George Taplin

“ This tradition has been so often and so distinctly repeated to me, that I entertain not the slightest doubt of the correctness of it. The sun, "teendo," is said to be a female, having several sisters; all of whom shed a malevolent influence over mankind. ”

“ Between every act of rotation, their march is more extended; so that they thus by degrees proceed farther from the place where the death occurred, until at last they walk off altogether to a distant locality, in which it is resolved to bury the body; the ceremony occasionally continuing more than one day. The place of burial being fixed upon, the earth or sand is loosened by the digging sticks, and thrown out by the hands; the body is laid in the grave on one side, and the hole being filled up again, is usually covered with branches and bark of trees. ”

“ Tattooing is not exclusively confined to men; but that of the women is mostly limited to those bands over the breast-bone above described. After a man has undergone the process, he secludes himself, for a season, from the society of women, and, in some measure, from that of men also. A cord, made of the fur of the opossum, is tied around each arm, about one-third below the shoulder, and he is presented with two sticks, which are nothing more than common twigs, but worn smooth from constant use. ”

“ This was immediately done, and, after the orifice had been kept closed by the pressure for a short time, a little earth was taken up and sprinkled upon the part, and the native said, "There is no blood, no wound to be seen, and the man is dead." ”

“ Certain other beings, inhabitants of the earth, are dreaded by the natives, for the mischief they do. These they call "nokoona toorlanān," which seems to signify "nokoona, the destroyers," from "toorla," to fight or kill. At Encounter Bay their name is "Dlarbe," and the natives silently allude to them by holding up the fore and little fingers. They are accused of killing men, women, and children, by coming stealthily upon them in the dark. One is described as a very large black man, eight feet or more in height; and some of them were killed a long time ago by men of a distant country. ”

“ The funeral ceremony varies very much in the different tribes. That of the Adelaide tribe is of a complicated nature, the actual interment being preceded by several extraordinary rites. When a man dies his legs are bent up, so that the knees are brought nearly close to the chin, and the arms are folded together in a similar manner. This done, the body is enveloped in old clothing, tied with cords, or a piece of netting. A rude bier is prepared by fastening together ten or twelve branches, so as to form the radii of a circle ”

“ On the other hand, they indulge in every evil passion to excess, and, estimating human life as of low value, do not hesitate to sacrifice it for a trivial insult. As their women are obtained from other tribes, by theft or otherwise, female infants at birth are not infrequently put to death for the sake of more valuable boys, who are still being suckled, though three or four years old, or even more. ”

“ With a view, however, of showing the extraordinary difference of language that prevails, within a space of not more than fifty miles in extent many words of the Encounter Bay tribe, and a few also of that of Rapid Bay, have been interspersed among those of the Adelaide natives, and are distinguished by the initials e and r. There is manifestly a considerable difference among the natives in regard to degree of knowledge and capability of using their language. ”

“ Although the tattooing of the Australians possesses none of the symmetrical accuracy of that practised by the New Zealanders, and other uncivilised nations; yet the different tribes seem to be guided by something like rule, in certain variations of pattern easily perceivable, but difficult to describe. The parts generally selected for the operation are the shoulders, back and breast; seldom any part below the waist, and never the face. ”

“ It is remarkable that none of the tribes appear to be under the authority of a chief. A certain amount of influence, however, is exercised by the old men, and by others possessing superior physical strength and courage, as also by those who practise charms. ”

“ Even the presence of the feather of some rare bird upon the ground will attract their attention to that particular place, and the circumvolutions will there be renewed with increased energy. If there happen to be large trees in the neighbourhood, they walk quickly up to one and then another, resting the bier against them ”

“ The moon climbs, by-and-by is dead. It is thus believed there is literally a new moon every month. Other persons have learned from some of the natives that the moon is a female, of very light character, associating freely with men. ”

“ The perceptive faculties of the natives are well developed, and their senses of hearing and seeing acute, which enables them to note even the minute characteristics of natural and artificial objects, and to distinguish and imitate the sounds and movements of living beings. Many of them possess a correct musical ear, and have learned to play tunes on the violin, and to sing simple melodies. In the common operations of labour, and the use of tools and implements, they are often but little behind the ordinary European workman. ”

“ To the proper names of men and women, usually given soon after birth, are frequently attached others that are distinctive, as well as nicknames, taken from those of animals or inanimate objects, or indicative of physical peculiarities ”

“ One of the evils inflicted by this malignant being is a very painful cough, which is most likely the result of pulmonary disease, and, consequently, often fatal. When very ill, the sick person expectorates into the palm of his hand, and offers the sputa to the sun. ”

“ A number of men retire from the general body, and from the women; and the person who is to endure the operation is seized upon, apparently against his will, and only yields after some show of resistance. The instrument generally used is broken shell of the river-muscle, or a fragment of glass; the operation being repeated several times, at intervals, over the same spot, by which the cicatrix becomes considerably elevated above the surrounding skin, and this is most particularly the case over the breast-bone, where the scars form from one to a dozen transverse callous bands. ”

“ On the night of the 8th of March, 1838, a colonist named Pegler was killed by two blacks, the wound being inflicted precisely in the manner above described, and there is no doubt that natives are sometimes deprived of life in the same way, and the murderers escape by acting upon the superstitious fears of the relatives. Another object of terror to the aborigines is called "koonyoo," who flies about at night, and makes a noise in the trees, but is never seen. ”

“ They move slowly off from the spot, stopping at intervals, and performing a quick rotatory motion in one direction, and, when they can do so no longer, in the opposite one. All this while a man stands under the centre of the bier, assisting to support it with his head; and, after each act of rotation, he addresses the deceased, asking him how and why he died, who killed him, &c. The group of men surrounding the bier and its supporters are all armed with their spears and other weapons, and the women carry their long sticks and bags. ”

“ The natives feel great repugnance at speaking of a person who has lately died, and especially avoid mentioning his name. This is carried to so great an extent that persons, having the same name, are called by others temporarily given, or by any remaining names that may belong to them. The women, more especially, are so strongly attached to relatives that they hesitate for a long time to part with a dead body ”

“ This being descends to the earth in the dark, alights upon the body of a man while sleeping, and presses on his liver, causing him to suffer excessive pains, and sometimes producing death. This is nothing more than a supernatural cause to which is attributed the effect of excessive gorging, which the natives indulge in whenever they have the opportunity. ”

“ They have, however, seldom any stability of character, and hence it is no uncommon thing for a man, after having assumed semi-civilised habits, to revert after a time to his original condition of savage life. ”