1847 - Angas, G. F. Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand Vol.II - CHAPTER VII: THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

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CHAPTER VII.

As British civilization is daily spreading over the Australian continent, so the degraded natives of the soil are fast disappearing; and, in New South Wales especially, they will, ere long, have totally disappeared. During my stay there, I made constant search and inquiry into the past history and customs of the aborigines; and, combining my own observations with those of others who have been eye-witnesses to their ceremonies, I have been enabled to preserve such records of these people as may prove interesting to ethnologists at a future day. I have already entered fully into the physical and social condition of the aboriginal inhabitants of South Australia; but there are many points of difference in the customs and ceremonies of the people of New South Wales, of sufficient interest to be treated of separately.

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In personal appearance, the aborigines of New South Wales greatly resemble the inhabitants of the southern and western coasts of Australia; but they are generally taller men, with figures better proportioned; although their limbs are small, and their legs and arms very thin. Few deformities of person are to be found amongst them: inverted feet now and then occur, but round shoulders or hunchbacks are never to be observed. In the bush, the natives of New South Wales may be said to go naked: both men and women, however, bind a small fillet round the head; the men also wear a narrow band about the waist, and the women sometimes throw a strip of kangaroo skin over their shoulders. If at any time they consent to be clothed in some degree before the settlers, they are quite indifferent to anything like dress among their own people.

Both sexes use fish-oil as an unguent, which they rub into their skins in order to protect them from the effects of the air, and the stings of musquitoes and other venomous flies. The smell of the oil, together with the perspiration from their bodies, produces in hot weather an odour that is far from agreeable; and they may occasionally be seen with the entrails of fish upon their heads, frying in the burning sun until the oil runs down over their foreheads and shoulders. Their hair receives a variety of decorations, according to the notions of each individual, as to what is ornamental or becoming: the front teeth of the kangaroo, human teeth, the jaw and other bones of fish, dogs'

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tails, and birds' feathers, are fastened to it by means of the gum which they obtain from the wattle and the grass-tree. The women take great pride in making their children look fine. The tribes to the southward of Botany Bay divide their hair into small parcels, each of which they mat together with gum, forming them into lengths like the thrums of a mop. The northern tribes, especially about the Clarence River, form the hair into an elongated cone; twisting it round with a band of grass, so as to produce a towering head-dress about two feet in height.

They ornament the breast, arms, and back with large scars, or seams of cicatrized flesh; these permanent decorations being produced by gashes made in their persons with broken pieces of the shell which they use at the end of their throwing-sticks: after the incision is made, care is taken to keep the part of the flesh asunder for a considerable time, that a bulky cicatrix may remain after the wound has healed.

Their dwellings are of the rudest and most primitive description. The inhabitants of the woods make huts of the bark of a single tree, bent in the middle, and placed on its two ends on the ground, affording shelter to only one person. Upon the sea-coast, the huts are larger, and formed of several pieces of bark put together in the form of an oven; the entrance being on one side: these are of sufficient dimensions to hold six or eight persons. The fire is always made near the mouth of the hut, rather within it; and the

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interior, of course, is filthy and smoke-dried. Besides these huts of bark, the natives dwell in cavities in the rocks; which, in some parts of the country are numerous. 1 The stone of the country is generally of a soft sandy nature, and the rocks, both on the shore and inland, abound with caves, some of which are of sufficient dimensions to contain forty or fifty persons. Almost every rock has a number of caves hollowed out of it, but whether by nature or art cannot in all cases be determined. At the mouth of many of these caves a very rich soil is found, consisting of shells, entrails of fish, and other refuse of the inhabitants within, who have dwelt in these caves, no doubt, for ages past: with this soil the early settlers were accustomed to manure their gardens.

Their principal weapon is the spear, as is the case with all the New Holland tribes. There are several varieties: some are long sticks merely pointed; others have one or more barbs cut in the wood, and a few are barbed with pieces of broken oyster-shells --these are formidable instruments. The spear is mostly thrown, like a dart, by means of the throwing-stick; which is different from that used in South Australia: it is at least three feet long, having a hook at one end, and a shell at the other, fastened with gum. The spear is thrown with great force and certainty of aim: they can strike any object at a distance of seventy yards; the stick remaining in hand after the spear is discharged. The throwing-

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stick serves also the purposes of a knife, when the edge of the shell is sharp; it is also used as a spade to dig up roots and grubs.

