AUSTRALIA--_Continued_.
REAL WAR UNKNOWN TO THE AUSTRALIANS -- FEUDS AND THE CAUSES OF THEM
-- A SAVAGE TOURNAMENT -- VENGEANCE FOR DEATH -- THE TROPHY OF
VICTORY -- AUSTRALIAN VENDETTA -- FIRE-SIGNALS -- DEATH OF TARMEENIA
-- ORDEAL OF BATTLE -- CANNIBALISM AS AN ADJUNCT OF WAR -- DANCES OF
THE ABORIGINES -- THE KURI DANCE AND ITS STRANGE ACCOMPANIMENTS --
THE PALTI DANCE -- THE CONCLUDING FIGURE -- DANCE OF THE PARNKALLA
TRIBE -- ORDINARY CORROBBOREES -- THE KANGAROO DANCE -- TASMANIAN
DANCE.
The mention of these various weapons naturally leads us to warfare; and
that they are intended for that purpose the existence of the shields is
a proof. Offensive weapons, such as the spear and the club, may be used
merely for killing game; but the shield can only be employed to defend
the body from the weapons of an enemy.
War, however, as we understand the word, is unknown among the
Australians. They have not the intellect nor the organization for it,
and so we have the curious fact of skilled warriors who never saw a
battle. No single tribe is large enough to take one side in a real
battle; and, even supposing it to possess sufficient numbers, there is
no spirit of discipline by means of which a force could be gathered,
kept together, or directed, even if it were assembled.
Yet, though real war is unknown, the Australian natives are continually
fighting, and almost every tribe is at feud with its neighbor. The
cause of quarrel with them is almost invariably the possession of some
territory. By a sort of tacit arrangement, the various tribes have
settled themselves in certain districts; and, although they are great
wanderers, yet they consider themselves the rightful owners of their
own district.
It mostly happens, however, that members of one tribe trespass on the
district of another, especially if it be one in which game of any kind
is plentiful. And sometimes, when a tribe has gone off on a travelling
expedition, another tribe will settle themselves in the vacated
district; so that, when the rightful owners of the soil return, there
is sure to be a quarrel. The matter is usually settled by a skirmish,
which bears some resemblance to the _mêlée_ of ancient chivalry, and is
conducted according to well-understood regulations.
The aggrieved tribe sends a challenge to the offenders, the challenger
in question bearing a bunch of emu’s feathers tied on the top of
a spear. At daybreak next morning the warriors array themselves
for battle, painting their bodies in various colors, so as to make
themselves look as much like demons, and as much unlike men as
possible, laying aside all clothing, and arranging their various
weapons for the fight.
Having placed themselves in battle array, at some little distance from
each other, the opposite sides begin to revile each other in quite a
Homeric manner, taunting their antagonists with cowardice and want of
skill in their weapons, and boasting of the great deeds which they are
about to do. When, by means of interposing these taunts with shouts
and yells, dancing from one foot to the other, quivering and poising
their spears, and other mechanical modes of exciting themselves, they
have worked themselves up to the requisite pitch of fury, they begin
to throw the spears, and the combat becomes general. Confused as it
appears, it is, however, arranged with a sort of order. Each warrior
selects his antagonist; so that the fight is, in fact, a series of
duels rather than a battle, and the whole business bears a curious
resemblance to the mode of fighting in the ancient days of Troy.
Generally the combatants stand in rather scattered lines, or, as we
should say, in wide skirmishing order. The gestures with which they try
to irritate their opponents are very curious, and often grotesque; the
chief object being apparently to induce the antagonist to throw the
first spear. Sometimes they stand with their feet very widely apart,
and their knees straight, after the manner which will be seen in the
illustrations of the native dances. While so standing, they communicate
a peculiar quivering movement to the legs, and pretend to offer
themselves as fair marks. Sometimes they turn their backs on their
adversary, and challenge him to throw at them; or they drop on a hand
and knee for the same purpose.
Mr. M’Gillivray remarked that two spearmen never throw at the same
combatant: but, even with this advantage, the skill of the warrior is
amply tested, and it is surprising to see how, by the mere inflection
of the body, or the lifting a leg or arm, they avoid a spear which
otherwise; must have wounded them. While the fight is going on, the
women and children remain in the bush, watching the combat, and
uttering a sort of wailing chant, rising and falling in regular cadence.
