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Title:	   Folklore of the Australian aborigines.
Author:    Mathews, R. H. (Robert Hamilton), 1841-1918.
Publisher: Sydney, Hennessey, Harper and company, 1899.

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HARVARD-COLLEGE-LIBRARY
IN MEMORY OF
JAMES JACKSON
LOWELL
FIRST SCHOLAR OF THE CLASS
OF 1858 LEFT THE LAW
SCHOOL AT THE OUTBREAK
OF THE CIVIL WAR TO JOIN
THE 20TH MASSACHUSETTS
VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
MORTALLY WOUNDED AT
THE BATTLE OF GLENDALE
JULY 30TH 1862
FROM THE GIFT OF HIS SISTER
HARRIET LOWELL PUTNAM
M-CMXVII


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32255,3X
Folklore
of the
Australian
Aborigines
BY
R. H. MATHEWS,
LICENSED SURVEYOR.
Price, One Shilling.
SYDNEY:
HENNESSEY, HARPER AND COMPANY.
1899.
[COPYRIGHT.]


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## p. 1 (#7) ################################################

O
FOLKLORE
OF THE
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
BY
R. H. MATHEWS,
LICENSED SURVEYOR.
SYDNEY:
HENNESSEY, HARPER AND COMPANY.
1899.
[COPYRIGHT.]


## p. 2 (#8) ################################################

747557779
2725 5.24.7
Harvard College Library
June 24, 1919
J.J.Lowell fund
1
1


## p. 3 (#9) ################################################

CONTENTS.
ARRIVAL OF THE THURRAWAL TRIBE IN AUSTRALIA
7
DESTRUCTION OF MULLION THE EAGLEHAWK
11
THE JOURNEY TO KURRILWAN
15
THE KURREA AND THE WARRIOR
20
THOORKOOK AND BYAMA's Sons ...
...
23
THE WAREENGGARY AND KARAMBAL
...
26
THE HEREAFTER
...
30


## p. 4 (#10) ###############################################

!


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PREFACE.
THE specimens of Australian Folklore reproduced in the
following pages are from articles which I have contributed,
from time to time, to Science of Man. They are only a
few out of a large number copied into my note books on
this highly interesting subject during many years residence
in the back country. Those now published are examples
of the traditions respecting the migrations of the Natives
-their mythology—the institution of the sacred bullroarer
in the ceremonial of the Keeparra—and the importance
of a compliance with the class and totemic laws of the
tribes. It will doubtless add to the value of these
traditions if the districts within which they have been
collected are stated. Nos. 1 and 7 are current among
the Natives occupying the south-east coast from Botany
Bay to the Victorian boundary. No. 2 is well-known
among the Kamilaroi people on the Barwon and Namoi
Rivers, and also among the Wiradjuri Tribes of the
Castlereagh and Macquarie, and farther to the south-east.
Nos. 3 and 4 are Kamilaroi legends told by the Natives
of the Macintyre, Barwon, Mehi, Weir and other rivers
in that part of the country. No. 5 is a legend of the
Manning, Hastings, and Macleay Tribes, but the version
is slightly different on each of these rivers. No. 6 is
met with among the Bunjellung and Koombanggary


## p. 6 (#12) ###############################################

Tribes, inhabiting the Clarence River and its numerous
affluents.
I have ommitted many portions of the stories
as told to me by the Natives, owing in some cases to
their obscene character, and in others for want of space.
I trust that gentlemen residing in districts where similar
legends are current, will copy them from the mouths
of the Natives, and either send them to me, or publish
them on their own behalf in order to preserve as much
as possible of the Folklore of the Australian Tribes.
R. H. MATHEWS.
Parramatta,
3rd September, 1898.


## p. 7 (#13) ###############################################

FOLKLORE
OF THE
Australian Aborigines.
:0:0:-
1.- Arrival of the Thurrawal Tribe in Australia.
IN
N the remote past all the animals that are now in
Australia lived in another land beyond the sea.
They were at that time human creatures, and resolved
to leave that country in a canoe, and come to the
hunting-grounds in which they are at present. The
whale was much larger than any of the rest, and had a
canoe of great dimensions; but he would not lend it to
any of his fellows, who had small canoes, which were
unfit for use far from the land. The other people,
therefore, watched in the hope that an opportunity
might present itself of the whale leaving his boat, so
that they could get it, and start away on their journey;
but he always kept a strict guard over it.
The most intimate friend of the whale was the
starfish, and he conspired with the other people to take
the attention of the whale away from his canoe, and