The bomerang is in use amongst them, and it is astonishing with what precision they throw this weapon; which, after taking a circuit in the air for several hundred feet, returns to the precise spot from whence it was thrown. "King Tamara," the last of the Sydney tribe, properly so called, is very expert at making these instruments, which require great nicety to form them of the exact curve requisite to insure them returning to the spot from whence they were thrown: these are called recoiling bomerangs; others, which do not rebound, are used for throwing at ducks. 2 I have seen bomerangs that had the extremities carved with singular lines, much resembling Persian characters. To the northwards, where the myall-tree grows, the bomerangs and several other weapons are made out of its wood, which is of a dark purplish colour, and emits a pleasant odour resembling violets.

They have several sorts of clubs, or waddies, some of them of large dimensions, and formed of exceedingly hard wood. They have also a species of triangular shield called a tawarang, which is about three feet long, wide in the centre, and diminishing in bulk towards the extremities; the inner side has a handle hollowed out by fire, and the outside is carved with waved lines. The tawarang is used during their

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dances, when it is struck with a club. In battle they use the oval wooden shield called a hieleman.

Their tools are the mogo, or stone hatchet, formed of a sharpened stone fastened between two pieces of wood; a wooden mallet, and sharp fragments of shells and quartz. For polishing their throwing-sticks and the points of their lances, they use the leaves of a species of wild fig tree, which bites upon the wood almost as keenly as the shave-grass of Europe, which is employed by our joiners. Beautiful rush-baskets are made by the women of Moreton Bay and the Clarence River.

The boys are accustomed from their earliest infancy to throwing the spear, and practising self defence; they begin by throwing reeds at each other, and soon become very expert. Indeed the management of the spear and the shield--dexterity in throwing the various wirries and the bomerang--agility in either attacking or defending, and a display of the constancy with which they can endure pain, may be said to be their principal amusements. The corrobbory is similar, in most respects, to that practised by the other Australian tribes; occasionally, however, they dance back to back in pairs; and at other times all the performers sit down on the ground with their feet under them, and, at a particular word, they raise themselves up without any assistance from their hands. 3 The exercise of throwing the ball is also much practised by the young people. Like other

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savages, they are greatly inclined to indolence, and never make provision for the morrow. They always eat as long as they have anything left, and when satisfied, stretch themselves out in the sun to sleep; where they lie till hunger, or some other violent cause, calls them again into action. They have certain songs and poetical sentences which they make use of, with some attention to time and cadence; and in their little bark canoes they keep time with their paddles, responsive to the words of a song. It is a remarkable fact that all their new songs, dances, &c, come from the north to the south, which tends to prove their migration from the Asiatic Islands.

The initiatory rites into the privileges of manhood amongst the savages of New South Wales, differ considerably from those practised by the tribes inhabiting the Southern and Western portions of the Australian continent. The ceremony of kebarrah, or knocking out the front tooth, appears to be the most important feature of these rites; and probably supplies the place of circumcision amongst other tribes. Colonel Collins--who was eye-witness to an important ceremony of this nature, amongst the natives in the vicinity of Port Jackson, before the European settlers had driven back the aboriginal population--describes the scene with graphic minuteness.

There being several youths in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson who had not undergone this operation, the latter end of January was chosen for the performance of the ceremony; when the native tribes,

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painted and bedecked with feathers and other ornaments, and armed with clubs, spears, and throwing-sticks, assembled at the head of Farm Cove. An open space, about thirty feet in length, called Yoolang, had been cleared for the purpose; and previously to the ceremony taking place, the nights were spent in dancing. On the 2nd February, the people from Cammeray arrived; amongst whom were the Koradjee men, or priests, who were to perform the operation of knocking out the tooth. When Colonel Collins reached the spot, he found the party from the north shore armed, and standing at one end of the Yoolang; at the other end were the boys, who were to be given up to the people of Cammeray for the purpose of losing a tooth each, all accompanied by their several friends. The ceremony opened with the armed party advancing from their end of the Yoolang, with a song or shout peculiar to the occasion, clattering their shields, and raising the dust with their feet. On reaching the boys, one of their number stepped forward from the rest, and seizing a youth, returned with him to his party, who received him with a loud shout, and placed him in their midst, where he seemed defended by a grove of spears, from any attempts that might be made at rescue; in this manner the whole of the lads were taken out, to the number of fifteen. They were then seated at the upper end of the Yoolang, each holding down his head, with his hands clasped, and his legs crossed under him. The Koradjee men now commenced