Sometimes the fight is a very bloody one, though the general rule is,
that when one man is killed the battle ceases, the tribe to which the
dead man belonged being considered as having been worsted. It might be
thought that a battle conducted on such principles would be of very
short duration; but the Australian warriors are so skilful in warding
off the weapons of their antagonists that they often fight for a
considerable time before a man is killed. It must be remembered, too,
that the Australian natives can endure, without seeming to be much the
worse for them, wounds which would kill an European at once. In such
a skirmish, however, much blood is spilt, even though only one man
be actually killed, for the barbed spears and sharp-edged boomerangs
inflict terrible wounds, and often cripple the wounded man for life.
Other causes beside the quarrel for territory may originate a feud
between two tribes. One of these cases is a very curious one. A woman
had been bitten by a snake; but, as no blood flowed from the wound,
it was thought that the snake was not a venomous one, and that there
was no danger. However, the woman died in a few hours, and her death
was the signal for a desperate war between two tribes. There seems to
be but little connection between the two events, but according to
Australian ideas the feud was a justifiable one.
The natives of the part of Australia where this event occurred have
a curious idea concerning death. Should any one die without apparent
cause, they think that the death is caused by a great bird called
marralya, which comes secretly to the sick person, seizes him round
the waist in his claws, and squeezes him to death. Now the marralya is
not a real bird, but a magical one, being always a man belonging to
a hostile tribe, who assumes the shape of the bird, and so finds an
opportunity of doing an injury to the tribe with which he is at feud.
Having made up his mind that the snake which bit the woman was not a
venomous one, her husband could not of course be expected to change
his opinion, and so it was agreed upon that one of a neighboring tribe
with whom they were at feud must have become a marralya, and killed
the woman. The usual challenge was the consequence, and from it came a
series of bloody fights.
Like most savage nations, the Australians mutilate their fallen
enemies. Instead, however, of cutting off the scalp, or other trophy,
they open the body, tear out the fat about the kidneys, and rub it
over their own bodies. So general is this custom, that to “take fat”
is a common paraphrase for killing an enemy; and when two antagonists
are opposed to each other, each is sure to boast that his antagonist
shall furnish fat for him. As far as can be learned, they have an idea
that this practice endues the victor with the courage of the slain man
in addition to his own; and, as a reputation for being a warrior of
prowess is the only distinction that a native Australian can achieve,
it may be imagined that he is exceedingly anxious to secure such an aid
to ambition.
Not from deliberate cruelty, but from the utter thoughtlessness and
disregard of inflicting pain which characterizes all savages, the
victorious warrior does not trouble himself to wait for the death
of his enemy before taking his strange war trophy. Should the man
be entirely disabled it is enough for the Australian, who turns him
on his back, opens his body with the quartz knife which has already
been described, tears out the coveted prize, and rubs himself with
it until his whole body and limbs shine as if they were burnished.
Oftentimes it has happened that a wounded man has been thus treated,
and has been doomed to see his conqueror adorn himself before his eyes.
Putting aside any previous injury, such a wound as this is necessarily
mortal; but a man has been known to live for more than three days
after receiving the injury, so wonderfully strong is the Australian
constitution.
Sometimes these feuds spread very widely, and last for a very long
time. Before the declaration of war, the opposing tribes refrain
from attacking each other, but, after that declaration is once
made, the greatest secrecy is often observed, and the warrior is
valued the highest who contrives to kill his enemy without exposing
himself to danger. Sometimes there is a sort of wild chivalry about
the Australians, mingled with much that is savage and revolting. A
remarkable instance of these traits is recorded by Mr. M’Gillivray.
An old man had gone on a short expedition in his canoe, while the
men of his tribe were engaged in catching turtle. He was watched by
a party belonging to a hostile tribe, who followed and speared him.
Leaving their spears in the body to indicate their identity, they
returned to shore, and made a great fire by way of a challenge. Seeing
the signal, and knowing that a column of thick smoke is almost always
meant as a challenge, the men left their turtling, and, on finding
that the old man was missing, instituted a search after him. As soon
as they discovered the body they lighted another fire to signify their
acceptance of the challenge, and a party of them started off the same
evening in order to inflict reprisals on the enemy.
They soon came upon some natives who belonged to the inimical tribe,
but who had not been concerned in the murder, and managed to kill the
whole party, consisting of four men, a woman, and a girl. They cut
off the heads of their victims, and returned with great exultation,
shouting and blowing conch-shells to announce their victory.
The heads were then cooked in an oven, and the eyes scooped out and
eaten, together with portions of the cheeks. Only those who had been
of the war-party were allowed to partake of this horrible feast. When
it was over the victors began a dance, in which they worked themselves
into a perfect frenzy, kicking the skulls over the ground, and
indulging in all kinds of hideous antics. Afterward the skulls were
hung up on two cross sticks near the camp, and allowed to remain there
undisturbed.
