INITIATION
No person exempt from initiation rites—Piercing the
septum of nose—Tooth rapping—Children trained to become
hardy—Fire-walking—Body scars—Different patterns
described—Sky-shying—Circumcision—Convalescence and return
to camp—Deserters drastically dealt with—The sacred
“_Wanningi_”—Biting the initiate’s scalp—Subincision—Operation
simultaneously performed upon old men—Sacred pole
erected at ceremonial site—Initiation ceremonies
without mutilation—Mythical origin of mutilation—Female
initiation—Enchantment of breast—“Smoking” ceremony—Mutilation
of female.
Throughout Australia it is required of a person, before he reaches
adolescence, to pass through certain rites and ceremonies, without which
he would not be considered mature and would not be allowed the privileges
enjoyed by the rest of the adult community. This rule applies to both
sexes, and is particularly stringent in the case of the male; we refer
to a series of mutilations, which are committed by the elders upon the
persons of the rising generation at regular stages of their lives, and
always accompanied by pompous, secret, and demonstrative ceremonial.
These functions naturally vary in different parts of so large an area
as is included in the continent of Australia, but, nevertheless, the
differences are not so considerable that one could not consider the
transactions collectively under the heading of one and the same chapter.
Broadly speaking, the first, and at the same time the least important,
ceremony is the piercing of the lower fleshy portion of the septum of the
nose. This is performed at a rather early age in the north and south,
whilst in central Australia it does not take place until the child has
reached maturity. The Larrekiya pinch a hole through the flesh with
their finger-nails when the child is still in arms. Central tribes use
a sharply-pointed bone or the blade of a spear. The child is laid flat
upon its back and its head placed between the thighs of the operator,
who is kneeling on the ground. The child is assured that what is about
to be done to it will not hurt, and that, when it is over, its body
will develop quickly and become strong. Then the operator seizes the
_columna_ with the index finger and thumb of his left hand and pulls it
well below the nostrils. With the sharpened piece of bone or blade he
holds in his right hand, he perforates the tissue beneath the cartilage
with a decisive drive, then quickly withdraws the instrument again. The
father, or if the father be dead, the father’s brother, usually performs
the operation upon a boy, whilst the mother (or mother’s sister) attends
to a daughter. For some time after the operation, the perforation is kept
open by means of a short rod, which is frequently turned about. Among
some of the central Australian tribes, this rite is becoming obsolete;
the Aluridja and Arunndta, for instance, do not nowadays insist upon the
perforation being made at all, and, if it is, then only late in youth. It
is at the option of a man to perforate the septum of the gin he takes to
himself; if he does so, it is more for vanity sake, thinking that she is
better able to decorate herself for corroborees, than with the idea of
making her grow robust and womanly.
Next in the ritual sequence comes the tooth-rapping ceremony. This, too,
is or was practised practically over the whole of the continent, and
is in parts of great importance, ranking with certain tribes as one of
the initiation steps. The ceremony extends over weeks and ends with the
knocking out of one or two of the novice’s incisors. Generally a number
of lads or girls undergo the ordeal together; but in the case of the
girls no particularly great fuss is made. At times a number of adjoining
tribes agree among themselves to hold a monster ceremony conjointly, at
which all the youths of correct age are dealt with. Such is a really big
occasion in tribal affairs, and many weeks are spent in an endeavour to
make the event as successful and as impressive as possible. The decision
is made at one of the council meetings of the old men, who, having
announced the matter to a general assembly, make arrangements to send
invitations to any friendly tribes living around them. In the Northern
Kimberleys of Western Australia, a pair of men is selected for conveying
each invitation to its destination; they are elaborately painted up
and are allowed to wear only a forehead band and a pubic tassel; each
carries a message-stick and a bull-roarer of a design which is to figure
prominently during the ceremony. The stick and the bull-roarer are to be
given to one of the old men of the tribe they are going to. When these
messengers arrive at their destination, the nature of their visit is
immediately recognized. The old man receives the stick and bull-roarer
and hands them to one of his fellow-councillors whose crest or “_kobong_”
corresponds to that embodied in the carvings on the bull-roarer; and,
in return, the messengers are given similar pieces to take back to the
sender. The date for the commencement of the ceremony is fixed about
a month in advance, the half moon being favoured; the trysting place
is upon the originator’s ground at a place where water and food will
be sufficient to supply a great number in attendance throughout the
proceedings. In the meantime the ground is cleared and prepared; as in
most of their initiation ceremonies, this consists of two large, circular
spaces connected by a straight, wide pathway.
While this is being done, the boys are tended by some old men, who
keep them at a distance and daily talk to them on matters dealing with
manhood’s duties, chivalry, courage, and the social position of women. In
addition, they are taught some of the principal songs in which they will
be required to join during the subsequent ceremonies in order to please
the old men.
By this time it has become quite clear to the women that something
extraordinary is about to happen. Indirectly they are made aware of the
fact that a tooth-rapping ceremony stands near; and then for the first
time music is heard; the women commence chanting periodically to the
boys’ teeth, which they thereby hope to loosen in their sockets.
At this stage a bull-roarer is frequently sounded at night by one or more
old men, who walk quietly away from camp and conceal themselves in the
bush. At the sound of these, the women are overwhelmed with awe and cover
their faces with their hands and quiver hysterically. This is the dawn of
that period in a young man’s life at which his social status undergoes
a complete change; it is the introduction to the series of initiation
ceremonies which will ultimately qualify him for acceptance into the
inner circle of men who have a voice in the control of tribal affairs.