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their mystic rites. One of them suddenly fell upon the ground, and throwing himself into apparent agonies, at length pretended to be delivered of a bone, which was to be used in the ensuing ceremony. During his seeming agony, he was encircled by a crowd of natives, who danced and sung around him most vociferously, beating him upon the back till the bone was produced. He had no sooner risen from the ground, exhausted and bathed with sweat, than another went through the same ceremony; there being as many bones produced as there were boys to be initiated into the class of men. The boys were given to understand that these pains were suffered for their sakes, and that the more the Koradjees endured, the less pain would be felt by them.

Next morning, soon after sunrise, the Koradjees, who had slept apart by themselves, advanced with quick movements one after another towards the Yoolang, shouting as they entered it, and running round it two or three times. The boys were then brought forward, from the place where they had also passed the night alone, and after being seated again at the head of the Yoolang, the operators, about twenty in number, paraded several times round it, running upon their hands and feet, and imitating the dogs of the country: their decorations were adapted for this purpose; and the wooden sword, by being stuck in the hinder part of the girdle which they wore round the waist, so as to lay upon their backs, looked, when they were crawling

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upon all fours, like the tail of the wild dog. Every time they passed the place where the boys were seated, they threw up the sand and dust upon them with their hands and feet. The design of this ceremony was understood to be, giving them power over the dogs, and endowing them with all the good qualities possessed by this animal.

The next scene was opened by a stout native carrying on his shoulders the effigy of a kangaroo, made of grass, followed by another man bearing a load of brushwood, whilst the others sang and beat time to the steps of the loaded men: the latter at length laid down their burthens at the feet of the youths. By thus presenting to them the dead kangaroo, it was indicated that the power was about to be imparted to them of killing that animal; while the brushwood represented its haunts. The performers now collected a quantity of long grass together, which they fastened to the hinder part of their girdles in the form of a tail hanging towards the ground; and thus equipped, they put themselves in motion as a herd of kangaroos: first jumping along with their knees bent, then lying down and scratching themselves, as those animals do when basking in the sun. One man beat time to them with a club upon a shield, while two others, armed, followed them all the way, pretending to steal upon them unobserved, and wound them with spears. This represented the manner in which they were to hunt the kangaroo.

Presently, each man caught up one of the boys,

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and placing him upon his shoulders, carried him off in triumph for a few paces, when they all set their burthens down in a cluster together. Whilst the boys were thus standing with their attendants, one of the actors seated himself on the stump of a tree facing them, and taking another man upon his shoulders, the two men sat with their arms extended; behind these a number of men lay close to each other, with their faces to the ground, and behind these again were two other groups of men on each other's shoulders, with outstretched arms. As the boys and their attendants approached the first of these groups, the two men who composed it began to move themselves from side to side, thrusting out their tongues, and staring with all imaginable wildness. After a few minutes the two men separated, and the boys were now led over the bodies of the men lying upon the ground; who, as soon as they felt the boys upon them, began to writhe as if in agony, and to utter dreadful groans. Having passed over this living causeway, the boys were placed before the second group, and similar grimaces were performed as at the former stump; after which the whole band moved forwards. At a short distance the party halted; the boys were seated by each other, and opposite to them were drawn up in the form of a semicircle, the other party, now armed with spears and shields. Opposed to this party stood the principal Koradjee man, who held a shield in one hand and a club in the other, with which he beat time; and at

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every third stroke the whole party poised and presented their spears at him, each touching the centre of his shield.

They now commenced their preparations for striking out the tooth. The first subject they selected was a boy about twelve years of age, who was placed upon the shoulders of a native, seated on the grass: the bone, which on the preceding evening had been produced with such ceremony, having been sharpened at one end, was used to lance the gum, in order to facilitate the extraction of the tooth. A throwing-stick was cut eight or ten inches from the end, and the gum being lanced the smallest end of the stick was applied as high up on the tooth as the gum would admit of, and the operator being provided with a large stone, struck the stick with it, and knocked out the tooth; the first candidate being dismissed, another was brought forward, and so on, until the operation was concluded. After the tooth was extracted, the patient was led to a distance by his friends, who closed the gum, and equipped him in the decorations of his new state: a girdle was tied round his waist, in which was thrust a wooden sword, and a bandage wound about his head, adorned with the leaves of the grass-tree. His left hand was placed over his mouth, which was to be kept shut; and the youth was on no account to speak, and for that day was not permitted to eat. The blood that issued from the lacerated gum was not wiped away, but suffered to run down the breast, and fall on the head of the man on whose

