own yamstick, her relative sitting behind her. The other women and children sit on the ground farther back.

Each novice is painted with red ocher and grease by his brother-in-law, assisted perhaps by other relatives (figure 3, b). The boys are now also invested with the belt, headband, and other articles of a man's attire. The other men of the tribes gather wood, and they kindle a large fire, mulleech or mulleej, in the middle of the ring (figure 3, a). When the painting and other preliminaries have been completed the guardians take the novices on their shoulders and carry them into the ring, followed by several other men, who keep up a guttural chant. Each guardian then lets his novice down and seats him on the bank immediately in front of the mother of the boy, who puts her arms around his waist, he being within the circle and she just outside (figure 3). He is directed to gaze intently into the fire, which by this time is a mass of blazing embers, his guardian remaining near him to watch that this instruction is strictly complied with. The novices of each tribe are generally placed in groups on the side of the ring which faces in the direction of their own country, their mothers and the other women of their tribe being also in a group by themselves just outside. In the plate, I have shown both novices and women all in one place to save space and to prevent confusion.

All the novices, who are called yangomidyang, are similarly placed in a row along the inside of the embankment, at the opposite side of the circle to that from which the track emerges. Their mothers, who are behind them, are also required to look into the fire. If the mother of a boy is dead or is absent, the mother of one of the other boys looks after him as well as her own son, or perhaps a tribal mother or relative of the boy takes him in charge. The headmen walk about, directing the proceedings generally, and the other men stand in different groups, most of them being on the side of the ring opposite to where the

women are.

As soon as the boys have been placed, a number of men walk several times around the fire, between it and the novices, clapping their hands and repeating an exclamation at each step. At a sound made by the headman these men fall down with their heads toward the fire, where they lie still for a short time. When the headman considers that boys and men have been sufficiently

exposed to the fire, he hits the ground with a piece of bark which he holds in his hand, and the other men, half stupefied by the heat, rise. They then step back and stand outside the embankment. All the women and children are now told by the old men to lie down, and are covered over with rugs and bushes, some of the men walking about to see that the covering is not removed.

When all is ready the principal headman gives the signal, and two men sound bullroarers near the ring, walking along, taking up their position near the side from which the path emerges (figure 3, g). Each guardian then catches his novice by the arm, leads him along the pathway, the boy, dazed and stupefied by the heat of the fire, keeping his eyes cast on the ground and remaining silent. All the men beat their boomerangs and other weapons together and shout, making a great noise, which some of them keep up till the boys and their guardians, accompanied by most of the men, are out of sight. The covering is then taken off the women and children by the men whose duty it is to watch them, and they are set at liberty. The women who have charge of the mothers now invest the latter with the articles carried in the bag. After this all the women and children proceed to a new camp, which will be described in subsequent pages.

Ceremonies in the bush.-When the novices get out of sight of the women a halt is made and a rug is thrown over the head of each boy in such a manner that he can see only the ground at his feet. The novices are told by their guardians that a number of things will be shown to them by and by, and that they must pay attention to what they see and hear, but must not speak or laugh or be afraid. They are then taken along the pathway and are shown the drawings on the ground and on the trees, a short stop being made before all the principal figures, around which the old men dance. During this time the doctors or wizards go through various tricks of jugglery, pretending to bring up out of their mouths certain substances, such as quartz crystals, pieces of bone, string, etc, collectively known by the name joea.

The novices are next placed standing around the outside of the smaller ring. Some of the old men enter it through the opening in its wall and dance round the figure of Dharamoolun, extending their arms toward it, then drawing them back again, exclaiming "Dharamoolun! Dharamoolun!" several times in

succession. The novices, standing outside of this cordon of old men, wave their arms in a similar manner (figure 4). The novices, the rugs still on their heads and their eyes cast down, are next taken farther into the bush and seated on the ground.

All the men now paint themselves a jet black with powdered charcoal and grease. As soon as this painting is completed they go into the bush to a place which has been previously selected as a suitable camping ground. Here and there on the journey saplings are bent over, under which the novices have to pass in a crouching attitude, and at other places are logs under which they have to crawl on their hands and knees at the bidding of their guardians and the other men. Several stoppages are made and at each the men go through different performances. Sometimes they imitate flying foxes. Several men go on ahead unknown to the novices, and one man climbs up a tree and hangs on with his hands and feet to a branch, another man hangs on to the first, and so on till there are as many as one man can support. The novices are then directed to look up and see the suspended men. In succession these men drop on their feet and all then dance up in front of the novices. At another stopping place a number of men are covered with bushes, under which they make a humming noise like bees. At a signal the bushes are thrown down and the men dance before the boys. Sometimes a number of men go ahead and climb trees and saplings and imitate the song of the locusts. The novices are brought on under the trees and are told to look up, after which the men descend to the ground and dance about.