But more than this: it is also the beginning of that time in his life
when he must learn to sever himself from his associations with the women
and camp apart from his mother, sisters, and other near female relatives.
As a matter of fact, this event places him on the threshold of a new life
which unfolds to him the secret of the sexes. The sexual significance of
the ceremony is clearly indicated through the circumstance that both male
and female bull-roarers are sounded during the proceedings, a liberty
which is only permitted on rare occasions.
About two days before the expected arrival of the invited tribes,
rehearsals are held by the local men. A body of the performers suddenly
appears upon the scene, coming from the cover of the forest; they are all
richly decorated with red ochre and white pipe-clay, and run in a compact
line up to the cleared space. As they approach the spot, they stamp the
ground vigorously and hit their hands together. They halt at one of the
circular spaces, and, whilst they continue to stamp and beat time with
their hands, some of the oldest among them spring along the track to
the opposite space and go through all sorts of mysterious acting, which
include tricks of sorcery designed to exhort the men and expel any evil
spirits from the ground. The act is repeated every day until the guests
arrive, and then it is also produced at night. The actors, who have
profited by the rehearsals, are now seen at their best, and the visitors
first look on in appreciative bewilderment; at a later stage, they join
in and their own sorcerers display their tricks as well. This function
lasts long into the night, and, should more visitors arrive, it might
be repeated all over again for the late-comers’ special benefit. During
these demonstrations, the women sit some distance off with their backs
turned to the men and keep up their monotonous tune.
The next few days may be spent in convivial sing-songs and food-procuring
expeditions, whilst the principal performers busy themselves cutting
twigs and leaves from the surrounding trees, with which they completely
cover the cleared ground, so that not a track remains visible in the
sand. The object of this somewhat tedious process is precautionary,
namely, to deny any prowling spirit the opportunity of ascertaining the
identity of the persons who have taken part in the ceremony. They fear
that, if this information were obtained, the boys would be molested and
their teeth stuck tightly into bone of the gums.
When at last the eventful night arrives, a number of the older men
decorate their bodies profusely with vegetable down and ochre. The boys’
bodies are smeared with red ochre, over which certain designs are drawn
in symmetrical fashion, and embodying a number of circles and dashes.
The men endeavour to make themselves as awe-inspiring as possible by
concealing as much of their normal appearance as they can. They keep
aloof from the novices until immediately before the ceremony.
The fires glaring fiercely, the boys are led to the cleared space and
told to keep their eyes closed. Upon a given signal, several of the
decorated men rush from the darkness, pounce upon the novices, and throw
them to the ground. Each man seizes one of them and kneeling behind him
places the lad’s head upon his lap. The initiate offers no resistance
and allows his eyes to be covered by the old man’s hands. Whilst some
weird chants are being rendered, the operators appear upon the scene,
each carrying a short cylindrical stick and a stone in his hands. These
men are not decorated and are near relatives of the boys undergoing the
ritual. With much dancing and gesticulating, they draw near to the boys,
and, as each of the men kneeling behind raises the head of a candidate,
one of the operators steps forward and looks into the boy’s mouth as it
is being forced open by the assistant. Presently he selects his mark and
with his finger-nail presses back the gum from one of the youngster’s
incisors. Then he places the point of his stick against the tooth and
gives it a sharp blow with the stone he is carrying in his other hand.
As a rule the boy does not whimper, but occasionally one may give way and
cry with pain. This is immediately resented and forbidden by the old men,
who declare that he has been too much in the company of the women and
girls.
The stick is re-applied and another blow imparted to the tooth; and the
process is repeated until the tooth loosens and falls out. All novices
are treated similarly in rotation.
Whilst the elders are continuing their dancing, the boys are taken back
to camp by their initiated male relatives, where they are presented with
a pubic tassel, a dog-tail necklace, or other article which is strictly
peculiar to such as have undergone the ordeal at the correct time.
The boys are again given instructions in all sorts of matter becoming
of a man, among which discipline and loyalty towards their elders and
tribes-people in general are of first importance. The seriousness of
the ceremony then relaxes somewhat, and songs and dances are produced
to inspire and amuse the boys; the performance rarely concludes before
daylight.
In central Australia the operation is nowadays performed without much
ceremony and usually in daylight. Among the Wongapitcha it is known as
“_Antjuarra_.” The novice lies on his back and rests his head against
the operator’s thighs, while a number of men sit around in a semi-circle
(Plate XXVII). The operator forces the gum away from the tooth with his
finger nails and endeavours to loosen the root in its socket with a
small, pointed wallaby bone he calls “_marinba_.” Then he applies the
bevelled point of a short, stout rod (“_tjutanga_”) and strikes it with a
stone (“_puli_”). The percussion produces a loud resonant note, at which
all present cry “_Tirr!_” After four or five whacks with the stone, the
tooth falls from its socket. It is picked up by the operator and shown to
the audience, who respond by exclaiming “_Ah_” or “_Yau_.”
The Wongapitcha and western Aluridja remove the left central incisor;
only the eastern groups of the Arunndta still practise the rite.