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shoulder the patient sat, and whose name was added to his: this blood remained dried upon the heads of the men and the breasts of the boys for several days. The boys were now termed "Kebarrah," from keba a rock or stone. 4

The ceremony of Kebarrah, as practised by the tribes of the Macquarrie district, is somewhat different in its details from that of the natives to the southward. It is usually on a summer's morning at break of day, that the tribes assemble upon the Macquarrie hills, to celebrate the mysterious rites of Kebarrah. On such occasions, hostile tribes meet in peace; all animosity between them being laid aside during the performance of these ceremonies. When the cooi or cowack sounds the note of preparation, the women and children in haste make their way towards the ravines and gulleys, and there remain concealed. The tribe to which the youths belong commence the ceremony by uttering a long-drawn dismal yell, which echoes through the woods, and is answered by the surrounding tribes in rotation. After a short silence, the old men retire to hold a council among themselves, whilst the young men with their weapons bark the trees around the spot, for some way up the trunks; another yell succeeds, and then

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the whole of the tribes form into a ring, --the wakui, with its horrible whizzing sound, is heard in the distance, and enormous fires blaze around. On such occurrences there are frequently from five to six hundred natives present; their naked bodies fancifully painted with pipe-clay, and their heads profusely powdered with the down of the wild swan. An old man is stationed in a neighbouring tree, making the most furious gestures, and whirling round the wakui. The youths are now brought into the ring by their fathers or nearest relations, and the kebarrah song then commences, describing to the candidates, in the strongest terms, the torture they are about to undergo. The first ordeal is that of knocking out the front tooth. This is done by boring a hole in a tree, and inserting into it a small hard twig; the tooth is then brought into contact with the end, and one individual holds the candidate's head in a firm position against it, whilst another, exerting all his strength, pushes the boys head forward; the concussion causes the tooth, with frequently a portion of the gum adhering to it, to fall out. Some men stand over him, brandishing their waddies, menacing him with instant death if he utters any complaint; while others proceed to cut his back in longitudinal stripes, and make an incision on each shoulder with sharp flints. If the victim utters the least groan, or indication of suffering, during these tortures, three yells, long and loud, uttered by the operators, proclaim the event to the

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muharrah or encampment. The unfortunate youth is then considered unworthy to be admitted as a warrior, or to mix with the men of his tribe; the women are summoned with a loud cooi, and, when they arrive, the youth is handed over to them with ignominy, as a coward; and he thenceforward becomes the companion and playmate of the children.

Should he, on the other hand, submit without shrinking, he is admitted to the rank of a huntsman and a warrior. Another ring is then formed, consisting of the aged men: the youth is placed in the centre, and the mundie 5 is given to him; and the old men then use every persuasive art to induce him to return the stone to them again. If he resigns it, he is still considered unfit to be a warrior, as he can be talked over; but if he retains it, notwithstanding all their entreaties, he is received into their number. The war-song commences, and a sham fight ensues; the youth being placed in the van to show his courage and the mode of handling his weapons. This over, they all set up a loud cooi, as a warning for the women to return to the camp, and the tribes follow, singing the korinda braia as they return in procession. They then separate, to cook and eat around their various fires, and the day is concluded with feasting and dances.

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When a child is born, it is laid upon the ground upon a piece of soft bark, on which the mother carries it about for a few days. As soon as it acquires sufficient strength, it is removed to her shoulders, where it sits with its little legs across the mother's neck; and, taught by necessity, it soon catches hold of her hair in order to prevent itself from falling. The parents early decorate their children's hair with fish-bones, kangaroo-teeth, feathers, and red ochre. At the age of a few weeks, the child receives its name, which is generally taken from some object constantly before their eyes, such as a bird, fish, or tree. Whilst still infants, the females undergo amputation of the two first joints of the little finger of the left hand. This operation is called "Malgun," and is effected by tying a hair, or some fine ligature, round the joint; the flesh soon swells, and in a few days the finger mortifies and drops off. 6

Between the ages of eight and sixteen, both sexes undergo the operation termed "Nganung," which consists in boring the septum of the nose in order to receive a bone or reed.

