the australian race.
physical conformation of the australians—their low state of civilisation—their superstitions—their wars—singing and dancing—the corribory—division of the nation into great families—rules regulating the property of land and the distribution of food—skill in hunting the kangaroo and the opossum—feasting on a whale—moral qualities and intelligence of the australians.
on turning from the malayan archipelago and new guinea, to the wilds of northern australia, new aspects of savage life rise before our view. with new plants and new animals, a new variety of the human race makes its appearance, differing in figure, in physiognomy, in language, and in many of its customs and manners both from the malay and the papuan: a race which, though occupying one of the lowest grades in the scale of humanity, still offers many points of interest to the observer, and claims our attention both by its qualities and its defects.
the figure of the australians is remarkable for spareness and lankness about the lower extremities, the hips and thighs as well as the calves of the legs, observable in the females as well as in the men. their heads are in general large, with very projecting eyebrows and deep-set eyes, the nose broad, the mouth wide; and there is very often a ferocious look which is not in accordance with the character of the individual. the hair is often matted and twisted with filth and grease into different fashions; when clean, however, it is frequently as fine and glossy as that of the european. its colour is in some of the children of a sunburnt brown, but invariably black among the adults. in their skins they vary from a dark chocolate-brown to an almost perfect black. their hands and feet are467 usually small and well-shaped; the shoulders and chests of the men broad, and sufficiently muscular. such is the physical character of the race from one end of the continent to the other, and though there are deviations from the usual slim and under-fed condition of the body, and from the usual straight character of the hair, the face, figure, and expression of an australian is so peculiar as to distinguish him at once from the inhabitants even of the immediately adjacent islands.
in all the industrial arts these people are extremely deficient. they are utterly destitute of agriculture, and of all manufacture of any kind of material, or tool, or implement, beyond their few weapons and a rude stone hammer, and some simple nets and baskets. over the largest part of the coast they were utterly ignorant of any kind of canoe until they were visited by europeans; and where most advanced in navigation, knew no other method of crossing the water than in rude boats formed of a sheet of bark tied at the ends, or on rafts consisting of bundles of rushes or sticks. they have no huts worthy of the name, nor permanent habitations of any kind. men and women are alike naked, except that in the southern parts of australia they wear a kind of rug of opossum skins over their shoulders during the cold weather. many tribes strike out one or two front teeth, and raise great scars and cicatrices on the skin. they also paint themselves with various colours, like most other savages, and sometimes also ornament themselves with beads and shells, but make no use of the beautiful feathers procurable from the birds of the country.
their languages, although showing evident traces of a common origin, yet vary so much and so frequently that a native of one tribe can rarely understand the tongue of another fifty miles distant. their religious notions are limited to a feeling of vague superstition. they are in great dread of an evil being whom they describe as going about under the form of a black man, of superhuman stature and strength. he prowls at night through the woods around the encampments of the natives, seeking to entrap some unwary wanderer, whom he will seize upon, and having dragged him to his fire, will there roast and devour him. he may, however, be frightened away, by throwing fire at him, and no native will go out at night without a firebrand to protect him from this demon.
468 they have also a superstitious horror of approaching the graves of the dead, of whom they never like to speak, and when induced to do so, always whisper.
the supposed powers of the boylyas, or native sorcerers, have a mighty influence upon their minds and actions. it is supposed that these privileged personages can transport themselves through the air at pleasure, and render themselves invisible to all but other boylyas. if they have a dislike to a native, they can kill him by stealing on him at night and consuming his flesh. another boylya has, however, the power of drawing them out, and curing the affected person by certain processes of disenchantment.
the absurd idea that no adult person dies a natural death reigns among the australians as it does among many of the american, malayan, and negro tribes, and leads to the same baneful consequences. if a man perishes of disease his death is generally supposed to have been caused by some sorcerer of another tribe, and must be avenged on his murderer, or on some near relation of his.
this senseless belief, inspired by the demon of discord, is of course the source of frequent wars, and one of the causes which serve to maintain the native australians in their state of barbarism. the aggrieved party, anxious for revenge, assembles its neighbours, to consult with them concerning the proper course to be pursued. the general opinion having been declared for war, a messenger is sent to announce their intention to the opposite party. these immediately assemble their friends and neighbours, and all prepare for the approaching battle. the two armies (usually from fifty to two hundred each) meet, and after a great deal of mutual vituperation, the combat commences. from their singular dexterity in avoiding or parrying the missiles of their adversaries, the engagement usually continues a long time without any fatal result. when a man is killed (and sometimes before) a cessation takes place; another scene of recrimination, abuse, and explanation ensues, and the affair commonly terminates. all hostility is now at an end, the two parties mix amicably together, bury the dead, and join in a general dance, for, like all other savage races, the australians are very fond of singing and saltatorial displays. their songs are short, containing generally only one or two469 ideas repeated over and over again. is a native in a towering passion, he sings to himself some such words as
‘i’ll spear his liver, i’ll spear his lights, i’ll spear his heart,’ &c., &c.
