Untitled : Jump to Index Start Reading This is a comprehensive ethnography of the Australian Aborigines of Northern Australia, particularly the group known as the Kakadu, and the tribes of Melville Island. This is one of about half a dozen ethnographies written before the destruction of the Australi...
Chapter X. Various Traditions, Customs And Beliefs : CHAPTER X VARIOUS TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, AND BELIEFS Tradition of Bubba Peibi.--Tradition of Dodaduriman.--A mischievous spirit enticing a native away.--Ceremonies concerned with the eating of Nuppadaitba.--Rain making in the Kakadu tribe.--Tradition of a snake man named Ngabadaua and of two snake...
Preface : PREFACE IN 1911 the Commonwealth Government sent a small scientific commission to the Northern Territory to make a preliminary survey of the country. The party consisted of Dr. J. A. Gilruth, Dr. Anton Breiul, Dr. W. G. Woolnough, and myself. The time at our disposal was short and the work that we...
Chapter Xiii. Clothing And Ornament : CHAPTER XIII CLOTHING AND ORNAMENT Pubic tassels and aprons.--Waist-belts.--Armlets.--Head ornaments.--Pendants made from birds' feathers in imitation of flowers.--Ornaments made of beeswax and Abrus seeds. THE northern coastal tribes are not much troubled with clothing. Out on the central uplands...
Chapter Viii. Beliefs In Regard To The Orig : CHAPTER VIII BELIEFS IN REGARD TO THE ORIGIN OF CHILDREN Belief in reincarnation and spirit children entering women prevalent over great part of Australia.--Distribution of this belief.--Arunta belief.--Port Essington tribe.--Mungarai tribe.--Traditions of ancestors.--Spirit children in trees, etc...
Chapter Vii. Magic And Medicine : CHAPTER VII MAGIC AND MEDICINE Kakadu tribe.--Tjilaiyu ceremony.--Evil magic by means of burning korno or excrement.--Capturing the yalmuru of the victim.--Evil magic by means of securing a fragment of the victim's food.--Eating pounded ant-hill as cure for disease.--Evil magic by means of mud...
Chapter Xi. Food Restrictions : CHAPTER XI FOOD RESTRICTIONS Restrictions amongst members of the Kakadu tribe.--Boys and youths.--Women during pregnancy.--Husband.--Young men passing through Ober and Jamba ceremonies.--Removal of restrictions.--Young man giving food to his mother.--Special restrictions in regard to the snake...
Chapter Ii. Social Organisation And Marriage : CHAPTER II SOCIAL ORGANISATION AND MARRIAGE REGULATIONS Tribes without class organisation.--Bathurst and Melville Island natives.--Local groups.--Port Essington tribe.--Kakadu tribe.--Allotment of wives; a woman of the status of a man's mother allotted to him as wife, with consequent change...
Chapter Iv. Totemic Systems And Totem Groups : CHAPTER IV TOTEMIC SYSTEMS AND TOTEM GROUPS Division of northern tribes into five groups so far as totemic matters are concerned.--Kakadu tribe.--The Yalmuru and Iwaiyu.--Manner of acquiring totemic names.--Examples of totemic names in different families.--Totemic names not hereditary.--List...
Chapter Ix. Traditions Concerning Imberomber : CHAPTER IX TRADITIONS CONCERNING IMBEROMBERA, THE GREAT ANCESTOR, AND ALSO OTHER ANCESTORS OF THE KAKADU NATION Tradition of Imberombera, a woman, and Wuraka, a man.--Imberombera travels over the country making everything and leaving spirit children behind her.--She sends out spirit children...
Image : IMAGE INDEX NATIVE TRIBES OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA Map of the Northern Territory Map Showing Distribution of Local Groups on Melville Island and Bathurst Island Genealogical Chart Ornaments Worn During Initiation Ceremony On Melville Islane The Jamba Ceremony The Jamba Ceremony...
Chapter I. Introduction : NATIVE TRIBES OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Nature of the country inhabited by the tribes.--List of tribes, with their localities.--Physical appearance of the natives.--No Malay admixture.--Cicatrices.--Larakia woman with joint of index finger cut off.--Small number...
Chapter Xiv. Decorative Art : CHAPTER XIV DECORATIVE ART Mourning armlets, rings, and discs of the Melville and Bathurst Islanders.--Bags and baskets.--Grave posts of the Melville and Bathurst Islanders.--Clubs and spears.--Sacred ceremonial objects.--Decorations drawn on the bodies of men. -Bark and rock drawings. THERE is...
Chapter V. Sacred Sticks, Bull Roarers : CHAPTER V SACRED STICKS, BULL-ROARERS, AND CEREMONIAL OBJECTS Comparative absence of the equivalents of Churinga in the Northern tribes.--No bull-roarers on Melville and Bathurst Islands.--Beliefs of women and children in regard to the bull-roarer.--Larakia tribe.--Destruction of the sticks...
Chapter Vi. Burial And Mourning Ceremonies : CHAPTER VI BURIAL AND MOURNING CEREMONIES Melville and Bathurst Islands.--Description of graves.--Decoration and erection of grave posts.--Mourning ceremonies.--Dancing round the fire.--Driving the spirit into the ground.--Description of ceremonies performed at the grave.--Special bark armlets...
Chapter Iii. Initiation Ceremonies : CHAPTER III INITIATION CEREMONIES Division of tribes into three groups according to the nature of the initiation ceremony. Group 1, tribes with neither circumcision nor subincision. Group 2, tribes with circumcision only. Group 3, tribes with circumcision and subincision.--List of the tribes...
Title Page : NATIVE TRIBES OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA BY BALDWIN SPENCER C.M.G., M.A., F.R.S., Hon. D.Sc. (Man.); Late Fellow Of Lincoln College; Hon. Fellow Of Exeter College, Oxford; Professor Of Biology In The University Of Melbourne; Special Commissioner For Aboriginals In The Northern Territory...
Chapter Xii. Weapons And Implements : CHAPTER XII WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS Stone hatchets and knives.--Nature of stone weapon is determined primarily by that of the material available.--Spears; various types.--Clubs and throwing sticks; various types.--Spear throwers.--Bags and baskets; various types.--Trumpets.--Fire making and cooking...