssinians, 649. Ajitas, 920. Alfoërs, 905. Angolese, 380. Balonda, 369. Banyai, 361. Bechuanas, 286. Bornuese, 621. Camina, 504-506. Dory, 914. Fijians, 934. Fuegians, 1171. Indians, N. A., 1275. Kingsmill Islanders, 1040. Krumen, 546. Makololo, 331. Manganja, 355. Mapuchés, 1194. Mpongwé, 524. Ovambo, 321. Shekiani, 521. Shillooks, 473. Tasmanians, 754. Tongans, 981. Wanyoro, 422.
GOZA’S Portrait, 35. Young Warriors, 35. And his Wives, 75.
Grapple plant, 214.
Griquas, Africa, 274.
Guiana, So. America, 1221.
Guinea, New, Africa, 898.
H.
HAIR-DRESSING, mode of among Abyssinians, 642-648. Ahts, 1355. Australians, 705. Balonda, 370. Batoka, 348. Bornuese, 620. Brumer’s Islanders, 907. Chinese 1426. Egbas, 590. Esquimaux, 1335. Fanti, 549. Fijians, 922, 925. Fuegians, 1162. Gallas, 671. Gani, queue, 430. Hovas, 690. Indians, Gran Chaco, 1212. Indians, N. A., 1273, 1274. Ishogos, 475. Japanese, 1450-1453. Khonds, 1389. Krumen, 545. Mandans, 1274, 1275. Mapuchés, 1191. Musguese, 639. Niuans, 1055. Nubians, 674. Papuans, 898. Samoans, 1014. Sandwich Islanders, 1085. Siamese, 1468. Soumaulis, 672. Sowrahs, 1386. Tahitans, 1059. Zealanders, New, 814.
Hamoa, Navigator’s Island, 1008.
Hamran Arabs, Africa, 675.
Haraforas, New Guinea, 905.
Hara-kiri, Japan, 1461.
Harem of Kaffir, 76.
Hassaniyehs, Africa, 686.
HEAD-DRESSES of Ahts, 1365. Fijians, waterproof, 926. Guianans, feather, 1255. Indians, N. A., 1276. Ishogos, 475. Kaffir, 41. Mapuchés, 1191. Marquesans, 1048. Samoans, 1013.
Head hunting, Dyaks, 1135.
Hebrides, New, Polynesia, 971.
Hervey Islands, Polynesia, 1032.
Hindoo’s, India, 1395.
HONESTY of the Apono, 484. Ashira, 497. Australians, 695, 696. Barea, 668. Bayeye, 337. Bechuanas, 284, 285. Caledonians, New, 886. Esquimaux, 1351. Indians, East, 1399, 1400. Krumen, 546. Latookas, 459. Makoba, 339. Makololo, 326. Outanatas, 902. Ovambos, 315. Samoans, 1008. Shillooks, 473. Society Islanders, 1065. Tuaricks, 634.
Hopo, the elephant trap, 895.
HORSES of Indians, N. A., 1296, 1297.
HORSEMANSHIP of Araucanians, 1196. Camanchees, 1289, 1290. Crows, 1274. Hamran Arabs, 676. Indians, Gran Chaco, 1212. Indians, North America, 1325. Japanese, 1454, 1455. Patagonians, 1174.
HOSPITALITY of Abyssinians, 655. Ajitas, 920. Apingi, 490. Batoka, 353. Esquimaux, 1351. Fuegians, 1171. Gani, 429. Ishogos, 480. Jakuts, 1379. Kaffir, 16. Makololo, 326. Manganja, 355. Maories, 827. Samoans, 1008. Shoas, 667. Shooas, 629. Tahitans, 1060. Tchuktchi, 1378. Wazaramo, 406. Zealand, New, 826.
Hottentots, Africa, 217.
Hovas, Africa, 690.
Huili-chés, South America, 1190.
HUNTING among Ahts, deer, 1355. Araucanians, 1198. Ashira, 502. Australians, 717-725. Badema, with nets, 367. Batoka, 353. Banyai, hippopotamus and elephant, 362-365. Bayeye, 338. Bosjesmans, ostrich, 252-253. Camma, 509. Dahomans, 571. Dinkas, 470. Dor, 444-446. Dyaks, 1131-1133. Esquimaux, seal, deer, fox, wolf, bear, 1338-1344. Fans, elephant, gorilla, 533-542. Ghoorkas, 1396. Guianans, 1223-1270. Hamran Arabs, elephant, lion, hippopotamus, buffalo, 675-677. Hottentots, 231. Indians, North America, buffalo, 1293-1296. Indians, Asia, elephant, deer, 1418. Kaffir, antelope, giraffe, elephant, rhinoceros, lion, buffalo, 126-138. Kanemboos, 627. Makoba, 341. Neam-Nam, elephant, 443. Ostiaks, 1384. Patagonians, 1178-1182. Samoans, 1029. Samoïedes, 1383. Shooas, buffalo, elephant, 628. Tasmanians, 753. Tungusi, 1379.