## p. 8 (#14) ###############################################

8
FOLKLORE OF THE
.
so give them a chance to steal it, and start away across:
the ocean.
So, one day, the starfish said to the whale:
“You have a great many lice in your head; let me
“
catch them and kill them for you.” The whale, who
had been very much pestered with the parasites, readily
agreed to his friend's kind offer, and tied up his canoe
alongside a rock, on which they then went and sat
down. The starfish immediately gave the signal to
some of his co-conspirators, who soon assembled in
readiness to go quietly into the canoe as soon as the
whale's attention was taken off it.
The starfish then commenced his work of removing
the vermin from the whale's head, which he held in
his lap, while the other people all got quickly into the
canoe, and rowed off. Every now and again the whale
“Is my canoe all right?” The starfish,
who had provided himself with a piece of bark to have
ready by his side, answered: “Yes, this is it which I
am tapping with my hand,” at the same time hitting
the bark, which gave the same sound as the bark of the
He then resumed his occupation, scratching
vigorously about the whale's ears, so that he could not
hear the splashing of the oars in the water. The
cleaning of the whale's head and the assurances as to
the safety of the canoe went on with much garrulity on
the part of the starfish, until the people had rowed off
a considerable distance from the shore, and were nearly
out of sight. Then the patience of the whale becoming
exhausted, he insisted upon having a look at his canoe.
would say,
canoe.


## p. 9 (#15) ###############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
9
to make quite sure that everything was right. When
he discovered that it was gone, and saw all the people
rowing away in it as ist as they could go, he became
very angry, and vented his fury upon the starfish,
whom he beat unmercifully, and tore him almost to
pieces. Jumping into the water, the whale then swam
away after his canoe, and the starfish, mutilated as he
,
was, rolled off the rock, on which they had been sitting,
into the water, and lay on the sand at the bottom till
he recovered. It was this terrible attack of the whale
which gave the starfish his present ragged and torn
appearance; and his forced seclusion on the sand under
the water gave him the habit of keeping near the
bottom always afterwards.
The whale pursued the fugitives, and in his fury
spurted the water into the air through a wound in the
head received during his fight with the starfish, a
practice which he has retained ever since. When the
people in the canoe saw him coming after them, the
weaker ones were very much afraid, and said : “ He is
gaining upon us, and will surely overtake us, and
drown us every one." But the native bear, who was
in charge of the oars, said, “ Look at my strong
arm (a). I am able to pull the canoe fast enough to
make good our escape !” and he demonstrated his
prowess by making additional efforts to move more
rapidly through the water.
(a.) The native bear has very large and strong forelegs, in
proportion to the rest of his body.


## p. 10 (#16) ##############################################

10
FOLKLORE OF THE
This voyage lasted several days and nights, until
at length land was sighted on ahead, and a straight
line was made for it. On getting alongside the shore,
all the people landed from the canoe sat down to rest
themselves. But the native companion, who has
always been a great fellow for dancing and jumping
about, danced upon the bottom of the canoe until he
made a hole in it with his feet, after which he himself
got out of it, and shoved it a little way from the shore,
where it settled down in the water, and became the
small island now known as Gan-man-gang, near the
entrance of Lake Illawarra into the ocean. When the
whale arrived shortly afterwards, and saw his canoe
sunk close to the shore, he turned back along the
coast, where he and his descendants have remained
ever since.
а


## p. 11 (#17) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
11
2.-Destruction of Mullion, the Eaglehawk.
Long ago an eaglehawk, Mullion, had his nest in a
very large, high tree, which grew on the Barwon River,
near Girra (6). The eaglehawk used to go out and
catch a blackfellow, and carry him away to his nest to
,
feed the young eaglets and their mother. This was
continued for a long time, and the blacks were unable
to help themselves, because the tree was of enormous
girth at the base, and reached almost to the sky. It
was composed of several different trees all amalgamated
There was first a gum tree, a box tree next,
then a coolabah, then a belar, and lastly a pine tree,
making a united height of five trees, one in continuation
of the other—all of them being of unusual and marvel-
lous size. In the top of the pine tree was the large
nest, or eyry, of the eaglehawk. If a blackfellow went
hunting alone, Mullion would swoop down upon him,
and carry him away in his talons to his nest. The
bones were thrown out, and were scattered about for
some distance around the base of the tree. Two of the
into one.
(6.) The Rev. W. Ridley briefly mentions this legend in his
“Kamilaroi and Other Australian Languages,” 1875, p. 136.


