TRIBAL ADMINISTRATION
Council of men—Consultations with magicians—Hereditary
status of certain men—Strict observance of laws—Dread of
supernatural punishment—Europeans apt to ignore primal
conventions—Aboriginal sense of justice and humour—Appeal
to sentiment—Judge of character—Possibility of erroneous
deductions in science and law—Philosophical instincts—Variety
of characters composing a tribe.
The affairs of a tribe come under the jurisdiction of a small council
of old men who have their discussions in secret conclave, away from the
main camp. Seniority and distinction qualify a man for admittance to
this council, which is controlled by the strongest personality, much as
a prime minister rules over his cabinet. Questions of importance and
concern to the community are freely debated at these meetings, and when
any decision is arrived at it is placed before a general assemblage of
all male members of the tribe who have attained the rank of full manhood.
At this meeting questions may be asked, but opposition is immediately
squelched and the dissentient ruled out of order. In any case, it is only
a senior man who is allowed to raise objection; the juniors are required
to maintain a respectful silence, and to listen without interjection.
On frequent occasions the medicine-men, though not necessarily members
of the supreme council, are invited to attend, especially at such times
when the cause of a death is being investigated, or the nature of adverse
climatic conditions such as a prolonged drought being probed. These are
opportunities at which the sorcerers excel themselves in their wisdom.
After an eloquent address they impress their listeners to such a degree
by the simplest conjuration that their advice is accepted unreservedly,
and is forthwith acted upon.
Such is the executive body of the Australian tribes, who can command,
exact punishment, or engage the tribe in warfare. There is no potentate
approaching a royal head who ascends by either heredity or self-imposed
magnificence, but each tribe has its recognized chief or leader whose
position is referred to as “_Ingada_” by the Arunndta, “_Jingardti_” by
the Aluridja, and “_Judja_” by the Cambridge Gulf natives. The kobong (or
totem) is certainly not without significance, so far as the personnel of
the executive is concerned; any heraldic senior, if one may so term the
position, has a right to represent his family upon the board of control,
and in that capacity his word is respected. But in addition to the orders
of these men, the natives obey the laws of the tribe, which have been
handed down to them from generation to generation, because they believe
in a supernatural power that will punish them for any disobedience. This
punishment they maintain would take the form of physical indisposition,
disease, or even death, according to the gravity of the breach. They
attribute many cases of accidental maiming, blindness, deafness, and
paralysis to this cause.
What, perhaps, occupies the attention of the council of old men most
frequently is the arranging of corrobborees, sacred performances, and
initiation ceremonies. Of these the dates have to be fixed and the
programmes discussed and outlined in detail, so that the men who are to
take part in the proceedings may be in a position to prepare themselves
in advance.
In their dealings with the aboriginals, Europeans are too apt to ignore
the authority of the old men, and frequently their defiance of primal
law has led to disastrous conflicts. When in the MacDonnell Ranges I was
desirous of taking two aboriginal children away with me. The circumstance
was mentioned to one of the influential old men, who thereupon called
together the elders of the tribe; and my request was considered in all
its aspects. After a lengthy meeting, during which it was apparent there
were two or three dissentient voices, I was finally informed that the
children could accompany me under certain conditions which I had to take
upon myself to guarantee. This agreement arrived at, the children were
given to understand that they were going by the direction of the old men,
and I officially received the spokesman’s word of honour that, firstly,
the children would never desert us _en route_, and, secondly, no attempt
would be made on the part of the tribe to interfere with us, or steal
the children from the camp at night. Had one attempted this under any
other conditions and against the will of the tribe, there would have been
serious trouble.