I.
Illinoans, Borneo, 1112.
India, Asia, 1395.
Indians, Gran Chaco, 1211.
Indians, North American, 1273.
INDUSTRY of Bubes, 610. Congoese, 616. Dyaks, 1118. Fanti, 548. Guianans, 1222. Manganja, 355. Ostiaks, 1384. Ovambo, 319. Watusi, 409. Zealanders, New, 826.
Ingeletes, Alaska, N. A., 1374.
Ireland, New, Australasia, 969.
Ishogos, Africa, 475.
Isi-baya, of Kaffir, 66.
Isle of Pines Men, 887.
Issikoko, or head ring, Kaffir, 41.
J.
Japanese, Japan, 1449.
Jakuts, Siberia, Asia, 1379.
Jukahiri, Siberia, Asia, 1377.
K.
KAFFIR, AFRICA, 11. Chivalry of, 42. Picturesque aspect of, 42. Perfume of, 42. Gallantry, 55. Ostentation, 59. Harem, inmates, etc., 62. Dread of death, 76. Law of inheritance, 78. Courtship, 79. Names, mode of choosing, 88, 89. Boaster, fate of, 89. Love of Justice, 149. Love of honey, 154. Fondness for tobacco, 166. Torture for bewitching, 185. Sleeping accommodations, 206.
Kanemboos, Africa, 627.
Karague, 399.
KATCHIBA, Chief of Obbo, 434. His family, 435. His character, 435. His palace, 435. Treatment of guests, 435.
Katema, the Balonda Chief, 376.
Kaveaks, Siberia, 1375.
Kingsmill Islanders, Polynesia, 1038.
Knob kerry of Kaffir, 106.
Kona’s Illness and its results, 185.
Kora, Africa, 269.
Korannas, Africa, 269.
Koraquas, Africa, 269.
Kraal of Kaffir, 54.
Krumen, Africa, 544.
Kytch, Africa, 436.
L.
LANGUAGE of Ajitas, 921. Bosjesmans, “clicks,” 242. Fijians, court, 939. Fuegians, 1171. Hottentots, “clicks,” 234. Ingeletes, 1375. Kaveaks, 1375. Malemutes, 1375. Mandingoes, 607. New Zealand, sacred, 857. Siamese, 1471.
Lanterns, Chinese, 1430.
Lasso, Araucanians, 1197.
Lasso, North Am. Indians, 1296.
Latookas, Africa, 453.
LAWS, code of among Abyssinians, 653. Alfoërs, 906. Australians, 747. In Britain, New, 969. Fiji, 935. Ireland, New, 969. Karague, 405. Makololo, 331. Niuans, 1056. Samoans, 1016-1024. Siamese, 1471. Waganda, 410. Zealanders, New, 798.
LEGENDS of Apono, 488. Areois, 1080. Balonda, 379. Bubes, 610. Chinese, 1429. Fanti, 549. Fijians, 934. Guianans, 1264-1267. Indians, N. A., 1313. Kaffirs, 141, 169. Mandans, 1301. Maories, 858. Namaquas, 276. New Zealanders, 829. Niuans, 1052. Society Islanders, 1065.
LIFE, human, value of, among Bechuanas, 285. Dahomans, 567, 579. Fans, 539. Tenacity of among Hottentots, 240. Waganda, 413.
Lloyd’s account of Australians, 789.
M.
Macoushies, Guiana, S. A., 1221.
Madagascar, Africa, 690.
Madi, Africa, 430.
Mah-to-toh-pa, exploits of, 1286, 1287.
Makoba, Africa, 339.
Makololo, Africa, 324.
Malagasy, Africa, 690.
Malays, Malaisia, 920.
Malemutes, Alaska, N. A., 1374.
Malicolo, New Hebrides, 975.
Mandans, N. America, 1301.
Mandingoes, Africa, 607.
Manenko in command, Balondo, 375.
Manganjas, Africa, 355.
Mantatees, Africa, 286.
Mantchu Tartars, Tartary, 1422.
MANUFACTURES, skill in among Ahts, 1355. Apingi, 489. Araucanians, 1205. Arawaks, 1233-1235. Australians, 726. Banyai, 366, 367. Bechuanas, 280-283. Djour, 451. Dyaks, 1151-1156. Esquimaux, 1349. Fans, 532. Fijians, 929-931. Guinea, New, 914. Hervey Islanders, 1033. Hottentots, 226, 228. Kaffirs, 45-47, 95-99, 148-154, 206-212. Latookas, 455. Macoushies, 1221. Maories, 880. Mpongwé, 528. Samoans, 1015. Shir, 462. Swiss Lake-dwellers, 1474. Tongans, 977.
Maories, New Zealand, 824.