## p. 12 (#18) ##############################################

12
FOLKLORE OF THE
a
head men, Murriwunda and Koomba (c), who were
very clever doctors, went to the foot of the tree and
held a consultation as to the best thing to be done to
prevent the further ravages of Mullion. They deter-
mined to try and climb up the tree, carrying a piece of
burning stick with them, and set the nest on fire.
Koomba was the first to make the attempt. He climbed
up a long way, until he was unable to go any further,
so he came down again, and fell prostrate to the ground
from exhaustion. After he revived, he said to Murri-
wunda, "I went up a great distance, but could not even
see the top from where I was. You are lighter than I
am, and may be able to reach the nest.” Murriwunda
then took the burning bark, and fastened it on the top
of his head, and started away up the tree, going round
and round the trunk in spiral fashion as he ascended.
He got to the top of the gum tree, and went on to the
box tree, next the coolabar, then the belar, until he at
length reached the pine tree. This climbing occupied
most of the afternoon, and Koomba saw small pieces
of bark from the several kinds of trees falling to the
ground, by which he knew that his friend was going
right up to the nest.
When Murriwunda reached the top of the pine
tree, he took the firebrand, which he carried in his
forehead-band, and secretly inserted it in the underside
of the eaglehawk's nest, which was of great dimensions.
(c) The Wiradjuri men at Trangie on the Macquarie River
told me that in their version of this story the names of the two
clever men were Tinban and Alloo.
>


## p. 13 (#19) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
13
He told the fire not to burn the nest until he got down
again to the ground. The work of descending the tree
was very tiresome, but was accomplished in much less
time than the ascent. On reaching the base Murri-
wunda was so completely exhausted that he lay down
upon the ground to rest. Having in a short time
recovered his strength, he and Koomba started away
towards their own camp, but he did not tell his comrade
the result of his climbing. When they got away some
distance they caught an iguana, which they cooked
and ate, and sat for awhile to rest themselves beside a
small waterhole. Murriwunda then said, “I could not
reach Mullion's nest; I don't know what we can do to
get rid of his incursions." Then he gave the usual
laugh which blackfellows always indulge in when they
say anything which is the opposite of the truth. Shortly
he added, “You watch towards the sky in the direction
of the tree.” Koomba turned his eyes in the direction
indicated, and as the shades of evening were by this
time beginning to fall, he could see a bright blaze in
the distance like a large star, which kept increasing in
size with great rapidity. Both of them were then very
glad, and commenced to sing some of their tribal
incantations and beat their boomerangs together.
As before stated, Murriwunda had told the fire
not to burn until he had time to get out of danger. It
then commenced to smoulder, and the young eaglets
who were in the nest feeling the unusual heat under


## p. 14 (#20) ##############################################

14
FOLKLORE OF THE
them, began to move restlessly under their mothers'
wings. They said they would feel cooler if they came
out and sat on the edge of the nest. When they got
out they commenced playing, and shoved against one
of their father's spears, which was sticking into the
side of the nest. He was sitting on a branch close by,
and seeing his spear bent over, went and caught hold
of it, and feeling angry with his children for disturbing
it, he said: “I'll stick the spear so firmly into the nest
that you can't move it," and so saying, he caught hold
of the spear, and gave it a strong shove downwards.
The moment he did this the fire which was smouldering
underneath burst through the opening made by the
spear in a torrent of flame, and burnt them all to
death. The fire continued to burn downwards, con-
suming the branches and the barrel of the tree all the
way to the ground, and continued along the roots in
all directions. Some of the large roots, which were
only a few feet beneath the grass, were completely
consumed, leaving a cavity all along their course, into
which the top soil fell, forming sinuous depressions in
the surface of the ground like small watercourses.
Some of these hollows can be traced as far as Kuddi,
several miles from Girra, where the great tree stood (d).
(d) The natives point out what they believe to be the site of
this mystic tree. There is a natural depression in the ground,
with a few small watercourses running into it from different
directions, in which water flows in time of flood. The central
hole is supposed to be where the tree stood, and the channels
represent the roots which were burnt.