Polygamy is customary amongst these tribes; and the method of obtaining their wives is extremely brutal. The man, having fixed upon a woman as his future companion, who is almost always selected from amongst another tribe, secretly comes upon her

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in the absence of her protectors, and stupifying her with blows inflicted by a club or wooden sword upon the head, back, and shoulders, every one of which is followed by a stream of blood, he drags her away through the woods by main force. They do not consider marriage as lawful between those who are more nearly related than first cousins.

In the year 1789, the aboriginal tribes of New South Wales were visited with the smallpox, which made dreadful havoc amongst them, and swept off incredible numbers. The natives imagined that it was the infliction of an evil spirit. It was this epidemic of which the natives of South Australia speak: they say that it came down the Murray from the country far to the eastward, and almost depopulated the banks of that river for more than a thousand miles. I have myself seen two aged men from high up the Murray, beyond the great North-west bend, who were deeply marked with the effects of smallpox.

The natives usually attempt to cure disease by means of sorcery or charms. The Koradjee men or priests perform their incantations over the sick, waving boughs dipped in water, holding one in each hand; they also throw themselves into various distorted postures, applying the mouth to the affected parts, and pretending to suck out or extract the disease; at length, after much appearance of labour and pain, they will spit out a piece of bone, which they represent as the cause of the disorder. Another method of attempting to alleviate pain is practised

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by the women: the patient being seated on the ground has a line passed round the head, the knot with which it is tied being fixed in the centre of the forehead; the end of the line is then taken by the operator, who frets her own lips with it until they bleed freely; the patient being led to suppose that the blood proceeds from his head, and, carrying the disease along with it upon the line, passes into the woman's mouth.

The passion of revenge, so fondly cherished by savages, has given rise to a singular custom among the natives of New South Wales. When any one of the tribe dies a natural death, it is usual to avenge the loss of the deceased by taking blood from one or other of his friends; spears are thrown on such occasions, and it now and then happens that the wounded party falls a victim to this promiscuous sort of retribution.

The natives of New South Wales are accustomed to burn their aged dead, but the young people are buried beneath small tumuli. When a corpse is to be burnt, it is laid upon a pile of dry wood and other combustibles, about three feet in height; the body being placed with the face towards the rising of the sun, with fishing apparatus, spears, &c, arranged beside it; the corpse is covered with large logs of wood by the surviving relatives, who then set fire to the pile. The next day the calcined bones and ashes of the deceased are carefully buried. Should a woman die, having a child at the breast, the living

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infant is buried with her: the natives argue that as no one could be found to nurse the child, it is better for it to lie with its mother, than be left to pine to death. After any one dies their name is no more mentioned; should any individual belonging to the same tribe possess a similar name, he is required to lay it aside and adopt some new name, by which he is known during the remainder of his life.

The following account of the funeral rites of a deceased child is as described by an eye-witness. Previously to burying the corpse of the boy, a contest with clubs and spears took place, but no injury was done to the parties engaged. The body was placed in a bark canoe, cut to the proper length; a spear, a fishing-spear, and a throwing-stick, with several smaller articles, being placed beside the corpse, the women and children made great lamentations during the ceremony, and the father stood apart, a picture of silent grief. The canoe was placed on the heads of two natives, who proceeded with it slowly towards the grave; some of the attendants waving tufts of dried grass backwards and forwards under the canoe and amongst the bushes as they passed along. The grave being dug, a native strewed it with grass, and stretched himself at full length in the grave, first upon his back, and then on his side. As they were about to let down the child into the grave, they first pointed to the deceased and then to the skies, as though they had a vague idea that the spirit had ascended to another world. The body was then laid

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in the grave, with the face looking towards the rising sun; and, in order that the sunshine might fall upon the spot, care was taken to cut down all shrubs around that could in any way obstruct its beams. Branches were placed over the grave, grass and boughs upon these, and the whole was crowned with a log of wood, on which a native extended himself for some minutes with his face to the sky. 7