Mapuchés, So. America, 1190.
Mara-chés, So. America, 1190.
Marksmen of Arawaks, 1235.
Marquesas Islands, 1044.
MARRIAGE among Abyssinians, 658. Ajitas, 921. Alfoërs, 906. Andamaners, 888, 892. Angolese, 382. Apingi, 489. Araucanians, abduction of bride, 1199, 1200. Arawaks, 1247. Australians, 755. Banyai, 362. Bornuese, 626. Bosjesmans, 244. Bubés, 613. Dahomans, 586. Damaras, 313. Dory, 917. Dyaks, 1137-1141. Esquimaux, 1349. Fans, 536. Fijians, 955. The Fijian bride, 956. Among Ghoorkas, carrying off bride, 1394. Hassaniyeh, 686. Hottentots, 233. Indians, N. A., 1316. Ingeletes, 1375. Kaffirs, bridegroom on approval, 77-87. In Karague, 402. Among Krumen, earning wives, 546, 547. Kytch, 439. Makololo, 328. Mandingoes, 608. Namaquas, 277. Obongos, 482. Ostiaks, 1385. Ovambos, 322. Patagonians, 1183. Samoans, 1031. Samoïedes, 1383. Sowrahs, 1386. Tungusi, 1380. Waganda, 413, 414. Zealanders, New, 818.
Marshall Islanders, 1100.
Mbondemo, Africa, 521.
Mbicho, Africa, 521.
Mbousha, Africa, 521.
Medicine, see Treatment of Sick.
Medicine bag, N. A. Indians, 1308.
MEDICINE MEN, of Ahts, 1371. N. A. Indians, 1307-1309. Kaffirs, 17.
Mendana Islands, 1044.
Mexico, North America, 1271.
Minatarees, North America, 1274.
Mincopie girls, 895.
Mincopies, Andaman Islands, 889.
Mirage, notions of Hassaniyeh, 688.
Mirror Ink of Hassaniyeh, 689.
Mnande’s burial, 202.
Moheenda, Africa, 399.
Mongolians, Asia, 1422.
Monkey Men, New Guinea, 900.
MOURNING among Abyssinians, 659. Australians, 772. Australians, widow’s cap, 777. Bakalai, “keen,” 495. Camma, 520. Damaras, 314. Dyaks, 1160. Esquimaux, 1351. Fijians, 967. Flat-heads, mourning cradle, 1320. Indians, N. A., 1329. Mpongwé, 524. New Zealand, tangi, 869.
Mpongwé, Africa, 524.
Muchlahts, Vancouver’s Island, 1354.
Mumbo Jumbo, of Bonny, 603.
Mundurucús, S. America, 1215.
Musguese, Africa, 639.
MUSIC of Balonda, 375. Bosjesman, 263-265. Chinese, 1446. Damaras, 313. Kaffirs, 208. Korannas, 273.
MUSICAL Instruments of Abyssinians, 660. Balonda, 375. Batoka, 353. Bechuanas, 297. Bosjesmans, goura, guitar, drum, 264-265. Camma, 509. Chinese, 1445. Dor, 448. Dory, 917. Esquimaux, 1351. Fans, 540. Guianans, 1264. Indians, N. A., 1330. Kaffirs, 55, 208-211. In Karague, 405. Among Latookas, 459-460. Madi, 433. Malagasy, 693. Shillooks, 474. Tahitans, 1062. Zealanders, New, 822.
N.
Namaquas, Africa, 274.
NAMES among Araucanians, exchanging of, 1209. Bosjesmans, 244. Kaffirs, mode of choosing, 88, praise and birth, 89. Krumen, 546. Maganjas, changing, 360. New Zealanders, signification of, and changing, 817.
Neam-Nam, Africa, 440.
Necklace, talismanic, Kaffir, 199.
Negritos, Philippine Islands, 920.
New Britain, Australasia, 969.
New Caledonia, Australasia, 883.
New Guinea, Africa, 898.
New Hebrides, Polynesia, 971.
New Ireland, Australasia, 969.
New Zealand, Australasia, 792.
Nga-te-kahuhuna, New Zealand, 796.
Nicobarians, Nicobar Islands, 896.
Niué, Polynesia, 1052.
North American Indians, 1273.
Nubia, Africa, 673.
Nuehr tribe, Africa, 468.
O.
Obbo, Africa, 434.
Obongos, Africa, 482.
Oerlams, Africa, 274.
Ohyahts, Vancouver’s Island, 1354.
Ojibbeways, North America, 1329.
Omens, see Superstitions.
ORDEALS of the Angolese, 382. Ashira, the ring, 502. Batoka, 353. Bechuanas, boys, 292, for girls, 295. Camma, drinking m’boundou, 515. Caribs, 1240. Conguese, drinking poison, 615. Dacotahs, medicine men, 1307. Dyaks, diving, 1159, boiling water, 1159, salt, 1159, snails, 1159. Mandans, on reaching manhood, 1301, suspension, 1303, last race, 1304. Mundurucús, of gloves, 1216.
