CEREMONIAL 1900 - 1917

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Reference Type: Journal Article**
Record Number: 68
Author: Mathews, R. H.
Year: 1900-01
Title: Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of the Northern Territory
Journal: Queensland Geographical Journal
Volume: 16
Pages: 69-90
Keywords: Cannibalism
Ceremonies - initiation
Circumcision
Kinship and marriage
Language elicitation
Rock art
Subincision
Technology - implements/tools

Abstract: Like many of the Mathews articles titled 'Ethnological Notes…', this is a mixed bag of ethnographic data. Referring to a succession of six tables, Mathews firstly describes kinship and marriage organisation in various parts of the Northern Territory. He then describes initiatory customs including circumcision, subincision […]. There are also descriptions of hunting, fishing, food gathering and notes concerning aspects of material culture including waterbags, containers, rock paintings, rock carvings and burial customs. In addition, Mathews remarks on shamanism and cannibalism. The data were not collected personally, but supplied to him by 'friends who have resided in that part of the country'. He also cites the work of various other writers including W. E. Roth and Spencer and Gillen. The article includes a 210 word vocabulary of the language of the Chingalee tribe. There is also an appendix titled 'Aboriginal Rock Carvings' which describes rock art around the Burnett River, Queensland, one of which was cut from the rock by a resident and sent to Mathews. In 'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of Western Australia' (1903-04) Mathews made a minor correction to page 70 of this article. In 'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland' (1905) Mathews made alterations to Table 1 of this article. In 'Sociology of some Australian Tribes' (1905) Mathews modified his view that the Australian moieties are exogamous. He requested that '[i]n any of my previous articles…in which it may be stated that an aboriginal community comprises "two exogamous divisions," the reader is requested to substitute "two principal divisions."' In 'Vocabulary of the Ngarrugu Tribe N. S. W.' (1908) Mathews acknowledges there were 'some clerical errors' in the table given on page 73 of his article 'Australian Divisional Systems' (1898). The correct table appears on page 74 of this paper.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Chingalee
2. Mayoo
3. Jeelowng
4. Neening
5. Jaroo
6. Munga
7. Moodburra
8. Kangarraga
9. Cheeal
10. Tewinbol
11. Bilyanarra
12. Wartaman
13. Oolawunga
14. Muttangulla
15. Kwaranjee
16. Koodanjee
17. Wanyee
18. Kurrawar
19. Yookala
20. Warramonga
21. Yorrawinga
22. Yoolanlanya
23. Yanindo
24. Arrinda
25. Andigarina
26. Loorudgie

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. MacDonnell Ranges
2. Alice Springs
3. Finke River
4. Davenport Range
5. Macumba River
6. Daly Waters
7. Powells Creek
8. Elsey Creek
9. Negri River
10. Behm River
11. Sturts Creek
12. Stirling Creek
13. Sturt Creek
14. Victoria River
15. Ord River
16. Fitzmaurice River
17. Flora River
18. Newcastle Waters
19. Upper Roper River
20. Katherine River
21. Goyder River
22. Gulf of Carpentaria
23. Rankine River
24. Georgina River
25. Elkedra
26. Alroy Downs
27. Tennants Creek
28. Upper Georgina River
29. Woodroffe River
30. Field River
31. Hay River
32. Port Darwin
33. Liverpool River
34. Lake Amadeus
35. Roper River
36. Gordon Creek
37. Jasper Creek
38. Valley of Springs Station
39. Limmen River
40. Mount Thomas
41. Mount John
42. Mount Charles
43. Mount David
44. Birdum Creek
45. Delamere
46. Gregory Creek
47. Wickham River
48. Auvergne on the Baines
49. Camfield Creek
50. Playford Creek
51. Cresswell Creek
52. Calvert River
53. McArthur River
54. Hodgson River
55. Strangways River
56. Burnett River
57. Parish of South Kolan
58. County of Cook
59. Pine Creek

INFORMANTS
1. 'friends who have resided in that part of the country' (69).
2. Mr. Michael Costello (82).
3. 'a friend' (90).

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. States that he is 'now engaged in obtaining particulars of the tongues spoken in different parts of the Northern Territory, which I hope to submit to this Society on an early date' (69).
2. Refers to having described 'the social organisation of all the different communities' of South Australia (75).
3. States that he contributed in 1894 an article to this journal on 'Aboriginal Rock Pictures of Australia' (90).

CROSS-REFERENCES
In ‘Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of Western Australia’ (1903-04) Mathews makes the following correction to the fouth line from the bottom of page 70: 'after the word "Nambitijana," add "or Chapota and Nemira, or Changary and Nhermana." These words were inadvertently omitted.'
In ‘Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland’ (1905) Mathews made alterations to Table 1 of this article.
In 'Vocabulary of the Ngarrugu Tribe N. S. W.' (1908) Mathews acknowledges there were 'some clerical errors' in the table given on page 73 of the article 'Australian Divisional Systems' (1898). The correct table appears on page 74 of this paper.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
'Some Rock Pictures and Ceremonial Stones of the Australian Aborigines' (1910) repeated description of Burnett River carvings and their partial removal.
 