Fire, by the way, is very largely used in making signals, which are
understood all over the continent. A large fire, sending up a great
column of smoke, is, as has already been mentioned, almost invariably
a sign of defiance, and it is sometimes kindled daily until it is
answered by another. If a man wishes to denote that he is in want of
assistance, he lights a small fire, and, as soon as it sends up its
little column of smoke, he extinguishes it suddenly by throwing earth
on it. This is repeated until the required assistance arrives.
Some years ago, when the character and habits of the natives were not
known so well as they are now, many of the settlers were murdered by
the natives, simply through their system of fire-signalling. One or two
natives, generally old men or women, as causing least suspicion, and
being entirely unarmed, would approach the farm or camp, and hang about
it for some days, asking for food, and cooking it at their own little
fires.
The white men had no idea that every fire that was lighted was a signal
that was perfectly well understood by a force of armed men that was
hovering about them under cover of the woods, nor that the little puffs
of smoke which occasionally arose in the distance were answers to the
signals made by their treacherous guests. When the spies thought that
their hosts were lulled into security, they made the battle-signal, and
brought down the whole force upon the unsuspecting whites.
The Australians are wonderfully clever actors. How well they can act
honesty and practise theft has already been mentioned. They have
also a way of appearing to be unarmed, and yet having weapons ready
to hand. They will come out of the bush, with green boughs in their
hands as signs of peace, advance for some distance, and ostentatiously
throw down their spears and other weapons. They then advance again,
apparently unarmed, but each man trailing a spear along the ground by
means of his toes. As soon as they are within spear range, they pick up
their weapons with their toes, which are nearly as flexible and useful
as fingers, hurl them, and then retreat to the spot where they had
grounded their weapons.
The Australians have a tenacious memory for injuries, and never lose a
chance of reprisal. In 1849, some men belonging to the Badulega tribe
had been spending two months on a friendly visit to the natives of
Múralug. One of their hosts had married an Itálega woman, and two of
the brothers were staying with her. The Badulegas happened to remember
that several years before one of their own tribe had been insulted by
an Itálega. So they killed the woman, and tried to kill her brothers
also, but only succeeded in murdering one of them. They started at once
for their home, taking the heads as proof of their victory, and thought
that they had done a great and praiseworthy action.
A similar affair took place among some of the tribes of Port Essington.
A Monobar native had been captured when thieving, and was imprisoned.
He attempted to escape, and in so doing was shot by the sentinel on
duty. By rights his family ought to have executed reprisals on a
white man; but they did not venture on such a step, and accordingly
picked out a native who was on good terms with the white man, and
killed _him_. The friends of the murdered man immediately answered by
killing a Monobar, and so the feud went on. In each case the victim
was murdered while sleeping, a number of natives quietly surrounding
him, and, after spearing him, beating him with their waddies into a
shapeless mass.
Should the cause of the feud be the unexplained death of a man or
woman, the duty of vengeance belongs to the most formidable male
warrior of the family. On such occasions he will solemnly accept the
office, adorn himself with the red war-paint, select his best weapons,
and promise publicly not to return until he has killed a male of the
inimical tribe. How pertinaciously the Australian will adhere to his
bloody purpose may be seen from an anecdote related by Mr. Lloyd.
He was startled one night by the furious barking of his dogs. On taking
a lantern he found lying on the ground an old black named Tarmeenia,
covered with wounds inflicted by spears, and boomerangs, and waddies.
He told his story in the strange broken English used by the natives.
The gist of the story was, that he and his son were living in a hut,
and the son had gone out to snare a bird for his father, who was ill.
Presently a “bungilcarney coolie,” _i. e._ an enemy from another tribe,
entered the hut and demanded, “Why did your son kill my wife? I shall
kill his father.” Whereupon he drove his spear into the old man’s side,
and was beating him to death, when he was disturbed by the return of
his son. The young man, a singularly powerful native, knowing that his
father would be certainly murdered outright if he remained in the hut,
actually carried him more than four miles to Mr. Lloyd’s house, put him
down in the yard, and left him.
A hut was at once erected close to the house, and Tarmeenia was
installed and attended to. He was very grateful, but was uneasy in his
mind, begging that the constable might visit his hut in his nightly
rounds, “’cos same bungilcarney coolie cum agin, and dis time too much
kill ’im Tarmeenia.” The alarm of the old man seemed rather absurd,
considering the position of the hut, but it was fully justified. About
three weeks after Tarmeenia had been placed in the hut, Mr. Lloyd was
aroused at daybreak by a servant, who said that the old black fellow
had been burned to death. Dead he certainly was, and on examining the
body two fresh wounds were seen, one by a spear just over the heart,
and the other a deep cut in the loins, through which the “bungilcarney”
had torn the trophy of war.