One of the chief concerns of an aboriginal father is to make his son
fearless and capable of enduring hardship. In all his dealings with his
children, he endeavours to avoid favouring and pampering any of them
once they have passed out of infancy; but the boys in particular are
constantly urged to suppress pain and to make it their special task to
under-rate the deprivation of comfort no matter what circumstances might
arise. In the same way the boys are trained to be brave; they are told
not to be under any apprehension of danger except when it is known to
be prompted by the treachery of the evil spirit or by the wrath of the
spirit-ancestors of the tribe. With this principle ever before them, most
of the initiation ceremonies have been evolved on similar lines. The
Kukata even make it compulsory for the novices to walk through a blazing
fire, an act they refer to as “_merliadda_.” Other central tribes make
the young men lie temporarily upon branches they place over a smouldering
fire.
[Illustration: _PLATE XXX_
Circumcision of a Wogait boy.
“With his left hand the surgeon seizes the prepuse, whilst a veritable
reverberation of short-sounded ‘i, i’s’ meets him from the mouths of all
present, and as he draws it well forward a number of hacks severs it.”]
It is largely during the term of initiation, from early childhood to
adolescence, that every individual, boy or girl, receives a number of
cuts in different parts of the body, which, when they heal, leave
permanent and elevated scars. After the incision is made, ashes, ochre,
and grease are usually rubbed into the wound to make it granulate to
excess and so produce an artificial keloid. The reasons for making these
scars are threefold: spartan, cosmetic, and tribal. The operation is
performed with a stone-knife or flint-chip. In addition, a punctate scar
is produced by twirling a fire-making stick until it becomes nearly
red-hot, then quickly holding the point against the skin. The process is
repeated time after time, each time selecting a new point on the skin,
until a chain-pattern results. The latter type of scar is more commonly
found on women than on men, and is much adopted by the coastal tribes of
the Northern Territory.
It would be futile even to attempt a scheme of classification of the
different tribal markings. In some districts, only one or two are made;
in others, the better part of the body is covered. As a general rule, the
men display a greater number than the women; the latter often only have
one or two horizontal cuts across the chest or abdomen, at times, indeed,
only a single prominent scar connecting the breasts. Generally speaking,
the central Australian tribes do not cicatricize their bodies nearly as
much as the northern. The Yantowannta, Ngameni, and other Cooper Creek
natives leave the chest clean above the breasts, but cut a few horizontal
lines immediately below them on the abdomen; the Dieri add one or two
short irregular marks above; at Durham Downs the women have a number of
short horizontal lines on each breast. Among the Aluridja, Arunndta,
and Arrabonna, one notices principally short horizontal lines across
chest and abdomen, with, occasionally, a few vertical bars, less than
an inch in length, around the shoulders; a number of the small circular
fire-marks are also as a rule noticeable on the forearms of the Arunndta.
On the north coast a great variety of marks may be studied. The tribes
east and west of Port Darwin have very prominent scars horizontally
across chest and abdomen, short vertical bars around the shoulders,
sloping bands composed of either parallel vertical cuts or fire-whisk
scars, passing from the central point between the breasts upwards to
the shoulder on one or both sides, and occasionally a vertical band,
consisting of two parallel rows of fire-whisk scars, on one side of the
abdomen just beside the navel. An additional pattern is a sagging band
across the chest from shoulder to shoulder, consisting of about twenty
short vertical cuts.
It must not be supposed that these marks are all regularly observed upon
every individual one meets. On the contrary, it is very rare to see
a person with all the scars referred to, some having only one or two
horizontal lines across the chest or abdomen like the central tribes.
The Melville and Bathurst Islanders imitate the frond of the zamia palm
(_Cycas media_) by cutting a series of V-shaped figures, one within the
other, in a vertical row, upon one or both sides of the back, and on the
upper and outer surfaces of the arms and thighs. Horizontal lines are
cut across the chest, as above described, and here and there a person
also has a horizontal band on his forehead, immediately over the eyes,
consisting of from eight to twelve short vertical cuts.
The Cambridge Gulf natives, both male and female, cut numerous lines
(“_gummanda_”) horizontally across the chest, abdomen, buttocks, and
thighs, and long vertical lines down the upper arms, whilst on the back,
occasionally, a “waist-band” or “_naualla_,” consisting of numerous short
vertical nicks, is added, together with about ten vertical cuts on each
calf (Plate XVI, 2). The gins have one or two vertical bands of punctate
scars between the breasts.
The Worora at Port George IV further decorate the whole of the back
with alternating groups of horizontal and vertical lines, those on the
shoulder blade being particularly prominent.
The central tribes have embodied in the curriculum of initiation tests a
sky-shying act, called “_Algerrigiowumma_” by the Arunndta, during which
the novice is tossed high into the air by a number of older men. The
ceremony is somewhat as follows. By agreement, a crowd of men and women
assemble at night upon a cleared piece of ground near the camp-fires.
After a few songs and ordinary dances, whose object seems to be more to
create an atmosphere than that they have any definite significance from
an initiation point of view, the whole congregation draws up in one or
two lines and settles down to a peculiar dance, shuffling sideways from
one edge of the cleared space to the other and back again. As they move
they mumble a verse of coarse guttural words which ends in hissing notes
resembling the panting of a vicious animal. At this moment two or three
men spring from behind and seize the unsuspecting novice. Rushing towards
the expectant crowd, they swing him high above their shoulders and throw
him among the outstretched arms of the crowd. There he is seized by a
dozen or more of the most powerful men, who toss him high up towards the
sky. During his flight through the air the position of the boy is usually
horizontal. When he returns again by gravitation, he is caught and once
more projected skywards; and the same process is repeated time after
time. He may then be released, but if the crowd again begin to dance and
sing, he will in all probability have to submit to a repetition. The
ceremony amounts to a formal handing over of the boy by the women to the
care of the men.