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Abstract: This paper describes a preliminary form of initiation ceremony known as the 'Murrawin' which was practised on the north coast of New South Wales by 'the Thangatty and their allies on the Macleay River and tributary streams'. It was also practised by the Koomganggary people around the Bellinger River and by the Birrapee tribes who reside southwards of the Macleay to the vicinity of the Hastings River. The ceremony prepares boys for the full initiation ceremony (described by Mathews in his papers on the Burbung and Keeparra). It was a small event, involving only a few neighbouring tribes. Mathews describes the course of the ceremony in some detail. Much of it concerns […] sacred objects. The article concludes with a description of the kinship and marriage system of the tribes who practise the Murrawin. The community is divided into two phratries (moieties), each of which is divided into a further two sections. Mathews does not name any informants or explain how he acquired the data presented in this article.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Thangatty
2. Koombanggary
3. Birrapee
4. Bunjellung
5. Anaywan
6. Bahree
7. Molo
8. Kutthung
9. Warrimee
10. Minyowa
11. Watthung
12. Gooringai

INFORMANTS
Not applicable.

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Macleay River
2. Bellinger River
3. Hastings River

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Brief reference to being acquainted with other initiation ceremonies (36).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
'The Burbung of the New England tribes, New South Wales' (1896)
'The Keeparra Ceremony of Initiation' (1897)
'Note on the Social Organisation of the Turrubul and Adjacent Tribes' (1907)
'Australian Divisional Systems' (1898)
'The Totemic Divisions of Australian Tribes' (1897)
 

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Abstract: Mathews had previously described Wiradjuri male initiation ceremonies in various publications including 'The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes' (1896) and 'The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes (Part II)' (1897). In some respects this is a footnote to these earlier articles. It concerns a ceremony that occurred in 1898 in the western part of Wiradjuri territory-a location on the 'Canoble' pastoral property some 33 miles east of Ivanhoe in New South Wales. Mathews says that the manner of summoning the tribes and the actual ceremonies were similar to those described in his previous accounts of the Burbung. The bulk of this fairly brief article describes [items] associated with the ceremony. […]. Mathews appears to have visited the site personally.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Wiradjuri

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Gunnabonna, County of Mossgiel, NSW
2. Blakes waterhole on Canoble run, 8 miles east by north from Canoble headstation, 33 miles from Ivanhoe.
3. Hillston
4. Keewong
5. Cobar
6. Paddington

INFORMANTS
Not applicable.

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Line drawing of ground carvings at a burbung ceremony (338).

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Mentions having contributed two articles in 1896 on 'Australian class systems, describing the social organization of the native tribes composing the Wiradjuri community' in NSW (337).
2. Also refers to having dealt with 'the inaugural ceremonies of certain tribes in the northern and southern parts of the Wirradjui territory' (337), but having 'never before had the opportunity of describing the ceremony as performed in the western portion' (337).
3. Refers to former articles on 'the Burbung of the tribes of the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers' (337).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Australian Ground and Tree Drawings (1896)
Additional Remarks Concerning Aboriginal Bora Held at Gundabloui in 1894
Aboriginal Bora held at Gundabloui in 1894 (1894)
The Bora, or Initiation Ceremonies of the Kamilaroi Tribe (1895)
The Bora, or, Initiation Ceremonies of the Kamilaroi Tribe: Part 2 (1896)
The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes (1896)
The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes (Part II) (1897)
The Burbung, or Initiation Ceremonies of the Murrumbidgee Tribes (1897)
The Victorian Aborigines : Their Initiation Ceremonies and Divisional Systems (1898)
Initiation Ceremonies of the Wiradjuri Tribes (1901)
The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes (1900)
 

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Abstract: This is one of the first of Mathews' publications to deal exclusively with Aboriginal language. It is primarily concerned with Thoorga, the language spoken 'by the aborigines scattered along the coast of New South Wales from Bermagui northerly to Jervis Bay'. However, it also contains an appendix describing the Yookumbill language, spoken on the upper Macintyre River, a tributary to the Barwon in northern New South Wales. Mathews says of the main part of the article that '[e]very word in this paper has been taken down by myself from the lips of several old men and women of the Thoorga tribe on different occasions'. He acknowledges the assistance of H. E. Hockey, the manager of Wallaga Lake Aboriginal Station, who allowed 'free access to the natives under his charge'. Mathews comments on the system of orthography he has used in the article, explaining matters of pronunciation. This is followed by description of Thoorga grammar, organised under the following headings/sub-headings: 'Articles'; 'Nouns' (including sections on 'Number', 'Gender', 'Case'); 'Adjectives'; 'Pronouns'; 'Verbs' (including notes on 'Voice', 'Mood' and 'Tense'); 'Prepositions'; 'Adverbs'; 'Conjunctions'; 'Exclamations'; and 'Numerals'. This is followed by a section headed 'Aboriginal Songs at Initiation Ceremonies' in which Mathews provides lyrics, set to musical notation, of songs that formed part of the Bunan male initiation ceremony, practised on the New South Wales south coast and described in his article 'The Bunan Ceremony of New South Wales' (1896). The appendix describing Yookumbill runs to five pages and contains description of grammar only. This language, Mathews says, 'is representative, in its fundamental principles, of the speech of the aborigines of more than three-quarters of the geographic area of New South Wales'. The description of Yookumbill grammar is organised under the following headings/sub-headings: 'Nouns' (including sections on 'Number', 'Gender', 'Case'); 'Adjectives'; 'Pronouns'; 'Verbs' (including notes on 'Voice', 'Mood' and 'Tense'); 'Adverbs'; 'Interjections'; and 'Numerals'. The article concludes with a section headed 'Thoorga Vocabulary' which contains 460 words in English and Thoorga. The words are arranged under the following headings: 'The Human Body'; 'Natural Surroundings'; 'Mammals'; 'Birds'; 'Fishes'; 'Reptiles'; 'Insects'; 'Trees'; Plants'; 'Weapons, etc'; 'Adjectives'; 'Verbs'; 'Adverbs'.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Thoorga
2. Thurrawal
3. Dharrook
4. Gundungurra
5. Ngoonawal (Ngunawal)
6. Jirringan
7. Thawa
8. Wiraijuri