Occasionally a man who has offended against some native law has to
engage in a kind of a mimic warfare, but without the advantage of
having weapons. Mr. Lloyd mentions a curious example of such an ordeal.
“The only instance I ever witnessed of corporeal punishment being
inflicted--evidently, too, by some legal process--was upon the person
of a fine sleek young black, who, having finished his morning’s
repast, rose in a dignified manner, and, casting his rug from his
shoulders, strode with Mohican stoicism to the appointed spot, divested
of his shield, waddy, or other means of defence. Nor, when once
placed, did he utter one word, or move a muscle of his graceful and
well-moulded person, but with folded arms and defiant attitude awaited
the fatal ordeal.
“A few minutes only elapsed when two equally agile savages, each armed
with two spears and a boomerang, marched with stately gait to within
sixty yards of the culprit. One weapon after another was hurled at the
victim savage, with apparently fatal precision, but his quick eye and
wonderful activity set them all at defiance, with the exception of
the very last cast of a boomerang, which, taking an unusual course,
severed a piece of flesh from the shoulder-blade, equal in size to a
crown-piece, as if sliced with a razor, and thus finished the affair.”
The _lex talionis_ forms part of the Australian traditional law, and is
sometimes exercised after a rather ludicrous fashion. A young man had
committed some light offence, and was severely beaten by two natives,
who broke his arm with a club, and laid his head open with a fishing
spear. Considerable confusion took place, and at last the elders
decided that the punishment was much in excess of the offence, and
that, when the wounded man recovered, the two assailants were to offer
their heads to him, so that he might strike them a certain number of
blows with his waddy.
In the description of the intertribal feuds, it has been mentioned that
the men who assisted in killing the victims of reprisal partook of the
eyes and cheeks of the murdered person. This leads us to examine the
question of cannibalism, inasmuch as some travellers have asserted that
the Australians are cannibals and others denying such a propensity as
strongly.
That the flesh of human beings is eaten by the Australians is an
undeniable fact: but it must be remarked that such an act is often
intended as a ceremonial, and not merely as a means of allaying hunger
or gratifying the palate. It has been ascertained that some tribes who
live along the Murray River have been known to kill and eat children,
mixing their flesh with that of the dog. This, however, only occurs
in seasons of great scarcity; and that the event was exceptional
and not customary, is evident from the fact that a man was pointed
out as having killed his children for food. Now it is plain, that,
if cannibalism was the custom, such a man would not be sufficiently
conspicuous to be specially mentioned. These tribes have a horrible
custom of killing little boys for the sake of their fat, with which
they bait fish-hooks.
Another example of cannibalism is described by Mr. Angas as occurring
in New South Wales. A lad had died, and his body was taken by several
young men, who proceeded to the following remarkable ceremonies. They
began by removing the skin, together with the head, rolling it round
a stake, and drying it over the fire. While this was being done, the
parents, who had been uttering loud lamentations, took the flesh from
the legs, cooked, and ate it. The remainder of the body was distributed
among the friends of the deceased, who carried away their portions on
the points of their spears; and the skin and bones were kept by the
parents, and always carried about in their wallets.
* * * * *
It may seem strange that the mention of the weapons and mode of
fighting should lead us naturally to the dances of the Australians.
Such, however, is the case; for in most of their dances weapons of some
sort are introduced. The first which will be mentioned is the Kuri
dance, which was described to Mr. Angas by a friend who had frequently
seen it, and is illustrated on the next page. This dance is performed
by the natives of the Adelaide district. It seems to have one point
in common with the cotillon of Europe, namely, that it can be varied,
shortened, or lengthened, according to the caprice of the players; so
that if a spectator see the Kuri dance performed six or seven times, he
will never see the movements repeated in the same order. The following
extract describes a single Kuri dance, and from it the reader may form
his impressions of its general character:--
“But first the _dramatis personæ_ must be introduced, and particularly
described. The performers were divided into five distinct classes,
the greater body comprising about twenty-five young men, including
five or six boys, painted and decorated as follows: in nudity, except
the _yoodna_ which is made expressly for the occasion, with bunches
of gum-leaves tied round the legs just above the knee, which, as they
stamped about, made a loud switching noise. In their hands they held a
_katta_ or _wirri_, and some a few gum-leaves. The former were held at
arm’s length, and struck alternately with their legs as they stamped.