## p. 15 (#21) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
15
3.- The Journey to Kurrilwan.
A man named Yoo-nee-a-ra, the chief of a
Kamilaroi tribe whose taorai comprised the district
around Kunopia, on the Boomi River, New South
Wales, once decided upon going away towards the set-
ting sun, where the present home of their ancestor,
Byama, is supposed to be situated, at a place called Kur-
rilwan. He journeyed on, carrying his weapons with
him, and gaining his living by hunting as he went. After
he had travelled several days, still going on to-
wards the sunset, he came to a place which was inhabited
by a tribe of blackfellows who had the body of a man,
and the legs and feet of an emu. They were called Dhin-
nabarrada, owing to their forked feet, and never went
about singly, but in little mobs, and subsisted upon
grubs. Their chief occupation was making boomerangs
outof thegidyer tree, the wood of which has a strong scent.
It is said of the Dhinnabarrada that if they suc-
ceed in touching a man's feet they will be transformed
into emu's feet, like their own, When these people saw


## p. 16 (#22) ##############################################

16
FOLKLORE OF THE
Yooneeara they approached him, evidently intent upon
touching his pedal extremities. Yooneeara, having heard
that there were no bandicoots in that part of the country,
had brought a live one with him in his dilly bag. When
the Dhinnabarrada were very close to him, he liberated
the bandicoot, and it ran away through the grass. All
the Dhinnabarrada people ran after this strange, un-
known animal, and Yooneeara took advantage of this
opportunity to make good his escape.
The headman passed safely through the country of
the Dhinnabarrada, and came to a large plain where he
met a tribe called Dheeyabry. These people were half
man and half roley-poley. When they were facing you
they looked like men, but when they turned their backs
they resembled roley-poleys. The Dheeyabry asked the
traveller where he was going, and he answered them:
“ To see Byama.” They invited him to stay and rest
himself, and tried to dissuade him from going any far-
ther, but he still went on. He could hear the Dheeyabry
men calling after him to come back, but he did not heed
their warning
After a while he came to a place where the March
flies and mosquitoes were very numerous, and much
larger than he had ever seen them before. He beat
them off his body and limbs as best he could with a bush
which he carried in his hand. These insects tormented
him so much that he did not know what to do; and,
almost driven to despair, he sat down on the ground near
a waterhole, and made a fire. He then debated with
a


## p. 17 (#23) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
17
>
himself whether he would go on or turn back. He con-
sidered different ways of protecting himself from these
pests, and at last decided to strip a sheet of bark the
length of himself, and large enough to go all round his
body. He cut two holes in the bark opposite where his
eyes would be, and then tied bushes round his ankles
and round his head, and doubled the sheet of bark around
his body. He now went on, and got through this fly-
infested country, when he took his armour of bark off
and put it in a waterhole to keep it soft, so that he could
use it again on his return journey.
He next came to a place where there were a num-
ber of clear waterholes, in which he could see some small
men walking about under the water. They kept continu-
ally calling out to each other, “Thalammea? Thal-
ammea ?” which in the Kamilaroi language means
“ Where are you?” These men were catching fish,
which they threw out on to the bank.
Our traveller went on, and after a time came to a
camp where there were two old gins called Ngammoo-
millamilla, on account of their remarkable teats. These
women were of great stature, and had no men with
them. They subsisted on yams and the lizards known
as “shingle-backs." They used a very small smoulder-
ing fire, so that no one could find their camping place at
night. For this reason they were also called Weebulla-
bulla.
Some distance further on Yooneeara came to the
edge of a large boggy marsh, called Kolliworoogla,


## p. 18 (#24) ##############################################

18
FOLKLORE OF THE
}
a
which seemed to stop further progress. After making
a careful examination of the shore, looking for a cross-
ing place, he saw what appeared to be a very long log,
the barrel of a fallen tree, lying across the swamp, and
almost embedded in the mire. He ventured on along
this log, which was very narrow, until he got clear of
the boggy ground. By and bye he came to a place
where there was a large rock, under one side of which
was a hollowed out place like a cave, in which he could
see Byama lying down apparently asleep. He was an
old man of colossal proportions, much larger than the
blackfellows of the present time. Byallaburragan, one
of Byama's daughters, was sitting at a fire in front of
the cave, roasting a carpet snake on the coals, and gave
the traveller some food. The country all round the
rock containing Byama's abode was covered with tall
green trees, all leaning towards the rock and containing
the nests of various birds. There was plenty of grass
and saltbush growing everywhere, through which the
traveller could see game of different kinds running
about. A little way in front of the cave a stream of
water ran along in a hollow channel, and at a short
distance down this watercourse was a deep lagoon, with
rocky banks at one end and reeds at the other, covered
with swans, ducks, and other waterfowl.
The visitor, after having refreshed himself, and had
a short rest at Byallaburagan's fire, started homewards,
and again went through the same places and saw the
same people as he had passed on the journey out. Shortly


## p. 19 (#25) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
19
after his return to his own taorai,' he took ill and died,
probably the result of the sorcery of some of the queer
people he had seen by the way. This is why no future
blackfellows can be induced to undertake another
journey to the land of Kurrilwan.
Taorai is a Kamilaroi word signifying country or district.