On arriving at the camping ground a space about 60 feet or more in diameter is cleared. In the center of this space, which is called mudthiwirra, is raised a heap of earth about a foot high, called thalmoor, and on top of this a fire is lighted. Around this space the men of the various tribes make their camps, each in the direction of their own district. The guardians and the novices camp by themselves at one side of this cleared space, in a semicircular yard of boughs, having one or more fires lighted at the open end. The boys lie down on bushes and leaves, their heads being covered with rugs, some of their guardians remaining constantly beside them. During the time that the novices are out in the bush with the old men they are forbidden to

speak; if they want anything they must make signs to their guardians.

After the camping place has been arranged another small space is cleared and a line of holes the size and shape of a human foot are dug about six inches deep.' When these preparations are completed the novices are brought out and are placed standing with their feet in the holes described, with their guardians beside them. The yooroonga, fantastically disguised, then kneel down in a line in the clear space, the outside man at each end having a piece of bark (boonboon) in his hands (figure 6, a, a). These pieces of bark are about 2 feet long and 6 inches broad at the widest end. One of these outside men hits the ground in front of him forcibly with his piece of bark and all the men utter a low, rumbling noise, each man in succession bending his head toward the other end of the line. When the movement reaches that end the other outside man now hits the ground with his bark in a similar manner and the men bend their heads the contrary way. This performance, which is repeated several times, is intended to represent the breaking of the waves on the seashore and their recoil. The line of the performers is approximately at right angles to the nearest seacoast, so as to correctly indicate the direction of the waves.

Each guardian then comes behind his boy and, kneeling down, puts his head between the boy's legs. The guardian remains in the kneeling position, with the novice on his shoulders, while another man stands behind him, with one hand over the eyes of the novice and the other hand holding his chin in such a way as to keep his mouth open. A man accustomed to the work of extracting the teeth or who has watched the operation on previous occasions then advances and placing one end of a small wooden chisel (dthungan) against the tooth gives it a smart blow on the other end with a wooden mallet (bunyah), which forces it out. More than one blow is frequently required to dislodge the tooth. Sometimes the headman rubs the boy's gum with a large quartz crystal for the ostensible purpose of loosening the tooth and making it draw out easily. The tooth is either spat out or is taken out of the mouth with the fingers, but all blood flowing from the wounded gum has to be swallowed. During

1 Sometimes only one pair of holes are made, and the novices are placed in them and operated upon one after the other.

the operation the headman stands by directing the proceedings, and a large bullroarer (jummagong) is sounded impressively by a man standing in the rear. The ceremony of knocking out the tooth is done either on the afternoon of the day of arrival at the mudthiwirra or the day following, according to circumstances. As soon as this ceremony is concluded the men take off their queer disguises and throw them on the ground where the footholes are made, together with the pieces of bark used for hitting the ground, and everything is covered over with the loose rubbish which had previously been scraped away. The mallet and chisel are either burnt or driven into the ground.

The novices are then taken back to the mudthiwirra and are given human excrement, of which they have to eat a small quantity. At night the fire on the thalmoor is kept burning brightly to afford light to the men, who continue to play various games and dances the greater part of the night, very little sleep being indulged in. These performances consist for the most part of imitating animals with which the people are familiar or scenes from their own daily life, and, like the ceremonials of other savage races, are mixed with obscence gestures. During the day the men hunt to provide food for all the party, but the novices remain in the camp in charge of a few of their guardians. These proceedings occupy about three or four days, the performances at the camp fire being somewhat varied every night. All then leave the mudthiwirra early in the morning, carrying with them all their belongings, and go to some place where there is a large water hole, the novices walking with their guardians, still silent and with their faces cast downward. Before leaving the fire at the mudthiwarri the novices are given pieces of dry bark lighted at one end. As soon as this piece of bark smoulders they renew it with another. On the way to the water hole some of the yooroonga go on ahead, unknown to the novices, and one lies down in a hollow place, such as a hole where a large tree has been burnt out or in a natural depression, or a shallow hole is dug in some soft or sandy soil. This man is covered over with a light layer of bushes or rubbish, and holds in his hand a small bush, as if it naturally grew there. When the guardians and

1 The jummagong is a very large bullroarer used by the men when away with the boys in the bush; the mooroonga is a smaller instrument, and is used in mustering the tribes, and on all occasions, when it is required, in the vicinity of the women's camp.