On the sea-coast, these people live principally by fishing, whilst those in the interior seek their subsistence by the chase. Their fishing lines are made from the tough stringy bark of various trees; which is beaten between two stones until it arrives at the consistency of oakum, and is then twisted into strands, and formed into ropes of different dimensions. Their hooks are sometimes formed of the talons of a bird, such as an eagle or a hawk; but the hooks most generally in use are made out of shells, by rubbing them upon a stone into the shape required. The fishing-spear is a long slender pole about twelve feet in length, armed at the extremity with four prongs bound together, each of which is barbed by a kangaroo tooth, or a piece of bone sharpened to a point. This weapon is employed for striking fish; and, in fine weather, the natives may be seen lying across their canoes, with their faces in the water, and their fishing-spears immersed ready for striking: the eyes being a little under water, they can perceive the fish distinctly. For striking turtle they

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use a sharp peg of wood, about a foot in length and barbed, which fits into a socket at the end of a staff of light wood, seven or eight feet long; the barb being attached to the staff by one end of a loose line. In striking the turtle, the peg which is fixed into the socket enters the body of the creature, and is retained there by the barb; the staff flying off, and serving as a float to trace the course of their prey in the water; they then overtake the turtle with their canoes, and hunt him ashore. The women and children fish with the line; and they carry a small fire in their canoes, which is laid upon sand raised on wet seaweed, and, when hungry, they cook their food while upon the water in this manner. The women will sit patiently for hours together, in these frail canoes of bark, exposed to the fervour of the mid-day sun, chanting their little songs, and inviting the fish beneath them to take the bait: as, without a sufficient supply of food for their tyrants, they would meet with a bad reception on their landing.

Their canoes are very rude. To the southward they are mere pieces of bark, very similar to those of the natives upon the Murray River, but tied together at the ends, and kept open by means of small bows of wood: these are paddled by two small paddles, one of which is held in each hand. Towards the north the natives have canoes of a more substantial kind, formed out of the trunks of trees, and about twelve or fourteen feet long: they are

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hollowed by fire, and shaped with the mogo, or stone hatchet.

The tribes inhabiting the plains and forests of the interior live mostly by the chase. They ensnare small animals with a glutinous paste resembling birdlime, formed of a root bruised together with the eggs of the large red ant. They are also expert in decoying carnivorous birds: a native will stretch himself upon a rock, as if asleep in the sun, holding a piece of fish in his hand; the bird, seeing the prey, and not observing any motion in the native, darts on the fish, and, whilst in the act of seizing it, is caught by the wily savage.

Various reports are current, amongst the natives on the coast, as to the existence of cannibal tribes in the interior; and it is a well authenticated fact, that, to the northward, portions of the bodies of the deceased are eaten by their friends, as a token of regard. At Moreton Bay a lad having died, several men gathered round the body, and removed the head and the thick outer skin, which was rolled upon a stick, and dried over a slow fire. During this horrid ceremony, the father and mother stood by, loudly weeping and lamenting; and the thighs were then roasted and eaten by the parents! The liver, heart, and entrails were divided amongst the warriors, who carried away portions on their spears; and the skin and bones, with the skull, were rolled up and carried about by the parents, in their grass bags or wallets.

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The natives, at times, subsist on roots and berries; the honey from the banksia blossoms, and grubs from decayed wood, are also sought after by them. In order to get more easily at the roots amongst the underwood and scrub, the natives set fire to the "bush" in many places; when the fire is extinguished they dig up the roots, after roasting which they pound them between two stones, until the roots become soft enough to chew. In lighting their fires, if they have occasion to break the sticks, they snap them across the forehead, as we do across the knee. Should a whale happen to be cast ashore in some of the coves along the coast, as is sometimes the case, its carcass affords an extraordinary treat to the natives, who feast upon the blubber for many days.

Although these people do not acknowledge any Supreme Being, their belief in spirits is universal; hence their dread of moving at night, unless provided with a fire-stick or torch. Witchcraft is also general amongst them. Of a shooting star, and of thunder and lightning, they have great dread; but they imagine, that by repeating some particular words, and breathing loud, they can disarm these appearances of their supposed deadly power. Roasting fish at night they imagine will prevent a vessel from enjoying a fair wind; and if a person whistles whilst under a rock, they think that it will fall and crush him to death. They also believe that any one sleeping on the grave of a deceased person would

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be freed from the dread of all future apparitions; for that, during that awful sleep, the spirit of the deceased would visit him, seize him by the throat, and, opening him, take out his bowels, which it would afterwards replace and close up the wound! Such as are hardy enough to go through this terrible ordeal, --encountering the darkness of the night, and the solemnity of the grave, --are thenceforth Koradjee men, or priests, and practise sorcery and incantations upon the others of their tribe.