## p. 20 (#26) ##############################################

20
FOLKLORE OF THE
4.—The Kurrea and the Warrior.
On the main road from Kunopia to Goondiwindi, on
the New South Wales side of the Barwon River, is a
large sheet of water several miles long, known as
Boobera Lagoon. Some parts of this lagoon are very
deep, and the natives aver that at one particular place
it is bottomless. In this deeper portion the Kurrea, a
, a
snake-like monster of enormous proportions, has his
abode. He belongs to the group Kupathin, and his wife
is the daughter of the bumble tree, of the group Dilbi.
The Kurrea cannot travel on the dry land, so that when
he wishes to go out of the lagoon he commences
forming a channel by tearing up the ground on the
bank, and in this manner allowing the water to flow
after him and bear him along. He is very dexterous
at this work, and can float himself anywhere he wants
The black point out many hollow channels
around Boobera, which are now dry except in time of
floods, which they believe have been formed by the
Kurrea in ancient times.
to go.


## p. 21 (#27) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
21
If any blackfellow ever went into that part of
Boobera Lagoon to swim, or sat on the bank fishing, or
paddled out in their canoes in pursuit of waterfowl, the
Kurrea was sure to come upon them and devour them.
It was a serious loss to the people to be thus deprived
of all the fish, mussels, ducks, swans and other animals,
which formed part of their daily food in this portion of
their hunting grounds.
Long ago a headman named Toolalla, of Noona.
on the Barwon, who was a great warrior, decided upon
trying to kill the Kurrea, and rid his people of their
enemy. This chief stood upon the southern bank of
the lagoon, some distance below where Boobera head
station is now built on the opposite side, armed with
the best of his weapons, and watched for the Kurrea.
He had not to wait long before the monster saw him,
and immediately swam towards him. The Noona
warrior threw several spears and clubs with good aim,
and with all his force, but they took no effect upon his
antagonist. When he had used all his weapons to no
.
purpose, he turned and fled across the plain. The
Kurrea gave chase, forming a channel in his usual
manner, winding about like a huge snake, and travelling
at a great pace.
He was gaining rapidly on Toolalla, who was
running for his life, but, fortunately, there was a
bumble tree growing on the edge of the plain, and he
made strenuous efforts to reach it, because he knew it
was the mother-in-law of his opponent, who dare not


## p. 22 (#28) ##############################################

22
FOLKLORE OF THE
therefore approach it (a). When the Kurrea saw that
Toolalla had reached the bumble tree, he at once ceased
his pursuit, and excavating a small water-hole to enable
him to turn his body'round, he went back to the lagoon
along the channel he had made during the encounter.
There is a tradition among these blacks that in
former times their forefathers occasionally found huge
bones, believed to be those of Kurreas, in the banks of
deep, dry watercourses. It is supposed that when the
water dried up the Kurreas, having no other means of
locomotion, perished of thirst. The natives say that
the children of these Kurreas take various forms, one of
which is the gowarkee, which resembles a gigantic emu
with black feathers and red legs. It is said that they
inhabit the swampy country, near Kurrilwan, the
present home of Byama.
a
(a) It is a fixed and well-known law among the aboriginals
that a man cannot speak to his wife's mother.


## p. 23 (#29) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES,
23
5.-Thoorkook and Byama's Sons.
There were two brothers named Byama, and both
were married; each brother's wife had a son, and both
the boys were named Wee 'rooimbrall'. One day, these
two boys, who had voices just like the sound of a bull..
roarer (b), were left together at a rocky place till their
parents came back from hunting. The rocks at this
spot were embedded in the ground and enclosed a large
oval or circular space, like the kackaroo ring at the
keeparra ceremony. Thoorkook, a bad man, who had
some animosity towards the brothers Byama, had
some large and savage dogs, and when the little boys
were alone, these dogs came and killed them both.
When Byama and his brother, with their wives and
the rest of the people, returned to the circle and found
the boys dead, there was great wailing, which was
continued nearly all night at the camp.
Next day Byama and his brother changed them-
selves into kangaroos—big strong fellows—and went in
sight of Thoorkook’s camp, and hopped away. The
(6) “Bullroarers used by the Australian Aborigines.”—Journ..
Anthrop. Inst., XXVII., 52-60, Plate VI.