Of momentous importance is the initiation ceremony which includes the
circumcision of the novice; it is the first occasion upon which the truth
of growing manhood is definitely made clear to the boy. The Aluridja
refer to the ceremony as “_Arrarra_”; it extends over a period of several
days, during which wild dances and songs are produced. For weeks before
the novices are zealously guarded by certain of the old men and kept
away from the mixed camp. No women are tolerated within a wide radius of
the spot at which the ritual event is to be celebrated; and throughout
the vigil the boys remain out of sight of their female relatives and
are allowed to converse with none but their guardians. The boys’ diet
is restricted to only a few very ordinary items, amounting to a mere
sustenance; anything they are able to obtain by assiduous hunting is
required to be handed to the men in charge. After having listened to the
songs of the men officiating in the ceremony, the boys are allowed on the
second or third night to attend in person. They are given to understand
that what they are about to see is never to be explained to any of the
women or juniors. The performance must be regarded as sacred and most
secret; and they must realize that, although invisible, there are many
ghost-ancestors present who are following every item of the ceremony with
proud appreciation. At such a stage the performers are awe-inspiring
spectacles, being richly decorated with white and red down and wearing
the cross-shaped “_Wanningi_” in their hair (Plate XLIII, 2).
A great fire is burning at the edge of a cleared space, around which a
number of men are sitting and singing and beating the ground with sticks.
To the listener the strains sound respectful, if not worshipful; in the
Aluridja they run somewhat like: “_Imbinana alla’m binana_,” repeated
almost indefinitely. In the glaring light it is noticed that the ground
is cleared of the original grass and growth, but is covered with a layer
of leaves of the red gum tree which abounds along the watercourses. Upon
this matting of leaves the dancers are moving to and fro, madly stamping
the ground. Then, as they quicken their pace, each places the point of
his beard into his mouth and tries to look as ferocious as possible. The
lead is taken by one who is carrying a short hooked stick in front of
him. In single file these men encircle the chorus, the leader touching
all present with his crook and shrieking “_Arr, arr, aah!_”
[Illustration: _PLATE XXXI_
Melville Islander.
Full-face and profile. Note prognathism combined with “negative” chin.]
The novice (or novices, as the case may be) is now taken away from the
wild scene and again given to understand that henceforth he is not to
leave the company of the men, and that he must do as those in authority
bid him. He is taken to another fire some distance off and covered
with red ochre from head to foot; his hair is tied back with human
hair-string; then he is led back to the principal group of performers.
When he re-appears, the dancers rush around in the manner described
above, crying “_Arr, arr, aah!_” with husky voices, first more or less
confusedly, but gradually in a more defined line which gradually closes
upon the youth. Beyond themselves with excitement, they lay hands upon
the lad and lift him upon the backs of two or three of the men who are
stooping in readiness to receive him. As he is carried onwards, the
other performers, and some of the chorus as well, cluster around the
panic-stricken boy, each of them taking hold of some part of his body and
helping to make the mass of humanity as confused as possible (Plate XXIX,
2). Thus they tour around the cirque and pull up near to the fire. Two or
three of the number now throw themselves beneath the carriers, who, in
their turn, immediately pile themselves upon them. The boy is pulled back
on to this human operating table full length, and another man immediately
jumps on to his chest; others hold him securely by his arms and legs.
All the time the men keep up their cries of “_Arr!_” and from different
places around the fire the booming, humming, and shrieking notes of
bull-roarers rise above the din.
The moment the latter unearthly sounds are heard at a Kukata ceremony,
the men respond with an uproarious slogan sounding like: “_Wubbi, wubbi,
wubbi, wau!_” This imitates the noise of the bull-roarer, which is
supposed to be the voice of the presiding spirit. A perceptible wave
of solemnity pervades the atmosphere at this moment, not only in the
immediate surroundings of the ceremonial fire, but wherever the piercing
chorus strikes the ears of camping groups, who may at the time be many
miles away. Women and children shudder with fright and bury their faces
in their hands. The initiated men, however, act differently. Where there
is only one in camp, he rushes to the fireside and snatches a burning
stick which he tosses high into the air. When there are several present,
they rush out together into the darkness and unitedly echo the “_Wubbi,
wubbi, wubbi, wau!_”
The boy’s mouth is gagged with a ball of hair-string, which serves the
double purpose of stifling his voice, should he attempt to cry, and of
giving him something to bite his teeth into when he is in pain.
The men at the lower end now force his legs asunder and press them
downwards over the side of the bodies below. As this is happening, the
operator walks into the space between the thighs, with his beard between
his lips and his eyes rolling in their sockets. He carries a knife in
his hand—usually a fair-sized freshly broken splinter of quartzite,
chalcedony, flint, or quartz, with or without a handpiece of resin—and
immediately proceeds to operate. The Wongapitcha at this stage stun the
boy by clubbing his head. With his left hand the surgeon seizes the
prepuse, whilst a veritable reverberation of short-sounded “_i, i’s_”
meets him from the mouths of all present, and as he draws it well forward
a number of hacks severs it (Plate XXX). The Dieri make use of a short,
smooth, cylindro-conical stone, over the rounded point of which the
operator stretches the skin, and so pushes back the glans before he cuts.
Among the Kukata the circumcision ceremonial is referred to as
“_Gibberi_.” During its period, cicatrices are made on the arms, but the
characteristic transverse cuts on the back are reserved for the following
rite, which goes by the name of “_Winyeru_.” The prepuse is resected with
a stone knife known as “_tjulu_,” and immediately destroyed by throwing
it into the fire.