They were painted, from each shoulder down to the hips, with five or
six white stripes, rising from the breast; their faces also, with white
perpendicular lines, making the most hideous appearance. These were the
dancers.
“Next came two groups of women, about five or six in number, standing
on the right and left of the dancers, merely taking the part of
supernumeraries; they were not painted, but had leaves in their hands,
which they shook, and kept beating time with their feet during the
whole performance, but never moved from the spot where they stood.
“Next followed two remarkable characters, painted and decorated like
the dancers, but with the addition of the _palyertatta_--a singular
ornament made of two pieces of stick put crosswise, and bound together
by the _mangna_, in a spreading manner, having at the extremities
feathers opened, so as to set it off to the best advantage. One had
the _palyertatta_ stick sideways upon his head, while the other, in
the most wizard-like manner, kept waving it to and fro before him,
corresponding with the action of his head and legs.
“Then followed a performer distinguished by a long spear, from the top
of which a bunch of feathers hung suspended, and all down the spear the
mangna was wound; he held the _koonteroo_ (spear and feathers) with
both hands behind his back, but occasionally altered the position, and
waved it to the right and left over the dancers. And last came the
singers--two elderly men in their usual habiliments; their musical
instruments were the _katta_ and _wirri_, on which they managed to beat
a double note; their song was one unvaried, gabbling tone.
“The night was mild; the new moon shone with a faint light, casting a
depth of shade over the earth, which gave a sombre appearance to the
surrounding scene that highly conduced to enhance the effect of the
approaching play. In the distance, a black mass could be discerned
under the gum-trees, whence occasionally a shout and a burst of flame
arose. These were the performers dressing for the dance, and no one
approached them while thus occupied.
“Two men, closely wrapped in their opossum-skins, noiselessly
approached one of the _wurlies_, where the Kuri was to be performed,
and commenced clearing a space for the singers; this done, they went
back to the singers, but soon after returned, sat down, and began a
peculiar harsh and monotonous tune, keeping time with a _katta_ and a
_wirri_ by rattling them together. All the natives of the different
_wurlies_ flocked round the singers, and sat down in the form of a
horse-shoe, two or three rows deep.
“By this time the dancers had moved in a compact body to within a
short distance of the spectators; after standing for a few minutes
in perfect silence, they answered the singers by a singular deep
shout simultaneously: twice this was done, and then the man with the
_koonteroo_ stepped out, his body leaning forward, and commenced with a
regular stamp; the two men with the _palyertattas_ followed, stamping
with great regularity, the rest joining in: the regular and alternate
stamp, the waving of the _palyertatta_ to and fro, with the loud
switching noise of the gum leaves, formed a scene highly characteristic
of the Australian natives. In this style they approached the singers,
the spectators every now and then shouting forth their applause. For
some time they kept stamping in a body before the singers, which had an
admirable effect, and did great credit to their dancing attainments;
then one by one they turned round, and danced their way back to the
place they first started from, and sat down. The _palyertatta_ and
_koonteroo_ men were the last who left, and as these three singular
beings stamped their way to the other dancers they made a very odd
appearance.
[Illustration: (1.) THE KURI DANCE. (See page 748.)]
[Illustration: (2.) PALTI DANCE, OR CORROBOREE. (See page 752.)]
“The singing continued for a short time, and then pipes were lighted;
shouts of applause ensued, and boisterous conversation followed. After
resting about ten minutes, the singers commenced again; and soon
after the dancers huddled together, and responded to the call by the
peculiar shout already mentioned, and then performed the same feat
over again--with this variation, that the _palyertatta_ men brought up
the rear, instead of leading the way. Four separate times these parts
of the play were performed with the usual effect; then followed the
concluding one, as follows: after tramping up to the singers, the man
with the _koonteroo_ commenced a part which called forth unbounded
applause; with his head and body inclined on one side, his spear and
feathers behind his back, standing on the left leg, he beat time with
the right foot, twitching his body and eye, and stamping with the
greatest precision; he remained a few minutes in this position, and
then suddenly turned round, stood on his right leg, and did the same
once with his left foot.
“In the mean while the two men with the mystic _palyertatta_ kept
waving their instruments to and fro, corresponding with the motions
of their heads and legs, and the silent trampers performed their part
equally well. The _koonteroo_ man now suddenly stopped, and, planting
his spear in the ground, stood in a stooping position behind it; two
dancers stepped up, went through the same manœuvre as the preceding
party with wonderful regularity, and then gave a final stamp, turned
round, and grasped the spear in a stooping position, and so on with all
the rest, until every dancer was brought to the spear, so forming a
circular body.