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Hawkesbury River
2. Cape Howe
3. South east coast of NSW
4. Bulli
5. Upper Macintyre
6. Barwon River
7. Murray River
8. Hawkesbury River

INFORMANTS
1. '[S]everal old men and women of the Thoorga tribe' (49).

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Refers to article contributed to Anthropological Society of Washington, in 1896, which described Bunan ceremony of initiation (61)
2. Refers to article contributed to Royal Society of New South Wales on Kudsha, preparatory inaugural rite (61).

CROSS-REFERENCES
'The Ngunawal is one of an aggregate of tribes whose sacred songs I have learnt and published, with the accompanying music, in an article I communicated to the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland in 1901. These are the first sacred songs of the Australian Aborigines which have ever been set to music.' p. 295 of 'The Wiradyuri and Other Languages of New South Wales' (1904).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘The Bunan Ceremony of New South Wales’ (1896)
‘The Thoorga and Other Australian Languages’ (1902)
 

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Abstract: This article is one of more than 20 publications documenting Aboriginal languages that Mathews published between 1900 and 1910. Mathews adopted a formula in his linguistic writings, using a template when documenting grammar and vocabulary. In this paper Mathews describes nine Aboriginal languages from various parts of eastern Australia. The languages are: Yualeai (spoken in southern Queensland around the Bokhara, Birrie, Narran, Ballonne and Moonie rivers); Pikumbil (spoken on the Weir and Macintyre rivers in Queensland); Kawambarai (spoken on the Barwon River, New South Wales, in the areas of Bogabilla, Boobera and Tulloona); Wongaibon (spoken along the Lachlan River from Booligal to Uabbalong and then to Nyngan, Cobar, Paddington and Ivanhoe); Kurnu (spoken along the Arling River from Tilpa to Bourke and up the Warrego River as far as Fords Bridge); the […] 'Mystic Language' spoken in Kurnu and Kamilaroi communities (this is a secret language used only by men […]); Dyirringan (spoken in the northern half of the County of Auckland on the south-east coast of New South Wales); Yota-Yota (spoken on the Murray River from Cobram for some distance below Echuca, extending south into Victoria as far as Shepparton and north into New South Wales to Deniliquin); and Bureba (spoken on both sides of the Murray River from Swan Hill to Wentworth). With all the languages except Tyake, Mathews describes the grammatical structure, arranging his material under headings/sub-headings that include: 'Nouns' (including sections on 'Number', 'Gender', 'Case'); 'Adjectives'; 'Pronouns'; 'Verbs' (including notes on 'Voice', 'Mood' and 'Tense'); 'Adverbs'; 'Prepositions'; 'Exclamations'; and 'Numerals'. The grammar of the […] 'mystic' languages is presumably the same as Kurnu or Kamilaroi. Mathews provides examples of vocabulary only. He does not reveal the circumstances in which the Kurnu secret language was explained to him, however he relates that the 'mystic language' of the Kamilaroi tribe was imparted when he attended the Bora ceremony at 'Tallwood', described in 'The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes' (1896). The article concludes with two sections of vocabulary. The 'Vocabulary of Kurnu Words' lists 220 terms in English, followed by their Kurnu equivalent. The words are arranged under the following headings: 'The Family'; 'The Human Body'; 'Inanimate Nature'; 'Mammals'; 'Birds'; 'Fishes'; 'Reptiles'; 'Invertebrates'; 'Weapons'; 'Adjectives'. This is succeeded by 'Vocabulary of Yualeai and Yota Yota Words' which lists 365 terms in English, followed by their equivalents in the two Aboriginal tongues. The words are arranged under the following headings: 'The Family'; 'The Human Body'; 'Inanimate Natural Objects'; 'Animals-Mammals'; 'Animals-Birds'; 'Animals-Fishes'; 'Animals-Reptiles'; 'Animals-Invertebrates'; 'Trees and Plants'; 'Weapons, Utensils, etc'; 'Adjectives'; 'Verbs. In this article Mathews does not name any Aboriginal informants, although he emphasises that '[e]very word has been carefully written down by myself from the lips of the native speakers'. In 'Langage des Kurnu, tribu d'Indigènes de la Nouvelle Galles du Sud' (1904) Mathews gives an expanded account of Kurnu grammar. In 'Australian Folk-Tales' (1909) he identifies one of his Jirringan (spelled here as Dyrringan) informants 'an old blackfellow whom the white people called 'Jerry''.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Yualeai
2. Pikumbil
3. Kawambarai
4. Wongaibon
5. Kurnu
6. Dyrringan (subsequently referred to as Jirringan)
7. Yotayota
8. Bureba
9. Kamilaroi
10. Dippil
11. Turubul
12. Wiradhuri
13. Thoorga language
14. Thawa
15. Muddhang
16. Ngarrugu
17. Yota-yota
18. Thaguwurru
19. Wamba-wamba
20. Giani-ginai
21. Yabula-yabula
22. Watti-watti
23. Latyu-latyu
24. Muti-muti
25. Nyerri-nyerri
26. Darti-darti
27. Birra-birra
28. Itha-itha