As the surgeon’s hand leaves the boy’s body with the detached skin
clutched between two fingers, the act is greeted all round with an
appreciative exclamation sounding like “_A ha, a hm_.” The Aluridja
refer to the skin as “_banki_,” and bury it shortly after the operation.
The boy, who by this time is usually semi-comatous, is sat up, and
the blood which is streaming from him is collected in a piece of bark
previously laid beneath him. The Wogait and other northern tribes
subsequently dress the wound with paperbark, clay, emu fat, and hot
ashes, to stanch the bleeding. When the boy recovers from the shock, he
is presented with a spear and spear-thrower, and often a shield as well.
The patient is then taken into the bush to convalesce; and during this
period his diet is under strict observation. After about three weeks he
has more or less recovered and returns with the men to the main camp,
wearing a fur-tassel which covers his pubes. His mother and other near
female relatives on the mother’s side, when they behold him, walk towards
him sobbing, tearing hair from their scalps and otherwise hurting their
bodies as indication of their sympathy for the painful ordeal he has so
bravely undergone whilst aspiring towards the status of manhood.
Cases have repeatedly come under my notice in latter years where a
circumcision candidate has attempted to evade the operation by travelling
away from his tribe and residing indefinitely with some other party,
native or European, having no jurisdiction over him. It is usually only a
matter of time and he will be ambushed by men of his own tribe and taken
back to camp. The operation is then immediately performed, and is made
extraordinarily drastic as a punishment. The skin is stretched forward
under considerable tension and severed with a stone knife. In several
specimens which are in my possession, the external sheath was cut so high
up that a number of pubic hairs were removed with it.
This ceremony in its essential features is much the same among all tribes
which circumcise, although there are slight variations in the method
of building up the human operating table. In the Wogait tribe, for
instance, the boy is thrown on his back over the legs of four men who sit
in pairs, face to face, with their limbs alternately placed so that the
feet of one are against a thigh of another.
We have already referred to the ceremonial object known as the
“_wanningi_,” which is produced during this ceremony. This is always
constructed specially for the occasion and is destroyed again immediately
after; under no circumstances are the women and children allowed to see
it, for if they did blindness or some paralysing affliction would strike
them for their disobedience. In its simplest form, the “_wanningi_”
consists of a cross, from the centre of which a long twine of fur is
wound spirally outwards, from arm to arm, and fastened with a single turn
round each arm in succession. The object is either stuck into the hair as
referred to, or carried in the hand by the functionaries during the final
stage of the ceremony. In the northern Kimberleys a similar structure is
used which is carried at the end of a spear or long stick behind the back
of the performer. The “_wanningi_” is supposed to become inspired by a
spirit guardian the moment the object is completed and prevents the boy
from suffering too great a loss of blood. It is shown to the boy just
prior to the operation and its sacred nature is explained to him.
The partially matriculated man now remains in camp for a while, but is
kept under the strictest surveillance and aloof from the opposite sex.
He continues to go out on daily excursions with certain of the older men
and has to recompense those who took an active part in his initiation
with the lion-share of his hunting bag, many items of which he is himself
still forbidden to partake of.
Not many weeks pass by peacefully, however, before the excitement
starts afresh. An old man, usually the senior among the initiate’s
group-relatives, quite spontaneously lays hands on the unsuspecting
neophyte, by clutching him between his arms, and bites him on the head.
Then he releases him again and darts away like one possessed. Others take
the cue and act similarly. Several men participate in this painful but
well-intentioned ceremonial, and they may repeat the performance from
three to six times in succession. The youth tries to make light of the
injury done him but often cannot altogether suppress crying with agony.
The blood pours freely from the numerous wounds in his scalp. He will
in all probability have to undergo this painful ordeal on two or three
different occasions.
There is yet another big test to be passed by the man-in-the-making
before he is finally admitted by the controlling council to mature
membership. And this is again accompanied by an additional mutilation of
his person, which is commonly referred to as the “mika operation.” With
few exceptions it is performed by most of the central and north-western
tribes and in much the same manner.
The ceremony does not take place until some time after the young man
has thoroughly recovered from the effects of his previous sufferings.
It follows, in many instances, as the natural climax to a lengthy
religious demonstration during which a series of sacred songs and dances
has been produced. Needless to say the proceedings are inaugurated at
a spot remote from the general camping ground, and preference is given
to a moonlight night. No woman or child is tolerated near, and the
novice is told that he must regard his presence among the old men as
a decided favour. Ordinary songs are rendered for a while which are
designed to fecundate the mother-stocks of their game supplies; then
follow more dramatic incantations which are believed not only to attract
certain spirit-ancestors to the spot but also inspirit the sacred but
ordinarily inanimate tjuringas which are lying before the celebrants at
the fireside. The excitement grows and with it the men wax enthusiastic.
It is decided to operate upon one or more young men who happen to
be available; and now everybody seems beyond himself with frenetical
animation. The suggestion is received with applause. No secret is made
about the matter; and the nomination is made in public. The atmosphere
is so tense with hysterical veneration that the mere mention of a likely
function enjoining the spilling of blood is received with enthusiasm and
general appreciation. Arrangements are made forthwith.