“The _palyertatta_ men now performed the same movement on each side
of this body, accompanied with the perpetual motion of the head, leg,
and arm, and then went round and round, and finally gave the arrival
stamp, thrust in their arm, and grasped the spear: at the same time all
sunk on their knees and began to move away in a mass from the singers,
with a sort of grunting noise, while their bodies leaned and tossed
to and fro; when they had got about ten or twelve yards they ceased,
and, giving one long semi-grunt or groan (after the manner of the red
kangaroo, as they say), dispersed.
“During the whole performance, the singing went on in one continued
strain, and, after the last act of the performers, the rattling
accompaniment of the singing ceased, the strain died gradually away,
and shouts and acclamations rent the air.”
There are many other dances among the Australians. There is, for
example, the Frog-dance. The performers paint themselves after the
usual grotesque manner, hike their _wirris_ in their hands, beat them
together, and then squat down and jump after each other in circles,
imitating the movements of the frog. Then there is the emu-dance, in
which all the gestures consist of imitation of emu-hunting, the man who
enacts the part of the bird imitating its voice.
In some parts of Australia they have the canoe dance, one of the most
graceful of these performances.
Both men and women take part in this dance, painting their bodies with
white and red ochre, and each furnished with a stick which represents
the paddle. They begin to dance by stationing themselves in two lines,
but with the stick across their backs and held by the arms, while they
move their feet alternately to the tune of the song with which the
dance is accompanied. At a given signal they all bring the sticks to
the front, and hold them as they do paddles, swaying themselves in
regular time as if they were paddling in one of their light canoes.
Another dance, the object of which is not very certain, is a great
favorite with the Moorundi natives. The men, having previously
decorated their bodies with stripes of red ochre, stand in a line,
while the women are collected in a group and beat time together. The
dance consists in stamping simultaneously with the left foot, and
shaking the fingers of the extended arms. This dance is called Pedeku.
There is a rather curious dance, or movement, with which they often
conclude the performance of the evening. They sit cross-legged round
their fire, beating time with their spears and _wirris_. Suddenly they
all stretch out their arms as if pointing to some distant object,
rolling their eyes fearfully is they do so, and finish by leaping on
their feet with a simultaneous yell that echoes for miles through the
forest.
In his splendid work on South Australia, Mr. Angas describes a rather
curious dance performed by the Parnkalla tribe, in which both sexes
take part. Each man carries a belt made either of human hair or opossum
fur, holding one end in each hand, and keeping the belt tightly
strained. There is a slight variation in the mode of performing this
dance, but the usual plan is for all the men to sit down, while a woman
takes her place in the middle. One of the men then dances up to her,
jumping from side to side, and swaying his arms in harmony with his
movements. The woman begins jumping as her partner approaches, and then
they dance back again, when their place is taken by a fresh couple.
Some persons have supposed that this dance is a religious ceremony,
because it is usually held on clear moonlight evenings. Sometimes,
however, it is performed during the day-time.
The commonest native dance, or “corrobboree,” is that which is known
as the Palti, and which is represented on the 749th page. It is always
danced by night, the fitful blaze of the fire being thought necessary
to bring out all its beauties.
Before beginning this dance, the performers prepare themselves by
decorating their bodies in some grotesque style with white and scarlet
paints, which contrast boldly with the shining black of their skins.
The favorite pattern is the skeleton, each rib being marked by a broad
stripe of white paint, and a similar stripe running down the breast
and along the legs and arms. The face is painted in a similar fashion.
The effect produced by this strange pattern is a most startling one.
Illuminated only by the light of the fire, the black bodies and limbs
are scarcely visible against the dark background, so that, as the
performers pass backward and forward in the movements of the dance,
they look exactly like a number of skeletons endued with life by magic
powers.
This effect is increased by the curious quivering of the legs, which
are planted firmly on the ground, but to which the dancers are able to
impart a rapid vibratory movement from the knees upward. The _wirris_,
or clubs, are held in the hands, as seen in the illustration, and at
certain intervals they are brought over the head, and clashed violently
together. The Palti, as well as the Kuri dance is conducted by a
leader, who gives the word of command for the different movements. Some
of the dancers increase their odd appearance by making a fillet from
the front teeth of the kangaroo, and tying it round their foreheads.
