POPULATION.
Several writers have given calculations as to the number of native
inhabitants to each square mile in Australia. Now, although I have done
my utmost to draw up tables which might even convey an approximate
result, I have found the number of inhabitants to a square mile to vary
so much from district to district, from season to season, and to depend
upon so great a variety of local circumstances, that I am unable to give
any computation which I believe would even nearly approach the truth; and
as I feel no confidence in the results which I have obtained, after a
great deal of labour, I cannot be expected to attach much importance to
those which, to my own knowledge, have in several instances been arrived
at by others from mere guesswork.
NATURAL PERIOD OF LIFE.
With regard to the age occasionally attained by the natives I believe
very erroneous ideas have been prevalent, for so far am I from
considering them to be short-lived that I am certain they frequently
attain the age of seventy years and upwards. As they themselves have no
knowledge whatever of their age it is manifest that merely speculative
ideas upon this point must be useless; the means therefore that I adopted
to arrive at a probable conclusion may be illustrated by an example: In
the table I have given of a family descending from two natives,
Nardooitch, and Kimbeyenung (Appendix A) the name of Yenna will be found
as one of Wundall's children; now (1840) Yenna is a young man of about
twenty years of age, and from the usual habits of the natives we must
allow that his father, Beewullo, was at least twenty-three years old by
the time he had married and had a child; such being the case, Beewullo
must now be about forty-three, and Jeebar his father must by the same
reasoning be about sixty-six, yet he is alive and in perfect health, and
his elder brother Nogongo is likewise alive, and as upright as possible,
although the infirmities of old age are creeping on him. Nogongo must be
now at least sixty-eight years old, yet I have seen two other natives
who, by his and their own account, are older than he is; and on making a
calculation, in the way I have just done, to ascertain their age, it
appeared that one of them was sixty-nine and the other seventy-one; so
that, although probably none of these estimates are quite correct, I
still think that we are at liberty to infer, from various instances of
this kind, that the natives sometimes attain a very advanced age; yet
were these instances of longevity contrasted with the great number of
deaths which take place during the period of infancy, there can be no
doubt whatever that the average duration of life amongst these savage
tribes falls far short of that enjoyed by civilized races. There is
however one species of death unknown to these barbarians and that is
suicide. I believe they have no idea that such a thing as a person's
putting an end to his own life could ever occur: whenever I have
interrogated them on this point they have invariably laughed at me and
treated my question as a joke.
CONDITION OF OLD AGE.
The period of old age must be as happy as any other time in the life of a
savage, if not more so. Aged men are always treated with great respect;
they rarely take a part in any fray; they are privileged to eat certain
kinds of food which the young men may not touch; and they seldom appear
to suffer much from the infirmities and diseases to which the aged are
generally subject amongst us.
CONDITION OF YOUNG WOMEN.
Should a female be possessed of considerable personal attractions the
first years of her life must necessarily be very unhappy. In her early
infancy she is betrothed to some man, even at this period advanced in
years, and by whom, as she approaches the age of puberty, she is watched
with a degree of vigilance and care which increases in proportion to the
disparity of years between them; it is probably from this circumstance
that so many of them are addicted to intrigues, in which, if they are
detected by their husbands, death, or a spear through some portion of the
body is their certain fate; indeed the bare suspicion of infidelity upon
their part is enough to ensure to them the most cruel and brutal
treatment. For these causes during youth they are compelled, whether
pregnant or not, to accompany their husbands in all their excursions, and
are thus subject to violent and continued exercise and fatigue at periods
when repose is indispensable.
But even supposing a woman to give no encouragement to her admirers, many
plots are always laid to carry her off, and in the encounters which
result from these she is almost certain to receive some violent injury,
for each of the combatants orders her to follow him, and in the event of
her refusing throws a spear at her. The early life of a young woman at
all celebrated for beauty is generally one continued series of captivity
to different masters, of ghastly wounds, of wanderings in strange
families, of rapid flights, of bad treatment from other females amongst
whom she is brought a stranger by her captor; and rarely do you see a
form of unusual grace and elegance but it is marked and scarred by the
furrows of old wounds; and many a female thus wanders several hundred
miles from the home of her infancy, being carried off successively to
distant and more distant points.
These various circumstances render miscarriages more frequent amongst
these uncivilized tribes than amongst European nations, and the first
years and bloom of a female generally elapse before she has any children;
but then a fresh cause exists to prevent their having very large
families, which is that, from the nature of the food used by the natives,
it is necessary that a child should have good strong teeth before it can
be even partially weaned. The native women therefore suckle their
children until they are past the age of two or three years, and it is by
no means uncommon to see a fine healthy child leave off playing and run
up to its mother to take the breast.
The native women suffer much less pain during the period of labour than
Europeans; directly the child is born, it is wrapped in opossum skins,
and strings made of the fur of this animal are tied like bracelets round
the infant's wrists and ankles, with the intention of rendering it, by
some supernatural means, a stronger and a finer child. They are always
much prouder of a male than of a female child.
AVERAGE NUMBERS AND PROPORTION OF BIRTHS.