Three or four men who are to be intimately concerned in the affair dodge
into the darkness of the bush and return a short time later besmeared
with ochre and pipeclay, and decorated with eagle-hawk’s down. As they
approach the fire, they stamp the ground with their feet and balance
their arms in a horizontal position. Thus they encircle the fire two or
three times and, in doing so, make a peculiar hissing noise like that
produced when wood is being cut. All the time the other men are beating
time to the movements of the performers by smacking their hands against
their buttocks.
Presently the dull, humming sound of a bullroarer breaks upon the
performers’ ears. At this, all men throw up their arms above their
heads and yell, while the notes of the bullroarer reach a higher pitch.
A jumble of wild, vociferating men ensues. The novice stands in their
midst. The bullroarer’s noise is stopped, and with it the voices of the
men die away. Only the painted performers continue to stamp and again
make the peculiar hissing noise as they move around the fire. By this
time a number of men have placed themselves behind the novice who is made
to stare into the brightest portion of the fire and told not to move his
eyes from the spot.
Upon a significant nod or other signal from the leading performer, some
of the men at the back of the youth lie upon the ground, while others
place themselves on top of them again. The moment this has happened, the
youth is tripped backwards over them by some who have been standing at
his side, and by them he is also held down and gagged.
The leading performer now moves straight towards the victim and in his
hand one notices he is carrying a stone cutting knife. His attendants
spring to each side of him and hold the young man’s legs apart. Now the
leading man, who has been ordained with the surgical duties, follows
the ancient practice of the “gruesome rite” by splitting the urethra
for a distance of about an inch down its length. The withdrawal of the
surgeon from the scene meets with the approval of all participants and
eye-witnesses; and this fact is made known by the combined exclamations
of “_A, A, Yah!_”
The young man is promptly pulled up from the improvised living table and
his gag removed. He is ordered to sit over a wooden receptacle, usually a
shield but occasionally a food-carrier, in which the blood pouring from
the wound is allowed to collect. In a crude but hearty manner, more by
action than by word, he is congratulated. Now he is a man, a real man,
and he is at liberty to join in the discussions of the rest of the men
and to ask any pertinent questions relating to the affairs of his tribe.
During this time the commotion around the camp-fire continues without
abatement. The excited throng, spurred on by what has preceded, seems to
have become intoxicated by the sight of blood. The men who lay beneath
the initiate during the operation figure prominently among them and
display the clots and congealed patches of blood which cover considerable
portions of their naked bodies. This provokes an appetite for seeing more
and ere long one of the senior men, who has been initiated some time ago,
volunteers to have the subincision of his urethra extended. He of his own
free will calls upon an old man to perform on him and, when the nominee
steps forward, he submits to the torture without flinching. Others follow
his example. There is no doubt that the brave demonstration of masculine
fearlessness stimulates the newly initiated member who is sitting aside
and recovering from the shock which the trying ordeal has given his
system.
The Kukata men at this stage, knowing that the candidate has now
successfully passed the second great initiation rite, known as
“_Winyeru_,” and is henceforth to be allowed to mix with the women,
betray extreme sensual excitement. And it is whilst they are in that
state that some of the oldest men approach them, carrying spears, with
the points of which they extend the previous slit in the urethra by a
further short distance. It is only natural that the blood which follows
the cut is squirted in considerable quantity. The custom is to allow it
to do so until the excitement abates, and then to stop the bleeding by
holding a fire-stick near the wound. After submitting themselves to such
treatment on numerous successive occasions, it could only be expected
that the whole external length of the urethra is eventually slit. The old
men maintain that thereby their carnal powers are increased, and for that
reason their forefathers introduced the corresponding female operation.
The after-treatment of the patient is much the same as described in
connection with the circumcision ceremony. When eventually the newly made
“man” returns to the main camp, a great sensation is caused among the
women who wail as if there had been a bereavement, and cut deep gashes
into different parts of their bodies.
Many of the northern coastal tribes, such as the Wordaman of the Wickham
and Victoria Rivers, erect a sacred pole at the site of the enactment
of some of their religious and initiation ceremonies. This pole is
called “_Djundagalla_” and stands six or seven feet high. It is painted
in alternate bands of black and white, occasionally red and white, and
resembles a barber’s pole more than anything. The “_Djundagalla_” stands
in the centre of the cleared space and the rites are performed around
it. In the northern Kimberleys, we find a stone phallus taking the place
of the pole.
It is not every tribe that submits its young men to these mutilations
at the initiation ceremonies. There are some which institute great
graduation-festivals without the infliction of bodily harm to the virile
aspirants. Notably among these are the Larrekiya, Melville Islanders, and
the tribes living along the coast from the King River to the heads of the
Roper and East Alligator Rivers.
As an illustration of a tribe which celebrates the coming of manhood
without resorting to operative measures, the Larrekiya perhaps serve
best. The boy, when definite signs of adolescence manifest themselves, is
decorated with the kapok of the silk cotton-tree (_Bombatt malabaricum_)
and birds’ down. A straight band passes below his eyes from ear, and
the ends thereof are connected by means of a horseshoe-shaped figure
traversing the cheeks and having its closed end at the chin. Another
horizontal band extends from shoulder to shoulder, above the nipples, and
from this two symmetrical lines are constructed down the abdomen and on
to the thighs, where each terminates in a circular band around the knee.
A white line is also drawn down the outer surface of each upper arm and
is made to end in the plaited armlets worn above the elbow. His forehead
is decorated with a broad band consisting of a number of parallel strands
of opossum fur thickly besmeared with white pipeclay; in the middle of
this is stuck a plume of emu or heron feathers, and fur-tassels pend from
either side of it. He also wears a coiled bark belt and, over it, a human
hair girdle supporting a large pubic tassel.