Once in a year, the natives of some districts have a very grand dance,
called the “cobbongo corrobboree,” or great mystery dance. This dance
is performed by the natives of the far interior. An admirable account
of this dance was published in the _Illustrated London News_ of October
3, 1863, and is here given. “The time selected for this great event
is every twelfth moon, and during her declination. For several days
previous a number of tribes whose territories adjoin one another
congregate at a particular spot, characterized by an immense mound of
earth covered with ashes (known amongst the white inhabitants as ‘a
black’s oven’) and surrounded by plenty of ‘couraway’ or water holes.
To this place they bring numbers of kangaroos, ’possums, emus, and wild
ducks, and a large quantity of wild honey, together with the grass from
the seeds of which they make a sort of bread.
“Upon the evening on which the ‘corrobboree’ is celebrated, a number
of old men (one from each tribe), called by the natives ‘wammaroogo,’
signifying medicine men or charm men, repair to the top of the mound,
where, after lighting a fire, they walk round it, muttering sentences
and throwing into it portions of old charms which they have worn round
their necks for the past twelve months. This is continued for about
half an hour, when they descend, each carrying a fire-stick, which he
places at the outskirts of the camp, and which is supposed to prevent
evil spirits approaching. As soon as this is over, during which a most
profound silence is observed by all, the men of the tribe prepare their
toilet for the ‘corrobboree,’ daubing themselves over with chalk, red
ochre, and fat.
“While the men are thus engaged, the gentler sex are busy arranging
themselves in a long line, and in a sitting posture, with rugs made
of ’possum skins doubled round their legs, and a small stick called
‘nullà-nullà’ in each hand. A fire is lighted in front of them, and
tended by one of the old charmers. As the men are ready, they seat
themselves cross-legged like tailors, and in regular ‘serried file,’ at
the opposite side of the fire to the women, while one of the medicine
men takes up his position on the top of the mound to watch the rising
of the moon, which is the signal for ‘corrobboree.’ All is now still;
nothing disturbs the silence save the occasional jabber of a woman or
child, and even that, after a few minutes, is hushed. The blaze of the
fire throws a fitful light along the battalion-like front of the black
phalanx, and the hideous faces, daubed with paint and smeared with
grease, show out at such a moment to anything but advantage.
“As soon as the old gentleman who has been ‘taking the lunar’
announces the advent of that planet, which seems to exercise as great
an influence over the actions of these people as over many of those
amongst ourselves, the ‘corrobboree’ commences. The women beat the
little sticks together, keeping time to a peculiar monotonous air, and
repeating the words, the burden of which when translated may be--
“‘The kangaroo is swift, but swifter is Ngoyulloman;
The snake is cunning, but more cunning is Ngoyulloman,’ &c.,
each woman using the name of her husband or favorite in the tribe. The
men spring to their feet with a yell that rings through the forest,
and, brandishing their spears, boomerangs. &c., commence their dance,
flinging themselves into all sorts of attitudes, howling, laughing,
grinning, and singing; and this they continue till sheer exhaustion
compels them to desist, after which they roast and eat the product of
the chase, gathered for the occasion, and then drop off to sleep one
by one.”
The reader will see that this great mystery “corrobboree” combines
several of the peculiar movements which are to be found in the various
dances that have already been described.
A dance of somewhat similar character used to be celebrated by the
Tasmanians at the occasion of each full moon, as is described by Mr.
G. T. Lloyd. The various tribes assembled at some trysting-place; and
while the women prepared the fire, and fenced off a space for the
dance, the men retired to adorn themselves with paint, and to fasten
bunches of bushy twigs to their ankles, wrists, and waists.
The women being seated at the end of this space, one of the oldest
among them strode forward, calling by name one of the performers,
reviling him as a coward, and challenging him to appear and answer
her charge. The warrior was not long in his response, and, bounding
into the circle through the fire, he proclaimed his deeds of daring in
war and in the hunt. At every pause he made, his female admirers took
up his praises, vaunting his actions in a sort of chant, which they
accompanied by extemporized drums formed of rolled kangaroo skins.
Suddenly, upon some inspiring allegretto movement of the thumping band,
thirty or forty grim savages would bound successively through the
furious flames into the sacred arena, looking like veritable demons
on a special visit to _terra firma_, and, after thoroughly exhausting
themselves by leaping in imitation of the kangaroo around and through
the fire, they vanished in an instant. These were as rapidly succeeded
by their lovely gins, who, at a given signal from the beldame speaker,
rose _en masse_, and ranging themselves round the fresh-plied
flames in a state unadorned and genuine as imported into the world,
contorted their arms, legs, and bodies into attitudes that would shame
first-class acrobats. The grand point, however, with each of the
well-greased beauties was to scream down her sable sister.