while he sharpens the weapon intended to execute his menace, and waxing more and more excited as he sings, quivers his spear in the air, and, furiously gesticulating, imitates the various incidents of a fight. his wives chime in from time to time with a line or two expressive of their contempt for the offender:
‘the bone-rumped, long-shinned, thin-thighed fellow.’
the bystanders applaud, and the savage, having fairly sung the wrath out of himself, assists in getting up a dance. is a native afraid, he sings himself full of courage; is he hungry, he sings; if he is full (provided he is not so full as to be in a state of stupor), he sings more lustily than ever; in fact, under all circumstances he finds aid and comfort from singing. the australian songs are therefore naturally varied in their forms, but their concision conveys in the simplest manner the impulsive idea. by a song or wild chant the women irritate the men to acts of vengeance, and four or five mischievously-inclined old women can soon stir up forty or fifty men to any deed of blood by means of their chants, which are accompanied by tears and groans, until the men are worked into a perfect state of frenzy.
among the native dances, the corribory is the most remarkable. it is always performed at night, by the light of blazing boughs, to time beaten on a stretched skin. the dancers are all painted white, and in such remarkably varied ways that not two are alike. darkness seems essential to the performance of a corribory, and the white figures coming forward in mystic order from an obscure background, while the singers and the beaters of drums are invisible, produce a highly theatrical effect. at first, two persons make their appearance, slowly moving their arms and legs; then others one by one join in, each imperceptibly warming into the truly savage attitude of470 the corribory jump; the legs then stride to the utmost, the head is turned over one shoulder, the eyes glare and are fixed with savage energy all in one direction, the arms also are raised and inclined towards the head, and the hands usually grasp the boomerang or some other warlike weapon. the jump now keeps time with each beat, the dancers at every movement taking six inches to one side, all being in a connected line led by the first. the line is sometimes doubled and trebled, according to the space and to the number of the performers, and this produces a great effect, for when the front line jumps to the left the second jumps to the right, and thus this strange savage dance goes on with increasing intensity, until it suddenly and instantaneously stops, having attained the highest pitch of vivacity.
one of the most remarkable facts connected with the australians is their division into certain great families, such as the ballaroke, the tolondarup, the ngotock, &c., all the members of which bear the same names. these family names are perpetuated and spread through the country by the operation of two remarkable laws—that a man cannot marry a woman of his own family name, and that children of either sex always take the family name of their mother.
each family adopts some animal or plant as its kobong, or badge, and none of its members will kill an animal or pluck any plant of the species to which its kobong belongs, except under particular circumstances.
the ceremony of marriage, which among most nations is considered so important and interesting, is with this people one of the least regarded. the woman is looked upon as an article of property, and is sold or given away by her relatives without the slightest consideration of her own pleasure. when a native dies, his brother inherits his wives and children, but his brother must be of the same family name as himself.
the old men manage to keep the females a good deal among themselves, giving their daughters to one another; and the more female children they have, the greater is their chance of getting another wife by this sort of exchange.
a most remarkable law is that which obliges families connected by blood upon the female side to join for the purpose of avenging crimes, and as the father marries several wives, and471 very often all of different families, his children are all repeatedly divided among themselves, no common bond of union exists between them, and this custom alone would suffice to perpetuate their savage state.
though they in no instance cultivate the soil, but subsist entirely by hunting and fishing, and on the wild roots they find in certain localities, with occasionally a little wild honey, every tribe has its own district, beyond whose well-defined limits it seldom passes except for purposes of war or festivity; and within that district all the wild animals are considered the property of the tribe inhabiting or rather ranging on its whole extent. should any other tribe venture to intrude upon that district this is at once resisted as a violation of the rights of property, and is, indeed, a frequent cause of the wars which decimate the population, for the australian aboriginal is as jealous of his rights and as pugnacious in their defence as any european can be.
but particular districts are not merely the property of particular tribes, particular sections or portions of these districts are universally recognised by the natives as belonging to individual members of these tribes; and as in england a man disposes of his property by will, thus among these savages a ‘lord of the manor’ divides his land during his lifetime, fairly apportioning it among his several sons, and at as early an age as fourteen or fifteen they can point out the portion which they are eventually to inherit. the punishment of ‘trespass for the purpose of hunting’ is invariably death if taken in the fact, and at the very least an obstinate contest ensues. if the trespasser is not taken in the fact, but is recognised from his footmarks, or from any other circumstance, and is ever caught in a defenceless state, he is probably killed; but frequently he appears, attended by his friends, and atones for his trespass by quietly holding out his leg for the injured party to thrust his spear through the thigh. sometimes he undergoes the ordeal of having spears thrown at him.