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Cape Howe
2. Maranoa River
3. Hawkesbury River
4. Burnett River
5. Bokhara River
6. Birrie River
7. Narran River
8. Ballonne River
9. Moonie River
10. Weir River
11. Macintyre River
12. Goondiwindi
13. Miles
14. Gandah
15. Maryborough
16. Ispwich
17. Leyburn
18. Barwon River NSW
19. Bogabilla NSW
20. Boobera NSW
21. Tulloona NSW
22. Lachlan River
23. Uabbalong
24. Nyngan
25. Cobar
26. Paddington
27. Ivanhoe
28. Darling River
29. Tilpa
30. Bourke
31. Warrego River
32. Fords Bridge
33. Wilcannia
34. Menindie
35. Wentworth
36. Torawotta Lake
37. Barrier Ranges
38. Paroo River
39. County of Auckland
40. Andersons Inlet
41. Tarwin River
42. County of Buln Buln
43. Murray River
44. Cobram
45. Euchuca VIC
46. Shepparton VIC
47. Deniliquin NSW
48. Swan Hill VIC

INFORMANTS
1. 'reliable old natives' (154).
2. 'old men and women in the native camps' (175).
3. 'native speakers' (179).
4. See cross-reference below.

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Work on languages of SA, VIC and NSW (135-6).
2. Article on 'The Aboriginal Languages of Victoria' (136).
3. Bora ceremonies of Kamilaroi (137).
4. Kamilaroi social organisation (137).
5. Work on initiation ceremonies of Dippil and Turubul (143).
6. Social organisation of Dippil and Turubul (143).
7. Papers on Wiradhuri social organisation (148).
8. Social organisation and initiation ceremonies of Barkunjee tribes (154).
9. Work on secret or cabalistic languages in NSW tribes (157).
10. List of words from the mystic language of the Kamilaroi, 'collected when attending the Bora ceremony held at Tallwood in 1895' (159).
11. 1896 Article on initiation ceremonies of the Dyirringan (161).
12. Notation of sacred songs (161).
13. Inauguration ceremonies and divisional systems amongst the Victoria Aborigines (168).

CROSS REFERENCES
‘Langage des Kurnu, tribu d’Indigènes de la Nouvelle Galles du Sud’ (1904) gives an expanded account of Kurnu grammar.
In 'Australian Folk-Tales' (1909) Mathews names 'an old blackfellow whom the white people called "Jerry"' as a Jirringan (spelled here as Dyrringan) informant.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes’ (1896).
 

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Abstract: 'The Natives of Australia' (transl.) is one of Mathews' nine French language publications. It was published in the proceedings of the Congrès Internationale d'Anthropologie et d'Archéologie Préhistoriques, in 1902. Although Mathews seems to have had a basic knowledge of French and German, there is no evidence that he wrote professionally in either language. A translator is credited in many of his French publications, and although none is acknowledged here, it is most likely that Mathews drafted the article in English. In 2004 the French text was translated back into English by Mathilde de Hauteclocque for inclusion in the Mirranen Archive. This paper is important for an understanding of Mathews' thinking about the meaning of kinship and initiation. He opens by expressing his ideas about the populating of mainland Australia and Tasmania. Mathews believes that this occurred in the distant past when Africa, Asia, Australia and Papua formed a great southern land mass called Lemuria. The 'first human beings', who were of a 'negroid type', spread across this territory during successive phases of migration. He proposes that in later periods the original 'primitive race' was followed 'by hostile tribes of a higher character and a more advanced civilisation'. These new arrivals were superior fighters. The original inhabitants, forced to abandon many of their old traditions, 'assimilated those from the victors'. The later immigrants, however, never reached Tasmania 'which had become an island following the subsidence of a strip of land which became Bass Strait'. Mathews was convinced that the descendants of these original inhabitants survived in certain regions of South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. They lacked the complex kinship system that was common across most of the continent. Instead, they had what Mathews called the Tooar (previously spelled 'tu-or') marriage system, in which 'old men assembled in council to appoint the women to the boys'. Mathews writes that in both their physical appearance and cultural practices, the Tooar communities 'greatly resemble the Tasmanians'. Mathews then discusses the more orthodox kinship and marriage systems found elsewhere in Australia-those in which communities are divided into two moieties that might be further divided into either two or four sections. He hypothesises that these systems are the residue of various tribal amalgamations. Mathews cites legends from the Yowerawarrika tribe to support his case. He also writes that the historical experience of migration and inter-tribal merging can be discerned in initiation ceremonies. Commenting on the ceremony at 'Tallwood', New South Wales, which he documented in 'The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribe' (1896), Mathews proposes that the removal of the novices from their mothers 'may be a symbol of what happened in the past'. During an enemy attack, he conjectures, 'a group of men may have taken charge of the women while the others took the young people away to bring them up in the traditions of the conquerors'. Mathews concludes the article by expressing his conviction that 'neither promiscuity, nor what has been called communal or group marriage ever existed among the Australian tribes'. This article is unusual amongst Mathews' articles because its interpretive approach goes well beyond the straightforward reportage found in the majority of his publications. Some of the ideas expressed here were also advanced in 'The Origin, Organization and Ceremonies of the Australian Aborigines' (1900) and 'Australian Tribes-their Formation and Government' (1906). He also discussed the Tooar marriage system in 'The Organisation, Language and Initiation Ceremonies of the Aborigines of the South-East Coast of N. S. Wales' (1900).
Notes: TRIBES
1. Barkunjee tribe
2. Yowerawarrika tribe
3. Miappe
4. Wombya
5. Kamilaroi