Forty-one females, of whose families I have obtained (from themselves and
others) lists upon the accuracy of which I can rely, had 188 children, or
about 4.6 children each. The greatest number born by any one female was
7, and only three had had so large a family as this; but with the
exception of one woman they had all born more than one child. All those
who were included in this list were past the age of child-bearing at the
time it was drawn up.
To ascertain the proportion of male to female children I drew up another
list of 222 births, and out of these there were 93 females and 129 males,
or about 1 female to every 1.3 males.
I have known four instances of native women having twins, but I have
never heard of a greater number of children at one birth. Should a child
be born with any natural deformity it is frequently killed by its parents
soon afterwards. In the only instances of this kind which have come
within my own knowledge the child has been drowned.
LUNATICS AND IDIOTS.
Idiots are rarely found amongst the natives; in two cases I however
observed persons of very deficient intellect. Mad people are unknown, and
this very naturally, for very few freaks of madness could be committed by
a lunatic ere he would fall a sacrifice to the violence and indignation
of his fellows. Persons of very delicate and feeble constitutions are
also rare, as those who survive the hardships to which they are exposed
in their childhood must possess an iron frame. The deaths amongst the
children, particularly during early infancy, are as far as I can judge
much more numerous in proportion to the number of births than they are in
civilized nations.
INFLUENCE OF POLYGAMY ON SOCIAL HABITS.
The social habits of the natives of Australia are necessarily modified by
the extent to which polygamy is permitted and practised amongst them. The
very unequal distribution of the female sex, which arises from this
cause, has rendered prevalent the custom of stealing wives; and as women
are of great value, not only on account of the personal attachment which
they might be supposed to excite, but from the fact of all laborious
tasks being performed, and a great portion of the food of the family
being also collected by them, every precaution is taken to prevent them
from forming any acquaintances which would be likely to terminate in
their abduction.
A stern and vigilant jealousy is commonly felt by every married man; he
cannot, from the roving nature of their mode of life, surround his wives
with the walls of a seraglio, but custom and etiquette have drawn about
them barriers nearly as impassable. When a certain number of families are
collected together they encamp at a common spot; and each family has a
separate hut, or perhaps two. At these huts sleep the father of the
family, his wives, the female children who have not yet joined their
husbands, and very young boys; occasionally female relatives, who from
some temporary cause have no male protector with them, also sleep at this
fire; but the young men and boys of ten years old and upwards are obliged
to sleep in their own portion of the encampment, where they themselves,
or more generally, some of their mothers, build for them two or three
huts, in which those related within certain degrees of consanguinity
sleep together.
SOCIAL CUSTOMS.
When strangers are with a party upon a visit, if attended by their wives,
they sleep in their own huts, which are placed among those of the married
people; but if their wives are not with them, or if they are unmarried,
they sleep at the fire of the young men.
MODE OF CONVERSATIONAL INTERCOURSE. MODE OF RECITING EVENTS.
Under no circumstances is a strange native allowed to approach the fire
of a married man; in the daytime they hunt or occupy themselves with the
men, and at night they either sit at their own fire, or that of the young
men. Their huts being placed at a little distance from one another, such
an arrangement would appear to put an end to anything like social
intercourse or conversation; but they have invented a means of overcoming
this difficulty by making a species of chant, or recitative, their
customary mode of address to each other. In an encampment at night the
young men recount to one another their love adventures and stories; and
the old men quarrel with their wives or play with their children;
suddenly a deep wild chant rises on the ear, in which some newly-arrived
native relates the incidents of his journey, or an old man calls to their
remembrance scenes of other days, or reminds them that some death remains
unavenged: this is done in a loud recitative, and the instant it is
commenced every other sound is hushed. A native, while thus chanting, is
rarely or never interrupted, and when he has concluded another replies in
the same tone until the conversation, still conducted in this manner,
becomes general.
CONSEQUENCES OF JEALOUSY.
In the meantime individuals both male and female move about from fire to
fire, paying visits, and whispering scandal to one another; but these
visits are so arranged that none can approach a fire to which, by the
established usages of society, they have not a right to go; the younger
females however, who are much addicted to intrigue, find at times
opportunity to exchange a word or a glance with some favoured lover, but
woe to her if her watchful husband should detect her in the act. A spear
through the calf of the leg is the least punishment that awaits her; and
if her husband feels himself strong enough, either from personal skill or
from the number of friends he has present, to inflict punishment upon her
paramour, he does it in the most summary manner, throwing as many spears
at his legs as he has an opportunity of doing before others catch hold of
him and prevent his committing farther acts of violence. A good deal of
tact is required under these circumstances to ascertain whether a spear
can safely be thrown at a man or not; but I have remarked as a general
rule that a native, if irritated by another, invariably throws a spear at
him if he has a friend or brother near the offender at the time; the
chances then being that this friend or brother will catch hold of the man
attacked before he can throw a spear in return. As for the poor female no
one takes her part whether she is innocent or guilty; the established and
very equitable law with regard to women being, "If I beat your mother,
then you beat mine: if I beat your wife, then you beat mine," etc. etc.