The initiates are made to sit in a row before the old men and are
instructed to keep their eyes closed with their hands. The old men stamp
the ground wildly and brandish their spears poised in the spear-throwers.
Every now and then they utter harsh cries of “_Arr-re! Arr-re!_” and
“_Gora!_” Whilst this pandemonium is in full swing, the boys are ordered
to open their eyes and behold their elders performing; then they are led
away into the bush and have to wait on the men, having especially to
collect for them many things that are good to eat. During this period
they are often cowed by being struck between the shoulder-blades, and
threatened with violence if at any time they talk publicly about anything
that has transpired or in any way betray the trust which the old men have
placed in them. Upon their return to camp, the young men have additional
scars cut into the skin of their chest and are then entitled “_Böllier_”
which signifies that the first stepping stone to maturity has been passed.
A second ceremony takes place some years later. Each youth is then under
the individual charge of an old man and is decorated much the same way as
the Böllier candidate described above, with the distinguishing features
of four red ochre stripes across the white forehead band and an extra
plume of white cockatoo feathers stuck into his hair. The proceedings
start soon after sundown and last till about midnight; they include
much gesticulation and vociferation. At the solemn moment when the
“conferring” of the maturity-degree takes place, the youth, still tended
by the old man, remains motionless, with downcast eyes, and listens to
the melancholy chant rendered by the old men in low lagging accents:
“_Makolär manga, malolär, ä, är, maklär, immanga._”
No beating of sticks or clapping of hands accompanies this tune, and no
further ceremonial dance follows.
The youth has now been elevated to the status of “_Mollinya_” which
qualifies him to the full rank and privileges of manhood. Further
cicatrices may now be added to either side of his abdomen. The cuts are
horizontal but do not extend right up to the median line.
During the period intervening between Böllier and Mollinya festivals,
bustard, flying-fox, and yam are forbidden articles of diet, but after
the latter event the fledgelings are invited to eat with the old men.
They honestly believe that if any of the young men, while undergoing
initiation, ate one of the forbidden articles secretly, the medicine
man would be able to detect the food in his stomach; and having thus
disobeyed, the medicine man would be justified in running a spear through
the offender, or at any rate compel him to swallow certain things which
would poison him. These rules are strictly observed, and, whenever some
of the privileged members have eaten flying-fox or bustard, they take the
precaution to collect the bones and burn them.
The tribes on Nullarbor Plains will tell you that the initiation
ceremonies originated in the following way. Many, many years ago, the
emu and the kangaroo were more or less human in appearance and possessed
of mighty powers. One day the emu caught the kangaroo with the object of
making a man of it. But the great struthious bird had no hands wherewith
it might have performed an operation; all it possessed was a “finger”
on each side of its body. It might be explained that the emu, because
it cannot fly, is not regarded as a “bird” in the generally recognized
sense, and consequently the wings are looked upon as “fingers.” In most
of the vocabularies, indeed, no distinction is made between “finger” and
“hand,” the south-western tribes of central Australia referring to one
or the other as “_marra_.” Nothing daunted, however, the emu removed
the _præputium_ from the kangaroo by clutching it between its wings and
pulling it off. Thereupon the emu said to the kangaroo: “Will you make me
a man?” And the kangaroo replied, “Yes.” The kangaroo had the advantage
over the emu because it possessed five “fingers,” with which it could
perform the operation the right way. The animal caught hold of the bird
and circumcised it with a sharp splinter of flint. But the emu requested
to be further operated upon and so it came about that the kangaroo
decided upon a subincision. To the present day the emu retains the marks
of this operation. Some while after these happenings, the tribal fathers
ran across the sacred emu and noted the change in its anatomy; they
forthwith mutilated each other in a similar way, and only then did they
realize that they were men.
Not boys alone are required to submit to the various initiation
ceremonies here mentioned, but in most tribes young women are “made”
marriageable by having to submit themselves to ordeals which are quite
similar to those of manhood’s approbation.
While discussing the female breast, we noted that when it begins to
develop a girl is taken away by the men and the breast anointed and
sung to, to stimulate its growth. This procedure is the forerunner of
initiation. The girl’s development is forthwith watched with care,
and when the unmistakable signs of ripening are detected the event is
celebrated with dance and song.
Men and women attend, and the items rendered are more or less of the
nature of an ordinary corrobboree, although occasionally some special
feature characterizes the performance. For instance the Larrekiya and
Wogait tribes pass the girl through a “smoking” ceremony after the
following fashion. An old gin places herself behind the girl and lays her
hands upon the latter’s shoulders. Then all the other women taking part
form a continuous chain by standing in a single row behind each other
and “linking up” in a similar way. They begin to sing “_Ya, Ya, Ya_,”
in a long-drawn melancholy note, and the old-gin immediately stamps her
feet, and, moving forwards, pushes the girl along in front of her. All
the other performers follow her, stamping in unison and holding on to the
shoulders of the person in front. Quite unexpectedly the monosyllabic
“_Ya_” is changed to “_Yen da min_,” and at this the old gin stops short
and strikes the girl’s back thrice with her hand. The same performance is
repeated time after time during the night. Early in the morning of the
next day, the girl is led to the sea, and the whole party wades out to
about hips’ depth. Here a grotesque dance is started during which they
strike their arms, bent in the elbows, against the sides of their bodies
under water, the splash producing a peculiar hollow-sounding note. The
process reminds one of a goose flapping its wings while enjoying a bath.