Order of the Scar, Bechuanas, 289.
ORNAMENTS of Abyssinians, 646, 647. Admiralty Islanders, 970. Ahts, lip, 1355. Araucanians, 1197. Ashango, 481. Ashanti, 555. Australians, dibbi-dibbi nose-bone, turtle scar, 703, 704. Balonda, 373. Bayeye, 339. Bechuanas, 284. Bedouins, 683. Bornabi, 1103. Bosjesmans, 249. Caledonians, New, 883. Co-yukons, nose, 1375. Damaras, 306. Dinkas, 470. Djibba, scalp-lock, 467. Djour, 451. Dor, lip, 447. Dyaks, earrings, etc., 1111-1117. Egbas, 591. Fanti, 549. Fijians, 926. Fuegians, 1165. Gani, 430. Ghoorkas, 1399. Hebrides, New, 972. Hervey Islanders, 1033. Hottentots, 225. Indians, N. A., wampum, 1280, 1329. Isle of Pines Men, 887. Japanese, hair-pins, 1453. Kaffirs, 33-55, 198. Kanemboos, 627. Kaveak, 1374. Khonds, 1389. Latookas, lips, 453, 454. Madi, 433. Makololo, 327. Malemutes, to-took, 1374. Manganjas, 356. Mapuchés, breast-pin, 1191. Marquesans, 1048. Mpongwé, 524. Musguese, lip, 639. Namaquas, 275. Neam-Nam, 442. Nubians, 674. Nuehr, 468. Obbo, 434. Outanatas, 901. Ovambos, 316. Pelew Islanders, bone bracelet, 1104. Romanzoff Islanders, 1100. Sandwich Islanders, 1082. Shillooks, 472. Shir, 462. Solomon Islanders, 969. Sowrahs, necklaces, 1386. Swiss Lake-dwellers, 1474. Tongans, whales’ teeth, 978. Tungusi, 1379. Vaté Islanders, 972. Wagogo, 385. Wanyamuezi, “sambo” rings, 386. Watusi, 409. Wazaramo, 406. Zealanders, New, 813, 814.
Ostiaks, Siberia, Asia, 1384.
Otaheitans, Society Islands, 1058.
Outanatas, New Guinea, 900.
Ovaherero, Africa, 315.
Ovambos, Africa, 315.
Ovampos, Africa, 315.
Ovaquangari, Africa, 320.
Ovat-jumba, Africa, 305.
Oyos, Africa, 566.
Ox of the girl, Kaffirs, 86.
Ox of the surplus, Kaffirs, 86.
P.
PAIN, indifference to of the Bosjesmans, 250. Damaras, 306. Guianans, 1254.
Panda, song in honor of, 89.
Papuans, New Guinea, 898.
Pasuen, Africa, 529.
Patagonians, South America, 1172.
Patagonians, life among, 1184.
Pehuen-chés, So. America, 1190.
Pelele, or lip ring, Manganjas, 359.
Pelew Islands, 1104.
PENALTIES or PUNISHMENTS among Caribs, 1241. Chinese, cangue, 1436, finger-squeezing, 1436, beating with bamboo, 1436, strangulation, 1439, crucifixion, 1439, decapitation, 1440, cutting into pieces, 1440, sawn asunder, 1440. Japanese, crucifixion, 1461, hara-kiri, 1461. Patagonians, 1186. Niuans, 1056. Samoans, beating in sacks, 1023. Siamese, 1471.
PIPES of Australians, 701. Bosjesmans, 244. Chinese, 1442. Co-yukons, 1377. Crees, calumet, 1313. Japanese, 1462. Kaffirs, 163-166. Malemutes, 1370. See Smoking.
POISON upon arrows of Ajitas, 920. Araucanians, 1229-1236. Bosjesmans, 260. Mundurucús, 1234. In wells, Bosjesmans, 261. Drank by Mr. Moffat, 261, grub, the N’gwa, 258, hyarri, Mundurucús, 1234, upas, Dyaks, 1120, wourali, 1228.
Poison grub, the N’gwa, 258. Wourali, 1228.
POLITENESS of Batokas, 350. Bedouins, 683. In Karague, 399. Of Tchuktchi, 1378. Watusi, 409.
POLYGAMY among Australians, 755. Bornuese, 626. Egbas, 593. Fijians, 935. Guianans, 1246, 1247. Hottentots, 233. Ingeletes, 1375. Kaffirs, 75, 76. Makololo, 328. Niuans, 1056. Shillooks, 473. Tchuktchi, 1378.
Ponda, Africa, 12.
Porcelain, Japanese, 1465.
Pritchard’s adventure with wild boar, 1029.
Prophetess, Kaffir, 189.