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Africa
2. Asia
3. Van Diemens Land [Tasmania]
4. Papua
5. Lemuria
6. Indian Ocean
7. New Guinea
8. New Caledonia
9. Melanesia
10. Polynesia
11. India
12. Ceylon
13. Nicobar
14. Andaman Islands
15. Malayan Peninsula
16. Java
17. Borneo
18. Celebes
19. Timor
20. South Australia
21. Western Australia
22. Victoria
23. New South Wales
24. Port Lincoln
25. Western Victoria

INFORMANTS
Nil.

CORRESPONDENTS
Nil.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. ‘Australian Divisional Systems’, Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. 32, 1898.
2. ‘Australian Divisional Systems’, Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. 32, 1898.
3. ‘The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes’, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, vol. 9 (new series), 1896.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes’ (1896)
‘The Origin, Organization and Ceremonies of the Australian Aborigines’ (1900)
‘The Organisation, Language and Initiation Ceremonies of the Aborigines of the South-East Coast of N. S. Wales’ (1900)
‘Australian Tribes—their Formation and Government’ (1906)
 

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Abstract: This substantial article on Western Australia includes sections on 'Origin of the Australian Aborigines'; 'Rock Pictures' (rock paintings, rock carvings); '[Social] Organisation'; 'Superstitions'; and 'Language'. There are short descriptions of initiation ceremonies and the extraction of teeth. The rock art material includes a description of line drawings of rock engravings and a photograph of a painted spirit figure from the Kimberley. The article is not based on personal investigation. Instead, Mathews made extensive use of European correspondents. He wrote to station owners, police officers and other settlers, seeking help in his research. Their assistance is acknowledged. In the section of the paper on social organisation Mathews surmises that in the past smaller tribes amalgamated into larger confederacies. He outlines the various types of kinship and marriage system operative in Western Australia. The section of the article on language gives vocabularies of the Roebourne and Lower Fitzroy districts. Each vocabulary is arranged under headings that include: 'Family Terms, Etc.'; 'Parts of the Body'; 'Natural Objects'; 'Animals'; 'Weapons'; 'Adjectives'. The article concludes with a minor correction of Mathews' article 'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of the Northern Territory' (1901). In 'Sociology of some Australian Tribes' (1905) Mathews modified his view that the Australian moieties are exogamous. He requested that '[i]n any of my previous articles…in which it may be stated that an aboriginal community comprises "two exogamous divisions," the reader is requested to substitute "two principal divisions."'
Notes: TRIBES
1. Wommalunna (language)
2. Andikarina
3. Arrinda
4. Chingalee
5. Inchalee
6. Warkya (or Waggaia)
7. Parnkalla
8. Yowerawarraka
9. Barkunjee
10. Kishu (language)

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Cumberland County
2. Hunter County
3. Upper Murchison River
4. Gascoyne River
5. Ashburton River
6. Fortescue River
7. Yule River
8. Mount Stewart Station
9. Hillside Station
10. Shaw River
11. De Grey River
12. Lyndon River
13. Murchison River
14. Depuch Island
15. Balla Balla
16. Ord River
17. Halls Creek
18. Margaret River
19. Sturt Creek
20. Fitzroy River
21. Fraser River
22. Lenard River
23. Glenelg River
24. Bachsten Creek
25. Calder River
26. Collier Bay
27. Dongarra
28. Onslow
29. Perth
30. Albany
31. Eucla
32. Norseman
33. Lake Barlee
34. Deeside Station
35. Georgina River
36. Lake Macdonald
37. Greenough River
38. Sanford River
39. Roderick River
40. Wooramel River
41. Lyons River
42. Weld Spring
43. Bonython Creek
44. Lake Throssall
45. Elder Creek
46. Glen Cumming
47. Oakover River
48. Throssell River
49. Roeburne district
50. Maitland River
51. Lower Fitzroy River
52. Ord River
53. Denham River
54. Wave Hill Station on Victoria River
55. Daly Waters
56. Elsey Creek
57. McArthur River
58. Calvert River
59. Rockland Station
60. Charlotte Waters
61. Alice Springs
62. Cape Arid
63. Fremantle
64. Shark Bay
65. Roebourne
66. Condon
67. Carnarvon
68. Geraldton
69. Derby
70. Wyndham
71. Beagle Bay
72. Weld Springs
73. Parker Ranges
74. Minilya River
75. Station at Lyndon River
76. Cossack
77. Yeeda Station, near Derby
78. Darling River