The natives of Australia have a very good idea of justice, which they
apply in all their transactions among themselves. If, however, at any
time, they find that they have been deceived or unfairly treated,
their sense of righteousness almost spontaneously turns to revengeful
treachery. They are not susceptible to flattery, and do not look for
praise or reward for any heroic deeds accomplished; to unnecessarily
applaud a man is looked upon as a sign of weakness. On the other hand,
when one has committed a wrong, he expects to be reprimanded, if not
punished, and is disappointed if he receives neither; in fact, he thinks
little of the man who neglects his duty by not making him suffer for his
offence or wrongdoing. A native has a remarkable memory; and, if once
he has escaped chastisement for taking a liberty with another, he will
not think twice of repeating the wrong, because he does not consider him
worthy of serious consideration. Even should there be resentment upon a
subsequent occasion, he thinks that it needs only a little cajolery, when
the fellow is easily won over on account of his proven weak character.
In this connection his good sense of humour serves him well; he has a
natural gift of being able to contort the serious in such a way as to
make it appear comic, and, when he wishes, he has a very persuasive
tongue.
Provocation, embarrassment, or terror instinctively and spontaneously
solicits an appeal to the obtruder’s sentiment. The best example I can
tender in this connection is an experience our party had in the Tomkinson
Ranges when it unexpectedly came upon three women who were cooking a
snake. On seeing the white men in close proximity, two of the gins
scampered off post haste, but the third was so terror-stricken that her
legs refused to move her from the spot. In her bewilderment, however, she
had sufficient presence of mind to think of seizing her breasts with her
hands and squirting fluid in the direction of the strangers to indicate
that she was a mother and on that account had a special claim to beg for
mercy.
There is no denying it, the swarthy inhabitants of Australia are
excellent judges of character, and they seem by instinct able to explore
the trend of thoughts running through each other’s brains before they
are spoken. This faculty is of fundamental importance to them whilst
watching ceremonial dances and other performances; by means of it they
are able to appreciate when the outsider fails to understand. Moreover
(and this is of considerable importance to the European anthropological
investigator), the moment a native under cross-examination grasps the
nature of questions which are put to him, he speedily discovers what
direction of answer, affirmative or negative, appears to suit the
interrogator best; and accordingly he will reply. It is, in consequence,
absolutely impossible to decide any matter of importance by soliciting
a simple “yes” or “no” in answer to a leading question. The enthusiasm
with which a biassed reply is tendered is, further, considerably enhanced
by a promised gift or bribe. The significance of these facts, and their
possible consequences, will be realized both in a scientific and in a
legal sense; erroneous impressions may, in the one case, be gleaned
with regard to Australian ethnology, and, in the other, a fellow may be
unconsciously incriminating himself in the eyes of our law.
[Illustration: _PLATE XXIX_
1. Old men introducing a dance during an initiation ceremony, Kukata
tribe.
2. Circumcision ceremony, Kukata tribe.
“Beyond themselves with excitement, they lay hands upon the lad and
lift him upon the back of two or three of the men who are stooping in
readiness to receive him.”]
Primitive as the natives of Australia are in the scale of humanity,
so they appear to us, from a psychological point of view, as but mere
children. Being intensely emotional, they are easily moved by rage or
grief; they are of a quick temper and the best of friends fall out over
the most trivial matter; but in the majority of cases the storm lasts but
a very short time and then the friendship is as thick as ever. Happiness
seems the essence of their existence, and indeed none but an aboriginal
could, or would, keep on smiling under the terrible bondage which our
vaunted civilization has imposed upon him.
Among the members composing a tribe, one finds a diversification of
character and talent much the same as builds up a modern community—it
includes orators, warriors, artists, and clowns. Unauthorized though the
action might be, it is not an uncommon occurrence for a man to place
himself in a conspicuous position in camp and hold forth on matters of
current interest to an enthusiastic and, at times, spell-bound audience;
the man of skill and courage becomes the hero of the hour when the tribe
goes to war; whilst talents in tune or colour are called upon whenever
the occasion demands something out of the common. Some of the men have
the reputation of being the jesters; their antics and jokes keep the
camp in roars of laughter. Under the last-named category also come the
mentally defective and half-witted persons; they are generally followed
around by a band of mischievous children, who enjoy, with shameless glee,
all the absurd pranks of the imbecile.