PROPHETS, among Kaffirs, 175-180, 186-189, 195. Preparation of, 176. Consultation of, 180. Curing sickness, Bechuanas, 292. False, 190.
R.
RACES, causes of, and reflections upon decay and extinction of Australians, 790, 791. Esquimaux, 1353. New Zealanders, 880. N. Am. Indians, 1331, 1332.
RAIN-MAKING among Kaffirs, 126, 192-194. Namaquas, 277.
Rangitani, New Zealand, 796.
RANK, distinction of among Bosjesmans, 244. Japanese, 1459. Pelew Islanders, 1104. Tahitans, 1061.
RELIGION of Abyssinians, 660-664. Ahts, 1370. Ajitas, 921. Angolese, 332. Apingi, 490. Apono, 488. Araucanians, 1209. Ashangos, 481. Ashanti, 559. Ashira, 501. Australians, 778. Bakalai, 494. Balonda, 379. Banyai, 367. Batokas, 353. Bechaunas, 291. Bedouins, 685. Britain, New, 970. Bornuese, 625. Cammas, 510. Congoese, 615. Dahomans, 562, 586. Damaras, 314. Dyaks, 1110, 1157. Egbas, 594. Esquimaux, 1349. Fans, 539. Fanti, 550. Fijians, 960-964. Fuegians, 1171. Guianans, 1263. Hervey Islanders, 1037. Hottentots, 234. Indians, East, 1407. Indians, N. A., 1301, 1313. Ireland, New, 970. Kaffirs, 169-171. Krumen, 547. Malagasy, 693. Mandingoes, 607. Manganjas, 360. Maories, 856-858. Namaquas, 276. Ovambos, 322. Patagonians, 1186. Pelew Islanders, 1108. Samoïedes, 1381. Sandwich Islanders, 1096. Siamese, 1471. Society Islanders, 1064-1071. Tongans, 1004. Tungusi, 1380. Waganda, 420. Wanyamuezi, 395. Wanyoro, 427. Wazaramo, 406.
Rewards, honorary, Chinese, 1441.
Riccarees, N. America, 1319.
Rob Roy, a Kaffir, 69.
Romanzoff Island, 1100.
S.
SACRIFICES among Araucanians, 1209. Ashanti, instruments of, 559. Co-yukons, 1376. Dahomans, 578-582. In India, suttee, 1407-1410, sacred noose, 1411, juggernaut, 1411, drowning in Ganges, 1413, beasts substituted for human, 1413. Indians, N. A., 1309, 1314. Kaffirs, animal, 171, 172. Khonds, “meriah,” 1389-1392. Samoïedes, 1382. Society Islanders, 1074. Sowrahs, 1389. Tahitans, 1075. Tongans, 997-1001. Waganda, 420.
Sacs, N. America, 1323.
SALUTATION, mode of, among Ashira, 498. Balonda, 373. Brumer’s Islanders, 907. Egbas, 591. Esquimaux, 1349. Gani, 429. Hassaniyeh, 686. In Karague, 399. Among Makololo, 326. Manganjas, 356. Nuehr, 469. Ovambo, 322. Wanyamuezi, 389. Watusi, 409. Zealanders, New, 823.
Samoans, Polynesia, 1008.
Samoïedes, Siberia, 1381.
San Christoval, Solomon Islands, 970.
Sandal wood, Aneiteum, 975.
Sandwich Islands, 1081.
Saqua, Africa, 251.
Savage Island, 1052.
Scalping, mode of, 1285, 1286.
Sea Dyaks, Borneo, 1110.
Sechuanas, Africa, 280.
Senecas, N. America, 1288.
Shekiani, Africa, 521.
Shields of Kaffirs, 108.
Shillooks, Africa, 472.
Shir, Africa, 461.
Shoas, Africa, 667.
Shooas, Africa, 628.
Siam, Asia, 1467.
SICK, treatment of among Angolese, 381. Araucanians, 1205. Ashira, 501. Australians, 769-771. Damaras, 205. Hottentots, 233-240. Kaffirs, 183, 184, 190. Korannas, 274. Makoba, 347. Makololo, 336. Maories, 862. Mundurucús, 1219. Namaquas, 277. Patagonians, 1184. Tongans, 997. Tuaricks, 634.
Sickness, theory of, Angolese, 382.
Silks of Japanese, 1466.
Singing, see Amusements.
Sioux, N. America, 1274.
SLAVERY among Ashira, 501. Dory, 914. Gallas, 671. Malagasy, 693. Musguese, 639. Zealanders, New, 797.
Sledges, of Esquimaux, 1345.
Sleep, power of, Hottentot, 233.