## p. 24 (#30) ##############################################

24
FOLKLORE OF THE
uogs followed them; one dog was faster than the rest,
and when he got a long way ahead of the others, the
two big kangaroos turned upon him and killed him,
and threw him into a waterhole. Then they hopped
away again, and got another dog separated from the
rest, and killed him also, until all the dogs were
destroyed in this manner. Then the two kangaroos
changed themselves back into men again, and went and
killed Thoorkook, and changed him into a mopoke (a),
who can only go about at night. The mothers of the
two boys who were killed were always crying for them,
and Byama changed them into curlews (wee'loowack'y).
At night, when curlews are heard screeching around
the camp, it is the mothers crying for their children.
After that the two brothers Byama were out
hunting one day. The younger brother went up a
tree, and was cutting out a grub, when a chip from his
tomahawk went whizzing through the air, making a
noise like a bullroarer, and fell near the elder brother,
who was on the ground. He at once noticed that the
noise made by the falling chip resembled the voice of
the boys killed by Thoorkook's dogs. When the
younger Byama descended from the tree, his brother
suggested that they should go hunting in different
directions during the remainder of the day. The elder
brother being thus left alone, he cut a thin piece of
wood like the chip, and tied a string to it, and on
swinging it round made the same whizzing noise.
When they both met before going home to the camp,
(a) Mopoke is the native name of a nocturnal bird, somewhat
larger than the owl, which it resembles.
a


## p. 25 (#31) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES,
25
the elder Byama showed his brother the instrument he
had made, and stood out in an open space, and swung
it round his head, and it gave out the voice of the little
boys who had been killed. The two brothers, who
were leaders of their tribe, then decided that all the
boys who should be born in the future must be shown
this instrument to make them remember the boys who
had lost their lives by Thoorkook's dogs. It must never
be seen by women, but they may be permitted to hear
it during the ceremonial of the Keeparra.


## p. 26 (#32) ##############################################

26
FOLKLORE OF THE
6.-The Wareenggary and Karambal.
Un the Clarence River there once lived seven
young women who were sisters, named Wareenggary;
they were members of the Bunjellung tribe, and
belonged to the Wirrakan division (a). They were
very clever, and had yamsticks, in the ends of which
were inserted charms, which protected the girls from
their enemies. Every day they went out hunting for
carpet snakes, and always carried their yamsticks with
them on these occasions. A
young fellow named
Karambal, of the same tribe, and of the division
Womboong (6) became enamoured of one of these
young women, and followed within sight of them
every day, but they did not favour his suit. He
watched for an opportunity, and at length came
suddenly upon one of the sisters who had strayed a
little way from the rest, and had not her yamstick with
her, and carried her off, taking her to his own camp.
Her companions became very angry, and held a con-
sultation as to what was best to be done to release their
>
(a) See my paper on “The Totemic Divisions of Australian
Tribes”—Jour. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales, Vol. XXXI., p. 169.
(6) Loc. cit., p. 169.
.


## p. 27 (#33) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES
27
sister from Karambal, who was of the wrong division
for her to marry, being, in fact, her tribal brother.
The eldest sister proposed sending a fierce storm of
wind to blow up the trees by the roots, and tumble
them upon Karambal and kill him. The other girls
were afraid that their sister might also lose her life by
the falling trees, and one of them made another pro-
posal, that they should all go away to the west, where
they knew the Winter lived, and bring the frost and
chilly winds, and in this manner punish Karambal for
what he had done. Accordingly, they went away and
brought the Winter, and on the place where Karambal
was camped with their sister they made the cold so
exceptionally severe that he was almost perished with
the frost. The girl whom he had captured did not feel
this terrible cold, because her sisters had managed to
send her by a secret messenger the charmed yamstick
she formerly carried when out hunting with them. In
a short time Karambal was glad enough to let
Wareenggary return to her own people, who were very
much rejoiced to get her back again amongst them.
They then consulted among themselves, and determined
to go away towards the east in quest of the Summer,
so as to melt the frost and ice. They did not wish to
impose any further hardship upon their tribe than was
necessary, their only object being to rescue their sister
from her captor.
After this trouble the Wareenggary resolved to
leave the earth altogether, but before doing so they