INFORMANTS
1. Station owners/managers (45).
2. Police Force (45).
3. Others, by recommendation of current informants (45).
4. Mr. H. A. Hall (48) - initials given as Mr. W. A. Hall on p. 64.
5. Mr. William Byron (near Balla Balla?) who sent Mathews 'about forty copies of rock carvings on Depuch Island, of which there are hundreds' (48).
7. Mr. J. Wilson (49).
8. Mr. J. C. Rose (49).
9. Mr. J. Hancock (49) and others (49).
10. Mr. Thos. Muir, J. P. of Deeside Station, WA (51).
11. Mr. J. Cahill, manager of Wave Hill Station, on Victoria River (53).
12. Mr. W. Holze, of Daly Waters (53).
13. Mr. M. Costello (54).
14. Mr. A. H. Glissan of Rockland Station (54).
15. Mr. H. T. Knight, station manager, Lyndon River (63).
16. Mr. G. Buchanan, Flora Valley Station, near Hall's Creek in the Kimberley district (63).
17. Baibung, 'a native of the Roebourne district' (66).
18. Mr. A. E. Clifton, manager of the Yeeda Station, near Derby (66).
19. Mr. W. J. Wilson, police officer at Hall's Creek, in the Kimberley district (66).

CORRESPONDENTS
1. Mr H. A. Hall / W. A. Hall.
2. Mr. William Byron (near Balla Balla?).
3. Mr. J. Wilson.
4. Mr. J. C. Rose.
5. Mr. J. Hancock.
6. Mr. Thos. Muir, J. P.
7. Mr. J. Cahill.
8. Mr. W. Holze.
9. Mr. M. Costello.
10. Mr H. T. Knight.
11. Mr. A. E. Clifton.
12. Mr. W. J. Wilson.

ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Drawing - rock carvings.
2. Photograph - rock painting.
3. Mathews believes that it is important to reproduce one of Mr. R. S. Brockman's photographs in this article 'because the Journal of this Society will go into many channels which will not be reached by the report of Mr. Brockman's discoveries' (50).

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Refers to work on probable origins of Aboriginal People and the development of some of their customs in an article contributed to the twelfth session of the International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archaeology, held at Paris in 1900 (45).
2. Refers to own published work on rock carvings in New South Wales (46).
3. Refers to work reported to the Anthropological Society at Paris in 1898, which describes paintings similar to those found by Mr. Brockman (50).
4. Refers to work on Nanarri system of New South Wales, described in 1900 (51).
5. Refers to work on details of the intermarriages of the Chingalee tribe, contributed to the Anthropological Society at Washington (53).
7. Refers to work contributed to the Royal Society of New South Wales (53-4).
8. Refers to work on the divisions of the Elsey Creek tribe contributed to the Society of Anthropology at Paris (54).
9. Refers to work on Chingalee vocabulary and totems contributed to the Royal Geographical Society at Brisbane in 1901. Mathews acknowledges the help of Mr. Holze in supplying some of the basic data for this piece (54).
10. Refers to work on the eight sections of the McArthur and Calvert Rivers tribes communicated in 1899 to American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia. Mathews acknowledges the help of Mr. Costello in supplying some of the basic data for this piece (54).
11. Refers to work on the eight sections of the Inchalachee and Warkya tribes, 'which were tabulated under my direction by Mr. A. H. Glissan, Rockland Station, and reported by me in 1899) (54).
12. Refers to work detailing descent of Northern Territory Tribes, contributed in 1901 to the Geographical Society of Queensland (61).
13. Refers to 'tolerably full descriptions' (61) given elsewhere of initiation ceremonies (61).
14. Refers to his article, 'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of the Northern Territory' (63).
15. Refers to his treatise on 'The Origin, Organisation, and Ceremonies of the Australian Aborigines', which is accompanied by a map ... (63).

CROSS-REFERENCES
‘Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of the Northern Territory’ (1901).
 