SMOKING among Ahts, 1370. Ashira, 501. Australians, 701. Batokas, 350. Bayeye, hemp, 339. Bosjesmans, 244, 262. Chinese, opium, 1441. Crees, calumet, 1313. Damaras, hemp or dagha, 165. Dor, “bark quids,” 452. Djours, 452. Indians, N. A., 1313. Japanese, 1462. Kaffirs, 163-166. Makololo, 336. Mundurucús, “enchanted” cigars, 1219. Patagonians, 1183. Tchutkchi, 1377. Wanyamuezi, 393.
“Smoking horses,” Indians, 1290.
Snake Worship, Dahomans, 565.
Snake cooking and eating, Australians, 717.
Snake charming, India, 1416.
Snow-shoes of N. A. Indians, 1294, 1295.
Snuff boxes, Kaffir, 161.
Snuff taking, Kaffir, 159.
Society Islands, 1057.
Solomon Islands, 968.
SONGS, Esquimaux, amna-aya, 1349. Kaffir, war, 90, 147, 208. Makanna’s gathering, 197. New Zealand, canoe, 853. New Zealand, tattoo, 802. See Amusements.
Soumaulis, Abyssinia, 671.
Sowrahs, India, 1385.
STRENGTH of Dyaks, 1115. Esquimaux, 1334. Fuegians, 1166. Waraus, 1261.
SUCCESSION, law of, among Angolese, 380. Arawaks, 1247. Ashanti, 556. Fijians, 935. Indians, N. A., 1275. In Karague, 400. Among Ovambos, 322. Waganda, 416.
SUPERSTITION among Ahts, 1372. Angolese, 382. Apingi, 490. Arabs, 687-689. Araucanians, 1205. Ashangos, 481. Ashira, 502. Australians, 745, 778-783. Bakalai, 493. Banyai, 366. Bedouins, 685. Bonny, 604. Camma, 510-515. Caribs, 1241. Damaras, 314. Dyaks, 1131, 1157-1159. Egbas, 594. Esquimaux, 1350. Fans, 539. Fanti, 550. Fijians, 960-965. Guianans, 1264. Kaffirs, 88, 172, 190, 191. Makoba, 346. Malagasy, 693. Mandingoes, 609. Maories, 856-858, 864. Pelew Islanders, 1108. Samoïedes, 1383. Shekiani, 523. Society Islanders, 1079, 1080. Tahitans, 1058. Tongans, 1007. Waganda, 419. Wanyamuezi, 395. Wanyoro, 427. Wazaramo, 406.
Swazi, Africa, 12.
SWIMMING among Alfoërs, 911. Bosjesmans, 255. Indians, North America, 1330. Marquesans, 1051. Sandwich Islanders, 1086, 1087, 1092. Tongans, 1006.
Swiss Lake-dwellers, 1473.
T.
Taboo of Banyai, 367.
Taboo, see Tapu.
Tahitans, Society Islands, 1058.
Tanna Island, New Hebrides, 972.
Taranakis, New Zealand, 850.
Tapu of Maories, 863-868.
Tartars, Mantchu, Asia, 1422.
Tasmanians, Van Dieman’s Land, 753.
TATTOOING among Abyssinians, 648. Apingi, 489. Arawaks, 1222. Australians, 704. Bedouins, 683. Bornabi, 1103. Bornuese, 620. Brumer’s Islanders, 907. Dahomans, 589 Dyaks, 1111, 1117. Egbas, 591. Esquimaux, 1334. Fans, 530. Fijians, 926. In Guinea, New, 911. Among Japanese, 1450. Kingsmill Islanders, 1038. Manganjas, 359. Marquesans, 1044. Mundurucús, 1215. Niuans, 1055. Pelew Islanders, 1104. Romanzoff Islanders, 1100. Samoans, 1010-1013. Sandwich Islanders, 1085. Soumaulis, 672. Tahitans, 1059. Wanyamuezi, 389. Watusi, 409. Zealanders, New, 800, 806.
Tchaka, suspected of death of mother, 124.
Tchaka’s vision, Kaffir chief, 170.
Tchaka at funeral of mother, 202.
Tchuktchi, Siberia, 1377.
Tea of Chinese, 1432.
Tea houses, Japanese, 1464.
Te Ohie, a native priest, 857.
Theatres of Japanese, 1463.
Thieves of Ghoorkas, 1399, 1400.
Thugs of India, 1410.
Tibboos, Africa, 630.
Tigre, Africa, 667.
Tikis, New Zealand, 861.
TOBACCO among Kaffirs, 159-162, 166. Mundurucús, snuff, paricu, 1220. New Zealanders, 850.
Tools, see Manufactures.
Tongans, Polynesia, 976.
Toquahts, Vancouver’s Island, 1354.
TORTURE, modes of among Chinese, 1436. Hindoos, 1414. N. A. Indians, 1288.
TRAINING by East Indians of Antelopes, 1420, elephants, 1418, falcons, 1416, stags, 1420.
TRANSMIGRATION, belief in by Australians, 780. Makoba, 346. Shekiani, 523.