## p. 28 (#34) ##############################################

28
FOLKLORE OF THE
went into the mountains, and made springs at the heads.
of all the rivers, so that their people might always
have plenty of water throughout their hunting
rounds. The seven sisters then went up into the sky
where the constellation known as the Pleiades still
represents their camp. They come into view every
Summer, bringing pleasant warm weather for the
benefit of their tribe, after which they go away
gradually towards the west, where they disappear.
They then send the Winter to warn their kinsmen not
to carry off a woman of the wrong totemic division, but
to select their wives in accordance with the tribal laws.
Soon after the departure of the Wareenggary
from the earth the young man, Karambal, looked
about for another sweetheart, and this time he was
determined to comply with the marriage rules of his
people. After a while he was smitten by the charms
of a young woman who belonged to the Kooran (c)
division, being that from which he could lawfully select
a wife.
She was, unfortunately, already united to
another man, named Bullabogabun, a great warrior.
Karambal succeeded in inducing her to leave her
husband, and go away with him. When Bullabogabun
discovered that his wife had eloped, he followed her
tracks to the camp of Karambal. The latter, in order
to escape the wrath of Bullabogabun, climbed up into
a very large and tall pine tree growing near his camp,
(c) Jour. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales, XXXI., p. 16.9


## p. 29 (#35) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
29
but his pursuer observed him hidden among the
topmost branches. Bullabogabun then gathered all the
wood he could find for some distance around, and piled
it into an immense heap against the butt of the tree,
and set fire to it. The fire raged with great fury,
burning the pine tree into cinders. The flame reached
high into the air, carrying Karambal with it, and
deposited him in a part of the sky near the
Wareenggary, where he became the star Aldebaran
(Alpha Tauri), in order that he might follow the sisters.
continually, the same as he had done in his youth.
>


## p. 30 (#36) ##############################################

-30
FOLKLORE OF THE
7.—The Hereafter.
a
ABOUT three-quarters of a mile north-westerly from the
Coolangatta homestead, the residence of the late Mr.
Alexander Berry, is a remarkable rock on the eastern
side of the Coolangatta mountain. This rock slopes
easterly with an angle of about 30 degrees from the
horizon, and on its face are six elongated depressions,
caused by the weathering away of the softer portions of
the stone. These places are suggestive of having been
worn by the feet of many persons having used them,
like the depressions worn in pavements by much traffic.
This has given rise to a superstition among the aborig-
ines that these marks were made in the rock by the
feet of the spirits of many generations of natives sliding
from the upper to the lower side of it. This belief is
strengthened by the fact that the first two depressions
are larger than the rest; the next pair on the left of
them are somewhat smaller; and the last pair, farther
to the left are smaller still. The aboriginal legend is
that the larger marks were made by the feet of the


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AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
31
a
men; the medium size by the women, and the smaller
by the children. One of the old blackfellows, who was
with me when I visited this place, stated that always
after a death in the camp, this rock presented the ap-
pearance of having been recently used. If the deceased
was a man, the large marks looked fresh; if a woman,
the middle pair; and if a child, the smaller slides
-showed indications of someone having slipped along
them.
It was from this rock that the shade of the native
took its final departure from its present hunting grounds,
and this was accomplished in the following manner :-
A very long stem of a cabbage-tree, imperceptible to
human vision, reached from some unknown land across
the sea to this rock. When a blackfellow died, his soul
went in the night to the top of the rock, and, standing
there for a few moments, looked out towards the sea,
which is about two miles distant. Then he slided down
the hollow grooves, one foot resting in each, and when
he got to the lower side of the rock he could distinguish
the end of the long pole, on to which he jumped, and
walked away along it to the sea-coast, and onward
across the expanse of water. The pole continued over
the sea, and in following it along the traveller came to
a place where flames of fire seemed to rise out of a.
depression in the water. If he had been a good tribes-
man he would be able to pass through the flames
unscathed; but if he had been a bad man, who had
broken the tribal laws, he might get scorched and fall
1