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Abstract: 'The Multyerra Initiation Ceremony' (transl.) is one of nine articles Mathews published in German. It appeared in Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft, a leading anthropological journal published in Vienna. While Mathews seems to have had a basic knowledge of French and German, there is no evidence that he could write professionally in either language. Although no translator is credited in any of the German articles, the existence of translator's comments in the published footnotes establish conclusively that someone other than the author translated the text from English into German. In 2004 the published German article was translated back into English by Christine Winter for inclusion in the Mirranen Archive. The article describes a form of male initiation ceremony known as the Multyerra, performed in various parts of southern Queensland and western New South Wales. The particular ceremony described here is practised by Kurnu people who occupy 'both shores of the Darling River from Bourke down until about Tilpa, as well as north and southwards into the hinterland of the Darling extending over large stretches'. Explaining how he obtained his information, Mathews says the 'details depicted here I have myself learned from intelligent old natives of the Kurnu tribe, whose veracity I could trust'. Mathews seems to have visited various groups of Kurnu people in conducting his research, for he says that he 'tested this information by obtaining a description of the ceremony from people from different parts of the tribal area and found that their information matched very well'. The article describes the general chronology of the ceremony. He gives an account of how neighbouring tribes are summoned for the ritual and how the ceremonial ground is prepared. The initiation itself, which involves tooth avulsion, is documented in detail. There is also extensive commentary on […] performances associated with the ritual. […]. While this is the only Mathews article describing a Kurnu initiation, he wrote about the Multyerra of the Muruwari people, neighbours of the Kurnu, in 'Initiation Ceremonies of the Murawarri and Other Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland' (1906-07).
Notes: TRIBES
1. Kurnu, a native tribe of New South Wales.
2. Kamilaroi
3. Wirradyuri
4. Darkinyung

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Both shores of the Darling river from Bourke down until about Tilpa as well as north and southwards into the hinterland of the Darling extending over large stretches of New South Wales.

INFORMANTS
1. 'intelligent old natives of the Kurnu tribe' (77).

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Previous reports on 'the initiation ceremonies of the Kamilaroi, Wirradyuri, Darkinyung and other tribes' (77).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘Initiation Ceremonies of the Murawarri and Other Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland’ (1906-07).
 

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Abstract: At a length of 178 pages, this is the most substantial journal article published by Mathews. With the addition of some extra material (on circumcision and subincision), it was entirely republished one year later as a book. For a detailed abstract see entry for Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria (1905).
Notes: TRIBES
1. Nguemba
2. Kamilaroi
3. Wirraidyuri
4. Thurrawal
5. Wombya
6. Parnkall community
7. Wailwan
8. Wongaibon
9. Thangatti
10. Kumbainggeri
11. Thoorga
12. Wirraidyuri language
13. Tharumba
14. Tyat-tyalli language
15. Wimmera
16. Woiwurru
17. Bunwurru
18. Wuddyawurru
19. Thaguwurru
20. Tyapwurru
21. Dhauhurtwurru
22. Bungandity
23. Peekwurru
24. Chaapwurru
25. Yota-Yota
26. Darkinung
27. Nimbaldi
28. Kurna

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Barwon River
2. Namoi River
3. Castlereagh River
4. Jerry's Plains (Hunter River)
5. Hunter River
6. Walgett
7. Mungindi on the Barwon River
8. Namoi River
9. Gwydir River
10. Hawkesbury River
11. Cape Howe
12. Brewarrina
13. Darling River
14. Bogan River
15. Nyngan
16. Cobar
17. Byrock
18. Mulga Creek
19. Macleay River
20. Narooma, County of Dampier
21. County of Dampier
22. Upper Lachlan River
23. Clarence River
24. County of Kara-Kara, VIC
25. Bourke, NSW
26. Louth, NSW
27. Swan Hill, VIC
28. Murray River
29. Grampian Hills
30. Wimmera River
31. Beaufort
32. Hexham
33. Wickliffe
34. Port Lincoln, SA
35. Lake Eyre Basin, SA
36. Warrnambool, VIC
37. Portland
38. Dhinmar (Lady Julia Percy Island)
39. Geelong, VIC
40. Castlemaine, VIC
41. Pyramid Hill
42. Forest Hill
43. Sturt's Creek, WA
44. Ord River, WA
45. Fitzroy River, WA
46. Upper Murray River
47. Mitta River
48. Kiewa River
49. Ovens River
50. Buffalo River
51. Upper Goulburn River
52. King River
53. Broken River
54. Yarra River
55. Saltwater River
56. Avoca River
57. Byrock, Parish of Bye, County of Cowper
58. Western Railway Line
59. Caronga Peak woolshed, near Byrock
60. Wilgaroon
61. Wittaguna
62. Lake Cudgellico
63. Kangaroo Valley
64. Upper Lachlan River
65. Port Phillip, VIC
66. Mount Freeling, SA
67. Daly River, NT
68. Tuross River
69. Mehi River
70. Gwydir River
71. Jeparit
72. Horsham Plain
73. Lake Hindmarsh
74. Lake Albacutya
75. Wonga Lake
76. Pine Plain
77. Cow Plain
78. Mukbilli
79. Milparinka
80. Tibooburra
81. Cobham
82. Broken Hill

CROSS-REFERENCES
See 1905 version of this paper for further information.
'Social Organisation of the Ngeumba Tribe, New South Wales' (1908) adds a genealogical table to supplement the material here on the Blood and Shade divisions.
'Folklore of some Aboriginal Tribes of Victoria' (1907) adds further stories from Victoria to those published here.
 