TRAVELLING, mode of, Japan, 1455-1456.
TREES of Africa, thorns, 213, grapple plant, 214, wait-a-bit, hook and prick, and monkey ropes, 215. Aneiteum, sandal wood, 975. Australia, grass, 726. Borneo, nipa palm, 1150, Upas, Borneo, 1120. Guiana, ita palm, 1268. Hova, travellers, 693. Tierra del Fuego, Antarctic beech, 1167.
Tuaricks, Africa, 634.
Tungusi, Siberia, Asia, 1379.
U.
Uzaramo, Africa, 406.
Uzinto, adventures of, 80.
V.
Vancouver’s Island, N. A., 1354.
Vaté, New Hebrides, 972.
W.
Waganda, Africa, 410.
Wagogo, Africa, 384.
Wahuma, Africa, 399.
Waikatos, New Zealand, 850.
Wanganja, Africa, 355.
Wanyambo, Africa, 399.
Wanyamuezi, Africa, 386.
Wanyoro, Africa, 422.
War, see sacrifice, Songs, Warfare.
Waraus, Guiana, S. A., 1222.
WARFARE among Araucanians, 1199. Ashangos, 480. Australians, 744, 745. Balonda, 378. Barea, 671. Bari, 462. Batoka, 354. Bechuanas, 289. Bedouins, 681, 684. Begharmis, 635. Bornuese, 622. Bosjesmans, 254. Caledonians, New, 885. Camma, 506. Caribs, 1239, 1242. Chinese, 1433. Congoese, 615. Dahomans, 567. Dinkas, 469. Djibbas, 467. Dor, 445. Dory, 914. Dyaks, 1119, 1131-1135. Egbas, 593. Fans, 531. Fijians, 952, 953. Fuegians, 1165. Gallas, 671. Ghoorkas, 1396. Hervey Islanders, 1034. Hottentots, 239. Illinoans, 1112. Indians, Gran Chaco, 1213. Indians, N. A., 1281. Kaffirs, 19, 92, 113-125, 196-198. Kingsmill Islanders, 1039. Latookas, 455, 456. Mantchu Tartars, 1422, 1423. Maories, 838, 846-850. Marquesans, 1050. Musguese, 640. Neam-Nam, 443. Nubians, 674. Pelew Islanders, 1107. Samoans, 1016-1020. Sandwich Islanders, 1091. Society Islanders, 1073. Soumaulis, 671. Tibboos, 633. Tongans, 984, 985. Waganda, 414, 415. Wagogo, 385. Wazaramo, 406. See Dances.
Waterton’s story of Arawaks, 1230.
Wasagara, Africa, 407.
Watusi, Africa, 408.
Watuta tribes, Africa, 402.
Wazaramo, Africa, 406.
WEAPONS of Abyssinians, 646-647. Ahts, 1355. Ajitas, 920. Andamaners, 889. Apono, 487. Araucanians, bolas, 1197. Ashangos, 480. Ashanti, 556. Australians, throw stick, kangaroo rat, boomerang, 719-724, 728-743. Balonda, 378. Banyai, axe, 366. Bari, 464. Bechuanas, 289. Bedouins, 681. Begharmis, 635. Bornuese, 623. Bosjesmans, 257, 261. Bouka, 971. Britain, New, 970. Caledonians, New, 884. Chinese, jingall, cross-bow, 1433-1436. Congoese, 615. Dahomans, 561, 571. Damaras, 312. Dinkas, 469. Djibbas, 464. Dor, 444. Dyaks, sumpitan, or blowgun, parang-ihlang, kris, 1119-1131. Esquimaux, harpoon, 1339. Fans, 531. Fijians, 948-952. Fuegians, 1165. Ghoorkas, kookery, 1395. Guianans, 1223-1236. Guinea, New, 913. Hamran Arabs, 675. Hebrides, New, 972. Hervey Islanders, 1034. Hottentots, 232. Illinoans, 1112. Indians, East, 1400-1406. Indians, Gran Chaco, armor, 1212. Indians, N. A., tomahawk, 1282. Ireland, New, 970. Ishogos, 476. Japanese, sword, 1459. Kaffirs, 93, 94, 100-113. Karague, 399. Khonds, axe, 1392. Kingsmill Islanders, 1039. Latookas, 453. Madi, 433. Mantchu Tartars, bows, 1423. Maories, 838-844. Marquesans, 1050. Mincopies, bow, 890. Musguese, 639. Neam-Nam, 443. Nicobarians, 896. Niuans, 1055. Nubians, peculiar sword, 673. Outanatas, 901. Ovambos, 319. Papuans, 900. Patagonians, bolas, 1174-1178. Pelew Islanders, 1107. Samoans, 1019. Sandwich Islands, 1088. Shekiani, 521. Shir, 461. Society Islanders, 1073. Soumaulis, 671. Sowrahs, 1386. Swiss Lake-dwellers, 1474. Tibboos, 633. Vaté, 972. Waraus, 1269.
