THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 141, 17 September 1853, Page 8

THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA.

(From the " Sydney Empire,")

One of the most important ceremonies among the Aborigines is the installation of a young man unionist the warriors of his tribe. The ceremony takes place when the youth has attained a "certain age, and is at once a form and a test. On the day appointed for the performance, .nil the tribe assemble at a fixed place, and the '•' Doctor" of the tribe, having marked out a circle of considerable extent, the artists proceed to form representations of animals and other figures on the soil ov sand within the circle. With these the entire place is covered, with the exception of a small spot in the centre, and an air of mystery having been thus imparted to the scene, the ceremony commences in the ring, the spectators being ranged round the circle. The operation of knocking out one of the front teeth of the young man is then performed by the Doctor, and in the fortitude which the former displays under the operation depends the estimation in which he is hereafter to be held. He is then presented with the opossum belt, after ■which he is allowed to marry, and join in the conclaves, councils, and expeditions of the tribe, being, previous to this ceremony, only permitted to associate with the women and children. No woman is permitted to be present at, or to witness this ceremony, which generally takes place in a sequestered spot, at a distance from the camp ; and should any woman be known to have furtively witnessed the scene, she would be liable to pay the penalty of her forbidden curiosity by death. Numerous half-caste children of the female sex, are to be observed among the aborigines, while, on the contrary, a half-caste boy is scarcely ever seen. ,The reasou of this is said to be, that the latter are always destroyed ■when horn, the former being spared. The cause alleged for this barbarous practice is, that the male children, if permitted to grow to manhood, ■would become too wise, and therefore exercise an undue influence among their compeers. Practices similar to this, and from like motives, are common among other barbarous nations. It is said that negroes returning to their native country, after a residence in any of the civilized nations, are sometimes killed at the instigation of the heathen priests, who dread lest the influence and example of jthe newcomer might, by ■destroying the credulity of their followers, sap the foundations of their dignity and power. A great variety of circumstances tend to show, beyond question, that the aborigines are believers in spirits. They imagine that the air is peopled during the night by shades of those who have "shuffled off this mortal coil," and it is said that they never fight during.the nighttime, believing that human strife at such hours would be offensive or injurious to the airy beings. This belief may also, in some measure, account for the unwillingness of the blacks to converse about deceased persons, or even mention their names.

A somewhat extraordinary practice is mentioned, in connexion with the blacks of the northern coasts. When a piece of glass came by any means into their possession, it was broien into a number of small particles, and distributed round. The sharp corners being then cartfnllv rubbed smooth, the pieces were swallowed, the recipients of these singular pills at the same time looking up to the sky, clapping their hands to their breasts, and by sundry exclamations and gestures expressing the pleasure they felt. What may be the real origin or the object of this strange custom it is difficult to say. As, however, it will be seen hereafter that the quartz crystal which has latterly been found so abundant in connexion with the gold matrix, was formerly used for medicinal, or rather magical, purposes, among the aborigines, it is more than probable that some curative or talismanic properties were attributed by them to all substances of a chrystallized nature and appearance.

As the corrohoree appears to be the great festival among the New Hollanders, an account of it may be deserving of particular attention. Under this term may be comprised all the festivity and form of which the aboriginal is cognizant, or iv which he indulges. It is at once his Bacchanal, Cyprian and Olympic game. Here his songs and orations are recited, his musical performances accomplished, his dances performed, and his amours and courtships indulged. The corroboree usually takes place as a sequel to a battle, on the occasion of a friendly meeting1 or consultation between two or more

tribes, at the initiation of a young man of move than ordinary note, or on any other occasion when the temper of the actors in such scenes induces them to give vent to their disposition to frolic and excitement in one of these games. Night is generally selected as the time for these performances ; and the effect of such scenes by moonlight, or by the glare of bush fires, is said to be striking in the extreme. Eighty or a hundred men, ranged in line, with or without clubs, performing the measured dance, in which the chief motion consists in contortions and movements of the legs, accompanied by a species of song, and the sound of the different rude instruments known to the aborigines, the women being on such occasions the instrumental performers, as well as sustaining the chief burden of the vocal music—such are the chief features of the scene. This, however, is not the whole of the corroboree ; various minor acts succeed, in which both men and women take part, and the whole is continued till the performers become completely intoxicated with the excess of delight and excitement. At the present day, and within the precincts of the settled parts of the country, these fetes are much disused among the aborigines, or at least much perverted. Formerly they were resorted to by the blacks in order to diversify the nature of their occupations of hunting and fishing, and no doubt added materials to their scanty stock of enjoyment. Now they are in general the scenes of drunken and brutal broils, for the most part got up by the whites in the interior, for the purpose of gratifying a corrupt curiosity to witness the antics of the aborigines, when intoxicated.

The " Kradga Ribba," or " doctor stone," as the words signify, is a talisman, used by those among the aborigines who usually perform the functions of physicians, for the purpose of effecting cures. It consists of a piece of chrystallized quartz; it is in general preserved in wrappings of skin, and has been known to be treasured with so much anxiety by its owner, that it was a work of some considerable time to nnravel the net-work and coverings in which it was preserved. These precious objects were in general valued according to their size; and were supposed by the blacks to possess, among other extraordinary properties^ the power of causing the death of any one at whom they were thrown by the " Kradga." No woman was permitted to see them, and they were said by the aborigines to cause the immediate death of any female who broke through the prohibition. The manner of using the " Kradga Ribba" for the cure of a spear wound received in battle, is thus described: The wounded man being removed after nightfall to a distance from the camp, the Doctor proceeded to suck the wound, a process by which dirt and all other matter tending to produce inflammation -was removed; the stone was then placed in the mouth of the Doctor, and the spittle being ejected on the ground, was stamped into the soil, with sundry incantations and gestures. 'The stone was in general made use of at night,at which time it was said to be most efficacious. The doctors always alleged that it was manafactured by themselves, sedulously concealing from their patients the fact that it was a natural production ; and, in addition to its healing virtues, it was said to be a sure protection from the mischiefs of the Evil Spirit.