At this stage, the wording of the song sounds like “_A-lö-lö-lö_,” and
when its final syllable has resounded, all bathers duck under the surface
of the water.
Next a fire is kindled upon the shore, and, when a good blaze has been
obtained, a heap of grass and leaves previously steeped in water, is
piled upon it. Upon this the old gin seats herself and makes the girl
sit upon her lap facing her and with her legs astride. The volumes of
smoke which are generated completely hide the two from view. The idea is
to allow the smoke to thoroughly play upon the parts of the novice, the
process being facilitated by the manipulation of the old gin. When the
ceremony is concluded, the girl is led into the bush by the old women and
for some time to follow she is not allowed to partake of certain articles
of diet, such as for instance snake, dugong, and goanna.
Several of the northern and north-eastern coastal tribes mutilate the
hand of a young gin during the period of her initiation by removing two
joints from a finger. The forefinger of either hand is generally chosen
by the former tribes, the latter favouring the small finger. The Ginmu
at the mouth of the Victoria River make the amputation with a stone
knife. In this district a singular case came under my notice which is of
considerable interest from an evolutional point of view since it suggests
a phenomenon usually only met with in crustations, reptiles, and other
creatures whose position is very much lower in the animal kingdom. A
young girl had had two end phalanges of a finger imperfectly removed,
and yet upon the mutilated stump a horny growth resembling a diminutive
finger-nail had formed anew. The Daly River tribes remove the bones by
tying a ligature of cobweb which they find in the mangroves very tightly
around the joint. The end phalanges of the finger, thus deprived of the
circulation, gradually mortify and drop off. Occasionally the joints may
be bitten off by a parent of the child.
As a general rule, it may be said that wherever mutilations of the male
are undertaken during initiation ceremonies, a corresponding operation is
performed upon the female; and, _vice versa_, where the former practice
is not indulged in, the latter is also unknown. Generally speaking, too,
the female mutilation ceremonies are much the same wherever practised
in Australia, but the implements or devices employed for the actual
mutilation vary in different localities.
Invitations to the event are sent by special messengers to adjoining
groups and neighbouring friendly tribes. These messengers are of mixed
sexes and are decorated by having their bodies covered with ochre.
The common method is to make the ground colour of the body a rich
red and to draw upon it concentric circles of white and black. The
men carry a “female” tjuringa, whilst the women, apart from numerous
necklaces and armlets which they wear, are unaccoutred. The latter are
near group-relatives of the young woman concerned. Their mission is
readily understood by the people they look up during their walk-about,
and, without much interchange of words, acceptance is indicated by
the recipients of the message by resorting to an intimacy with the
feminine emissaries. Although considerable liberality is shown during
this indulgence, the privilege is by no means stretched to beyond the
bounds of a tolerable promiscuousness, even though the messengers may be
entertained at the distant camp for two or three days before they return
home.
The celebrating camp in the interim has been busily preparing for the
approaching event. Nightly corrobborees have been held at the chosen
spot by both the men and the women, and the novice has repeatedly
appeared before the performing crowd richly decorated and besmeared with
emu-fat and ochre. At no time, however, even after the invited guests
have arrived, does the excitement become anywhere near as great as during
the initiation ceremonies of the opposite sex; in fact, at its best, the
performance is extremely dull and monotonous.
When at length it becomes apparent that even the principal actors
themselves are tiring, it seems as though the moment had arrived when
only a desperate decision could revive the enthusiasm. A number of men,
who stand in the same group-relationship to the novice as her future
husband, lead the girl away without any ado, except perhaps that the
remaining members slightly spur their acting. This stage is mostly
reached at daylight, as often as not early in the morning, after the
whole night has been spent in dancing and singing.
Away from the din of her tribespeople’s celebration in honour of the
occasion of her stepping from girlhood to womanhood, the silent victim
is told to squat on the ground whilst the men surround her. Her oldest
“group-husband” produces a flat, wooden tjuringa, of the “male” type,
with which he several times touches her person, whilst he mutters
incoherent and garbled words. This is done to dispel from her all
possible pain and likely loss of blood during the operation she is about
to be submitted to.
Then she is requested to lie flat on her back, and her head is placed
upon the lap of one of the men who squats to keep it there. It follows
the act which is destined to make her marriageable; her virginity is
doomed to mechanical destruction.
The instruments, if any, which are used for the operation vary according
to locality. In the central areas (Aluridja, Wongapitcha, Kukata), an
ordinary stone-knife with resin haft is used. The Victoria desert tribes
employ cylindro-conical stones from six to eight inches long, and from
one and a half to two inches in diameter. Among the tribes of the
northern Kimberley districts of Western Australia no real instrument is
used at all, but the operator winds the index and middle fingers of his
right hand together with a long piece of fur-string; and this device
answers the same purpose as the above-named instruments.
The tribes indulging in this practice admit that their action is prompted
by a desire to offer the girl’s pudicity to one of her spirit-husbands.
We might indeed look upon this rite as the equivalent of sacrificing the
_jus primae noctis_ to a mythical or legendary tribal relative who is
supposed to be living in the astral form and who is likely to come back
to earth at any day.
[Illustration: _PLATE XXXII_
An episode of the great fire ceremony, Kolaia tribe.
“Presently the music starts again, and the spirit known as ‘Ngardaddi’ is
seen to be stealthily creeping towards the fire, his body lying flat upon
the ground and his legs dragging behind.”]