Wedding, see Dances, Marriage.
Weezees, Africa, 386.
Western Islands, 1100.
WITCHCRAFT among Araucanians, 1206. Ashanti, 560. Bakalai, 493. Camma, 515-520. Caribs, 1241. Esquimaux, 1350. Fans, 539. Kaffirs, 184, 188. Maories, 861. Shekiani, 522. Waganda, 410. Wanyamuezi, 395.
WOMEN, condition of among Angolese, 381. Ashira, 496. Australians, 695, 756. Banyai, 362. Bonny, 603. Brumer’s Islanders, 908. Congoese, 616. Dahomans, 589. Damaras, singular caps of married, 313. Dyaks, 1118. Fijians, 956. Gani, 430. Guianans, 1246. Indians, Gran Chaco, 1214. Indians, North America, 1319. Isle of Pines Men, 887. Kaffirs, 24-27, 90. In Karague, 402. Among Latookas, 455. Makololo, 327. Musguese, 639. Ostiaks, 1385. Patagonians, 1186. Samoans, 1014. Samoïedes, 1383. Sandwich Islanders, 1082-1086. Shooas, 630. Tahitans, 1058. Tongans, 983. Waganda, 413. Wanyoro, 426. Wanyoro, fattening of, 426.
Z.
Zealanders, New, Australasia, 792.
Zingian Tribes, Africa, 12.
Zulus, Africa, 12.
Transcriber’s Notes
Unless listed under Changes below, the language used in this e-book is that of the source document, including inconsistencies, archaic and unusual spelling and hyphenation, pejorative and offensive terms, etc. Non-English names, words and phrases in particular are not always spelled correctly or consistently. Factual errors have not been corrected.
The differences in wording between the Table of Contents and the chapter headings in the text have not been standardised. The same applies to the List of Illustrations and the illustration captions in the text. The order of illustrations in the List of Illustrations is not always the same as the order in which they are presented in the book. What appear as major divisions in the Table of Contents are part of the chapter titles in the text. The original work contains a Table of Contents per Volume, the List of Illustrations in Volume I, and the Index in Volume II; for ease of reference, all of these have been included in both volumes.
The differences in structure and wording between the Table of Contents and the chapter headings in the text have been retained. Auto-generated Tables of Contents may therefore differ from the original one. The same applies to the List of Illustrations and the illustration captions in the text. The order of illustrations in the List of Illustrations is not always the same as the order in which they are presented in the book.
Depending on the hard- and software used to read this text and their settings, not all elements may display as intended.
List of Illustrations, 259, Fijian idol: the text and the illustration caption describe this as being from the Solomon Islands. The Bornese shield on page 1129 is not included in the List of Illustrations.
Page 136, portulacacia: probably an error for protulacaria.
Page 148, Fig. 1 on page 103 shows one of these spoons: presumably this refers to the (unnumbered) bottom spoon in the second illustration on this page.
Page 215, vacht-een-bidgt: (possibly phonetic English) misspelling of wag-’n-bietjie (Afrikaans) or wacht-een-beetje (Dutch); Bavians-tow: (possibly phonetic English) misspelling of Baviaans-touw.
Page 228, Scriptus tegetalis: possibly an error for Scirpus tegetalis.
Page 245, fore-louper: possibly phonetic English spelling of voorloper.
Page 265, Romelpot: misspelling of Rommelpot.
Page 353, “It is evident that they believe ...: there is no closing quote mark.
Page 366, The elephant axe is shown at fig. 1 ...: there is no number 1 in the illustration; presumably the reference is to the axe between numbers 2 and 4.
Page 374, “Every village swarms with children ...: there is no closing quote mark.
Page 467, ... its original size at fig. 2: there are no reference numbers in the illustration.
Page 648, ... when the Abyssinians trouble them- to wash either their clothes or themselves ...: possibly an error for ... when the Abyssinians trouble themselves to wash either their clothes or themselves ... or similar.
Page 660, “This “Hai... oh!” is thought ...: there is no closing quote mark.
Changes
Illustrations and the (single) footnote have been moved outside text paragraphs.
Several minor obvious formatting, typographical and punctuation errors and misprints have been corrected silently. Some superfluous repeated words have been deleted.
McGillivray, M’Gillivray and M‘Gillivray have been standardised to M’Gillivray, M’Briar and M‘Briar to M’Briar; Gi’ôm and Gi’om to Gi’ôm; i.e. and i. e. have been standardised to i. e.
List of Illustrations, Table of Contents and Index: Several names have been standardised to conform to the spelling used in the main text.
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Page 181: Closing single quote mark inserted after ... I see now. THERE!
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Page 251: Tarconanthus changed to Tarchonanthus.
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Page 327: ... the lot of the Mokololo women ... changed to ... the lot of the Makololo women ....
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