at the appointed time, young and old repair to the place appointed for the trial, and the wild beauty of the scenery, the fantastically-painted forms of the natives, the savage yells and shouts of exultation which are raised as the culprit dexterously parries or by rapid leaps and contortions of his body avoids the472 clouds of spears which are hurled at him, all combine to form a scene full of dramatic interest. if the criminal is wounded in a degree judged sufficient for the crime he has committed, his guilt is wiped away, or if none of the spears thrown at him (only a limited number being allowed to each) take effect, he is equally pardoned.
there are other laws intended for the preservation and distribution of food, such as that which forbids all vegetable productions used as such by the natives, to be plucked or gathered when bearing seed, and the restriction of youth to certain articles of diet. they are not allowed to eat fish or eggs, or the emu, or any of the finer kinds of opossum or kangaroo. in short, their fare is required to be of the coarsest and most meagre description. as they grow older the restrictions are removed one after another; but it is not till they have passed the period of middle age that they are entirely unrestrained in the choice of food. the result of this regulation is to prevent the young men from possessing themselves by their superior strength and agility of all the more desirable articles of food, and leaving only the refuse to the elders, to whom another rule requires them to pay implicit obedience.
thus, while among most other savage nations old age is a period of privation and neglect, aged men are always treated by the australians with great respect, and as they rarely take part in any fray, and seldom appear to suffer much from the infirmities and diseases to which the aged are generally subject amongst us, it is probably the happiest time of their life.
it is commonly supposed that the natives of australia are about as badly off for food as the african bushmen or the fuegoans, but according to captain grey, this is a great mistake, for every native knows exactly what his district produces, the proper time at which the several articles are in season, and the readiest means of procuring them. besides, he is pre-eminently omnivorous, including frogs, mice, grubs, and lizards in his bill of fare, and making the roots of the earth, the fishes of the water, the birds of the air, and the animals of the bush contribute to his support. in order to obtain all the different articles of food, he displays a wonderful ingenuity, and never appears to greater advantage than while busily engaged in the pursuits of the chase. when hunting the kangaroo, he473 rivals in energy and perseverance, in skill and keenness of eye, the red indian tracking the wild animals of the brazilian forest. the moment he commences his day’s hunting, his whole manner and appearance undergo a remarkable change; his eyes, before heavy and listless, are now full of animation; his movements are rapid but noiseless, all his soul is intent upon detecting signs of game. his glance roves from side to side in a vigilant, uneasy manner; no circumstance, however insignificant, escapes his attention—suddenly, he checks his pace, and stands immovable, like one transfixed, whilst all his faculties are concentrated in the sense of sight and hearing. his wives, who are at some distance behind him, the moment they see him assume this attitude, know that a kangaroo is near, and fall to the ground as if they had been shot, their children cowering by them and their little faces expressing an earnestness and anxiousness far beyond their years.
‘looking about a hundred yards to the right of the native, you will see a kangaroo erect upon its hind legs and supported by its tail; it is reared to its utmost height, so that its head is between five and six feet above the ground; its short fore-paws hang by its side, its ears are pointed: it is listening as carefully as the native, and you see a little head peering out from its pouch, to inquire what has alarmed its mother; but the native moves not, you cannot tell whether it is a human being or the charred trunk of a burnt tree which is before you, and for several minutes the whole group preserve their relative position; at length the kangaroo becomes reassured, drops upon its fore paws, gives an awkward leap or two, and goes on feeding. meantime the native moves not until the kangaroo having two or three times resumed the attitude of listening, at length once more abandons itself in perfect security to its feed, and playfully smells and rubs its little one. now the watchful savage, keeping his body unmoved, fixes the spear first in the throwing-stick and then raises his arms in the attitude of throwing, from which they are never again moved until the kangaroo dies or runs away; his spear being properly secured he advances slowly and stealthily towards his prey, no part moving but his legs; whenever the kangaroo looks round, he stands motionless, in the position he is in when it first raises its head, until the animal, again assured of its safety,474 gives a skip or two and goes on feeding again; the native advances, and this scene is repeated many times, until the whistling spear penetrates the devoted animal; then the wood rings with shouts, women and children all join pell-mell in the chase; the kangaroo, weak from the loss of blood, and embarrassed by the long spear, which catches in the brush wood as it flies, at length turns on its pursuers, and to secure its rear, places its back against a tree, preparing at the same time to rend open the breast and entrails of its pursuer, by seizing him in its fore-paws and kicking with its hind legs and claws; but the wily native keeps clear of so murderous an embrace, and from the distance of a few yards throws spears into its breast, until the exhausted animal drops down.’