This dance, as well as other native customs, has departed, together
with the aborigines, from the island, and the native Tasmanians are
now practically extinct. There is before me a photograph of the three
remaining survivors of these tribes, which some sixty years ago
numbered between six and seven thousand. That they should have so
rapidly perished under the influence of the white man is explained from
the fact that their island is but limited in extent, and that they are
altogether inferior to the aborigines of the continent. They are small
in stature, the men averaging only five feet three inches in height,
and they are very ill-favored in countenance, the line from the nose
to the corners of the mouth being very deep and much curved, so as
to enclose the mouth in a pair of parentheses. The hair is cut very
closely. This is done by means of two sharp-edged fragments of flint,
broken glass being preferred since Europeans settled in the country.
Cutting the hair is necessarily a tedious ceremony, only ten or twelve
hairs being severed at a time, and upwards of three hours being
consumed in trimming a head fit for a dance. Shaving is conducted after
the same manner.
The general habits of the Tasmanian natives agree with those of the
continent. The mode of climbing trees, however, is a curious mixture
of the Australian and Polynesian custom. When the native discovers
the marks of an opossum on the bark, he plucks a quantity of wire
grass, and rapidly lays it up in a three-stranded plait, with which he
encircles the tree and his own waist. By means of a single chop of the
tomahawk he makes a slight notch in the bark, into which he puts his
great toe, raises himself by it, and simultaneously jerks the grass
band up the trunk of the tree. Notch after notch is thus made, and the
native ascends with incredible rapidity, the notches never being less
than three feet six inches apart.
Often, the opossum, alarmed at the sound of the tomahawk, leaves its
nest, and runs along some bare bough, projecting horizontally from
eighty to a hundred feet above the ground. The native walks along the
bough upright and firm as if the tree were his native place, and shakes
the animal into the midst of his companions who are assembled under the
tree.
The natives never, in their wild state, wear clothes of any kind. They
manufacture cloaks of opossum and kangaroo skins, but only in defence
against cold. They are wonderful hunters, and have been successfully
employed by the colonists in tracing sheep that had strayed, or the
footsteps of the thief who had stolen them. The slightest scratch tell
its tale to these quick-eyed people, who know at once the very time at
which the impression was made, and, having once seen it, start off at a
quick pace, and are certain to overtake the fugitive.
The untimely end of the aboriginal Tasmanians is greatly to be
attributed to the conduct of a well-known chief, called Mosquito. He
was a native of Sydney, and, having been convicted of several murders,
was, by a mistaken act of lenity, transported to Tasmania, when he
made acquaintance with the Oyster Bay tribe. Being much taller and
stronger than the natives, he was unanimously elected chief, and took
the command. His reign was most disastrous for the Tasmanians. He ruled
them with a rod of iron, punishing the slightest disobedience with a
blow of his tomahawk, not caring in the least whether the culprit were
killed or not. He organized a series of depredations on the property
of the colonists, and was peculiarly celebrated for his skill in
stealing potatoes, teaching his followers to abstract them from the
ridges, and to rearrange the ground so as to look as if it had never
been disturbed, and to obliterate all traces of their footmarks with
boughs.
Under the influence of such a leader, the natives became murderers as
well as thieves, so that the lives of the colonists were always in
peril. It was therefore necessary to take some decided measures with
them; and after sundry unsuccessful expeditious, the natives at last
submitted themselves, and the whole of them, numbering then (1837)
scarcely more than three hundred, were removed to Flinder’s Island,
where a number of comfortable stone cottages were built for them,
infinitely superior to the rude bough huts or miam-miams of their
own construction. They were liberally supplied with food, clothing,
and other necessaries, as well as luxuries, and the Government even
appointed a resident surgeon to attend them when ill. All this care
was, however, useless. Contact with civilization produced its usual
fruits, and in 1861 the native Tasmanians were only thirteen in number.
Ten have since died, and it is not likely that the three who survived
in 1867 will perpetuate their race.
That the singularly rapid decadence of the Tasmanians was partly caused
by the conduct of the shepherds, and other rough and uneducated men in
the service of the colonists, cannot be denied. But the white offenders
were comparatively few, and quite unable themselves to effect such
a change in so short a time. For the real cause we must look to the
strange but unvariable laws of progression. Whenever a higher race
occupies the same grounds as a lower, the latter perishes, and, whether
in animate or inanimate nature, the new world is always built on the
ruins of the old.