## p. 32 (#38) ##############################################

32
FOLKLORE OF THE
into the sea, or perhaps he would get through it more
or less singed.
After awhile the end of the pole was reached at
the other side of the sea. The traveller then continued
on along a track through the bush, and after a time
met a crow, who said: “You once frightened me," and
thereupon threw a spear at him, but missed him, and
the man kept on his way, the crow calling him bad
names, and making a great noise. At another place he
came to where a large native fig-tree was growing, and
two men were there. One of these men was standing on
the ground, and was some relative of the traveller; but
the other man, who was up in the tree, was a vindictive
person, and would kill him if he got a chance. He
asks the traveller's friend to bring him under the tree,
but in doing so the friend warns him to take care. The
enemy up the fig-tree is gathering figs, and is squeezing
them together around a quartz crystal, which has the
effect of causing the lumps of figs to increase in size
and weight. He then calls out to the traveller to stand
out in a clear space, so that he can throw him the
bundle of fruit. The pilgrim, however, suspects his
evil intentions, and refuses to do this, but walks into a
scrubby place under the tree, and being hungry, stoops
down to pick up some of the figs which have fallen to
the ground, having been shaken off by the wind. The
enemy in the tree then throws the bundle of figs at him,
which by this time has changed into a large stone, but
he misses his mark, owing to the scrub and undergrowth


## p. 33 (#39) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
33
obstructing his view. The traveller now resumed his
journey, and the track along which he was going
passed through a narrow, rocky gorge, with scrub
growing on either side, in which were some king
parrots of gigantic size, who tried to bite him with
their strong beaks, but he defended himself with
his shield, and succeeded in getting through the
pass. Upon this the parrots set up a great chattering,
similar to that made by these birds in their haunts.
On proceeding farther on he comes to a forest where
there are plenty of trees but no under-scrub, and the
grass is green. There are plenty of kangaroos and
other native animals of various kinds. Presently he
reaches a place where there are large numbers of black
people of all ages, amongst whom are some young men
playing ball in a clear place near the camp. There the
traveller sees his relatives and all his friends who have
died before him. He sits down a little way from the
people, and when his relations see him, they come and
welcome him, and conduct him into the camp, where
they paint and dress him in the same way that he was
accustomed to ornament his person in his own country.
After that, great shouting and corroboreeing is indulged
in, and he plays amongst the rest.
Presently an old, dirty-looking blackfellow, with
sores upon his body, comes near and calls out, “ Who
came when that noise was made just now ?” They
answer him that it was only the young people playing
about. This ugly old man cannot come into the camp


## p. 34 (#40) ##############################################

34
FOLKLORE OF THE
because there is a watercourse defining the boundary of
his hunting grounds, beyond which he dare not pass.
If he were to see the new arrival he might point a bone
at him, or work him some other injury, by means of
sorcery. This is why the people give him an evasive
answer, on receiving which he returns to his own camp,
which is a little distance farther on.
If the person who died had been greedy or quarrel-
some, or had always been causing trouble in the tribe,
he would meet with a different reception at the end of
the journey. In order to describe this, it will be neces-
sary to take the reader back to that part of the story
where the crow threw the spear. If the traveller has
been a troublesome fellow, the spear pierces him and
the crow comes and picks mouthfuls of flesh out of him,
and knocks him about; after which, he pulls out the
spear and starts the man on his journey again. When
he reaches the place where the large fig-tree is growing,
there is no friend there to warn him of danger, so he
walks carelessly under the tree, and commences to pick
up and eat the ripe figs which have fallen to the ground.
The enemy up in the tree watches his opportunity, and
throws the bundles of figs, which he has changed to
stone by his jugglery, down upon the traveller, bruising
him severely and stretching him almost lifeless on the
ground. The man then comes down out of the tree,
and shakes the traveller, and stands him on his feet and
starts him on his way, bruised and bleeding from his
wounds, and scarcely able to walk. When at last he


## p. 35 (#41) ##############################################

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
35
reaches the forest of green trees and the camp of his
countrymen, the people shout out to him that they
don't want him there, and make signs to him to go on.
The scabby old blackfellow before referred to then
makes his appearance, and asks the usual question:
“Who came when that noise was made?" The people
answer him that a stranger came; whereupon, the old
man calls the traveller to him, and takes him
to
his own camp. The wounds made by those clever, old
wizards, the crow and the man in the fig-tree, never
heal properly, and give the injured man a scabby and
dirty appearance ever afterwards.
away
>


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}
cu


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Soest


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0


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This book should be returned to
the Library on or before the last date
stamped below.
A fine of five cents a day is incurred
by retaining it beyond the specified
time.
Please return promptly.
DUE APR 22 1930
May 1 724ALS
MAY
3913800
882,06378
SEDE 573H.
GANCEZEA
1973
OCT 2.8 190 YED
사
​6117708
BOOK DUE-WED
JUN°1 6 1973


## p. (#48) #################################################


27255.24.7
Folklore of the Australian aborigin
Widener Library
003347888
3 2044 089 113 021
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