So that by judiciously conducting arrangements a native can spear one
aggressor himself and get the other speared for him without undergoing
any personal trouble or inconvenience, or without in the least suffering
in her good graces.
DANCES.
Should it be the intention of the natives to have a dance the
arrangements are somewhat different. In this case the young men retire
early in the afternoon to some spot suited to their purpose, where they
paint and deck themselves out in the most grotesque manner. After dark
they return to the encampment near which the dance takes place. At these
entertainments the same rules of etiquette are strictly observed: the
females sit in a group apart, generally behind the old men; the
performers are on the side of the fire opposite to them; in one or two
dances the women take a part in the song, but they never dance
themselves, nor are the young men allowed to approach them. It is all
fair for the dancers to do their utmost, by the arrangement of paint and
ornaments, to show off their personal attractions, and they sometimes
avail themselves of this privilege in the most ludicrous manner; but they
are permitted to hold no converse whatever with any but their mothers and
sisters.
CEREMONIES ON MEETING. CUSTOMS IN MEETING AFTER ABSENCE.
The ceremonies they observe at first meeting one another after absence
are remarkable. When a native and his wives enter an encampment of
friends whom they have not for some time seen, they proceed straight to
the hut of some relative or intimate friend without bestowing even a
glance upon any others whom they may pass: having reached the hut the man
at once seats himself at the fire without taking the least notice of
anyone in it, whilst his wives crouch upon the earth at a respectful
distance behind him, keeping their eyes fixed upon the ground; solemn
silence now ensues, all countenances wear an unspeakable gloom and
gravity and all eyes are directed to the earth; in about ten minutes the
nearest blood relation of any individual who has died since the stranger
has visited his friends advances to him with a measured pace, and without
speaking seats himself cross-legged on his thighs, under which he places
his hands, at the same time pressing his breast to the stranger's; thus
seated they mournfully avert their faces from one another and preserve a
perfect silence; no single word or sign of recognition passes between
them, and after they have remained thus seated for several minutes the
native who had come to announce the death rises slowly and retires with
the same gravity with which he had approached; other males of the family
now successively approach the stranger, going through precisely the same
ceremonies, none of them venturing to interchange a single word with him.
This part of the ceremony having been completed, the nearest female
relative of the deceased approaches the stranger and, throwing herself
upon her knees before him, she embraces his knees with her left arm
whilst with the nails of her right hand she scratches her cheek and nose
until the blood drops from them, at the same time raising the most
piteous cries and lamentations. After a few minutes she rises and
approaches his wife and seats herself on the ground in front of her; the
two now encircle one another with their left arms, resting their heads on
each other's shoulders, whilst they scratch their faces with their right
hands and cry and wail in a tone which excites in the minds of all who
hear them sensations of deep grief; indeed I know of no sound (not even
excepting the Irish howl) which so fully expresses the passion of deep
sorrow as this lament of the native women. When their cry is completed
the resident native woman rises from the ground and slowly walks from the
wife of the one who has returned to the camp; the other female relatives
of the deceased then advance in turn, and go through the same form.
The returned absentee is now at liberty to speak, and some of the party
in recitative recount to him all the leading facts that have occurred
since their last meeting; they are however very careful not to mention
the name of the person who is dead, but describe him by his attributes
and family in such a manner as to leave no doubt in the mind of the
hearer; but to name aloud one who is departed would be a gross violation
of their most sacred prejudices, and they carefully abstain from it.
CEREMONIES ON MEETING IN THE BUSH.
If natives meet in the bush the foregoing ceremonies are in part
observed: both parties at their first meeting sit down at a distance from
one another, preserving a profound silence and keeping their eyes fixed
on the ground; after a time one of them commences a chant about himself
and from what great family he has sprung; they then approach one another,
and if there is a death to communicate the men press breast to breast,
and knee to knee, remaining for some time with averted faces, lost in
melancholy thoughts; when they separate the women approach and kneel,
scratching their faces and crying in the way I have above described.
Should no relative have died upon either side the men, after rising up,
approach one another and enter into conversation; whilst the elder
married females, if they like a stranger, embrace him affectionately and
give him a loud-sounding kiss upon each cheek; on several occasions I
have had to submit myself, with as good a grace as I could, to this
salutation.
In these casual meetings of natives it occasionally happens that several
women kneel together, crying and embracing the knees of some old savage,
who stands erect in the midst of the group, with a proud and lordly air,
whilst they cower to the earth around him; sometimes they have children
slung at their backs, and these little things may be seen unconsciously
playing with their mothers' hair whilst this mournful scene is enacting.
PUNCTILIOS OF FORM.
Some old women are scrupulously punctilious about the performance of all
these matters of etiquette, attaching a degree of importance to them
which, in the eyes of civilized man, approaches the ludicrous; but they
look upon them in a very different light. I have seen a number of these
sticklers for form kneeling round a little boy not more than six or seven
years old, lamenting most bitterly, the little fellow meanwhile
preserving in his countenance and bearing all the gravity and dignity
which a man could have exhibited.