there are several other modes of taking kangaroos, such as catching them in nets or pit-falls, or lying in wait near their watering places until they come to drink; or else a party surrounds and incloses them in a narrowing circle; but the mode of tracking a kangaroo until it is wearied out is the one which pre-eminently requires every qualification prized by savages,—skill in tracking, endurance of hunger and thirst, unwearied bodily exertion, and lasting perseverance. to perform this feat, a native starts upon the track of a kangaroo, which he follows until he sights it, when it flies timidly before him; again he pursues the track, and again the animal bounds from him, and this is repeated until nightfall, when the native lights his fire, and sleeps upon the track; with the first light of day the hunt is resumed, and towards the close of the second day, or in the course of the third, the kangaroo falls a victim to its pursuer. none but a skilful huntsman, in the pride of youth and vigour, can execute this feat, which beyond all others excites the admiration of the natives.
unfortunately, my limits do not allow me to describe their dexterity in fishing, or in entrapping the various kinds of wild fowl with which the rivers and lagoons of australia abound, but the skill and acuteness of perception they display in hunting the opossum are too interesting to be passed over in silence. the savage carelessly walks up to some narrow trunk which he thinks bears a suspicious appearance; his hands are placed thoughtlessly behind his back, whilst his dark eye glances over the bark; suddenly it is for one moment stationary, and he475 looks eagerly at the tree, for he has detected the holes made by the nails of the opossum in its ascent; he now seeks for one of these footmarks which has a little sand attached to it, and gently blows the sand. if this is still damp, and holds together, it is a sign that the animal has climbed the tree the same morning, for otherwise the sand, dried by the heat of the sun, would have been readily swept away before his breath. having, by this examination of signs which an unskilled european would vainly strive to detect, convinced himself that the opossum is in some hole of the tree, the native pulls his hatchet from his girdle, and cutting a small notch in the bark about four feet from the ground, he places the great toe of his right foot in it, throws his right arm round the tree, and with his left hand sticks the point handle of the hatchet into the bark, as high up as he can reach, and thus forms a stay to drag himself up with; having made good this step, he cuts another for his left foot, and thus proceeds until he has ascended to the hole where the opossum is hid, which is then compelled by smoke, or by being poked out, to quit its hiding-place, when the native catching hold of its tail, dashes it down on the ground, and quietly descends to pick it up.
the stranding of a whale is a great event in an australian’s life, for here without any trouble on his part the bountiful sea presents him with a whole mountain of flesh. it is impossible for civilised man to enter into the feelings of the savage under these circumstances, for he has never been similarly situated, he never has had such a prodigal repast placed at once before him. on finding a whale cast ashore upon his property, the native ‘lord of the manor,’ seeing the impossibility of his own family consuming this enormous mass of food, whatever zeal it may bring to the task, feels his breast glow with unwonted hospitality, and anxious to see his friends about him, falls to work with his wives, and kindles large fires to give notice of the joyful event. this duty being performed, he rubs himself all over with the blubber, then anoints his favourite wives, and thus prepared, begins cutting his way through the blubber into the flesh, the grain of which is about as firm as a goose-quill. by-and-by other natives come gaily trooping in from all quarters; by night they dance and sing, by day they eat and sleep, and continue gormandising and merry-making until476 they at last fairly eat their way into the whale. thus they remain by the carcase for many days, rubbed from head to foot with stinking blubber, gorged to repletion with putrid meat, out of temper from indigestion, and therefore constantly quarrelling, suffering from a cutaneous disorder by high feeding, and presenting altogether a most disgusting spectacle. a native girl stepping out of the carcase of a putrid whale is indeed a sight very different from that of a sea-born venus emerging from her shell. when they at last quit their feast, they carry off as much as they can stagger under, to eat upon the way, and to take as a rare treat to their distant friends.
though in many respects so utterly barbarous, the australians are not guilty of the cannibalism so prevalent among the islanders of the papuan race and in many parts of the indian archipelago, where, by a strange anomaly, we find it practised by nations standing much higher in the scale of civilisation.
the inventions of the throwing-stick for darting the spear, and of the well-known weapon called the boomerang; the sound policy of many of their laws and regulations, and the fact that australian children educated in england have shown the same aptitude in learning as white children of the same age, sufficiently prove that these savages are by no means deficient in intelligence.
as to their moral qualities, their apparent honesty results in a great measure from there being few european articles for which they have any use; articles of food, or a knife, or a hatchet are by no means safe where they can get at them. their behaviour to their women is often very bad; they beat and even spear them on the most trifling occasions. different tribes vary in the most extraordinary way in their friendliness or hostility to strangers. they appear to be very capricious, and always act on the whim or the impulse of the moment, so that the same people, who to-day may be kind assistants in the hour of need, will to-morrow be guilty of the grossest acts of treachery.