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Abstract: This article was Mathews' first contribution to Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. All five of Mathews' contributions to this German journal were published in English. The bulk of this article conforms to the more than twenty publications documenting Aboriginal languages that Mathews published between 1900 and 1910. In addition it contains brief statements on the kinship system and initiation practices of the Kogai people, who, as Mathews states, 'are scattered over an extensive region of Southern Queensland, watered by the Balonne, Maranoa and Coogoon rivers, and extending westerly towards Wallam Creek'. Mathews adopted a formula in his linguistic writings, using a template when documenting grammar and vocabulary. In explaining his purpose in this article, Mathews says that because the Australian Aborigines are 'rapidly dying out before the advancing tide of European civilization' something must be done to document the languages, ceremonies and social organisation before it is 'lost to science'. Mathews' description of Kogai grammar is preceded by an explanation of his orthography which, he states, is adapted from a circular issued by the Royal Geographical Society, London. The grammatical structure is documented. Mathews arranges his material under the following headings/sub-headings: 'Nouns'; 'Pronouns'; 'Verbs'; 'Adverbs'; 'Prepositions'; 'Conjunctions'; 'Interjections and Exclamations'; and 'Numerals'. Mathews then mentions a 'mystic' or secret language, used by men […]. While pointing to its existence, he does not give any examples of this secret language. The kinship system is described under the heading 'Social Organization of the Kogai'. He states that each tribe is divided into two phratries (moieties), each of which is divided into two sections. His observations on the Kogai initiation ceremony is confined to two paragraphs. He says it is 'identical' to the Kamilaroi Bora which he has previously described in 'The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes' (1896). The article concludes with a section headed 'Vocabulary of Kogai Words' which contains 335 English words, followed by their Kogai equivalents. The words are arranged under the following headings: 'The Family'; 'The Human Body'; 'Inanimate Natural Objects'; 'Mammals'; 'Birds'; 'Fish'; 'Reptiles'; 'Invertebrates'; 'Trees'; 'Weapons, etc'; 'Adjectives'; 'Verbs'. In 'Sociology of some Australian Tribes' (1905) Mathews modified his view that the Australian moieties are exogamous. He requested that '[i]n any of my previous articles…in which it may be stated that an aboriginal community comprises "two exogamous divisions," the reader is requested to substitute "two principal divisions."'
Notes: TRIBES
1. Kogai
2. Yualeai
3. Murawarri
4. Pikumbil

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Balonne River
2. Maranoa River
3. Coogoon River
4. Wallam Creek

INFORMANTS
Not applicable.

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Yualeai grammar and vocabulary, Royal Society of New South Wales (first page).
2. Murawarri language, Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (first page).
3. Pikumbil grammar (first page).
4. Mathews refers to his discovery of the double form of the first person of the dual and plural: 'It may me mentioned that I was the first author to give full details of this peculiarity in the aboriginal languages of Australia' (second page).
5. Mystic language Royal Society of New South Wales: 'I was the first author), [sic] to draw attention to this mystic tongue …. I consider my discovery of this mystic form of speech is of great linguistic importance, and I invite the reader to peruse the vocabularies in the book referred to' (sixth page).1901 article on songs used at initiation ceremonies, Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (sixth page).
 

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Abstract: This article is one of more than 20 publications documenting Aboriginal languages that Mathews published between 1900 and 1910. He adopted a formula in his linguistic writings, using a template when documenting grammar and vocabulary. In this paper Mathews describes Dhauhurtwurru, the language spoken by the Ngutuk people who live around Portland and Lake Condah in Victoria. The article also contains observations on initiation, folklore and kinship. In explaining how he acquired this information, Mathews says that he spoke to 'old men and women in the native camps'. He does not name his informants. In the opening paragraph Mathews states his motivation for conducting this research. He began to take 'special journeys among the remnants of the Victorian tribes' because 'the rites and customs of the people had not received the attention which their importance deserved'. Mathews then explains the system of orthography used in the article. He states that the method he has used is adapted from a circular issued by the Royal Geographical Society, London. This is followed by a description of the grammatical structure of Dhauhurtwurru in which material is arranged under the following headings/sub-headings: 'Articles'; 'Nouns' (including sections on 'Number', 'Gender', 'Case'); 'Adjectives'; 'Pronouns'; 'Verbs' (including notes on 'Voice', 'Mood' and 'Tense'); 'Adverbs'; 'Prepositions'; 'Conjunctions'; and 'Numerals'. The grammar is followed by a section headed 'Vocabulary' which contains about 260 English words, followed by their equivalents in Dhauhurtwurru. The words are arranged under the following headings: 'The Family'; 'The Human Body'; 'Inanimate Nature'; 'Mammals'; 'Fishes'; 'Reptiles'; 'Invertebrates'; 'Weapons, etc'; 'Adjectives'; 'Verbs'. The linguistic material is succeeded by other ethnographic data. Initiations are mentioned in one short paragraph which refers the reader to the Mathews' descriptions of the Wonggumuk and Kannety ceremonies, published in 'Some Initiation Ceremonies of the Aborigines of Victoria' (1905). A section headed 'Folklore' recounts two legends that were told to Mathews 'by some old aboriginals of the Hopkins and Eumeralla rivers in western Victoria'. The first, titled 'Tyuron, the Eel Spearer', concerns a man of the Kappaty phratry who was a notable ancestor of the plovers. The second, titled 'Murkupang and Mount Shadwell', concerns Murkupang, a giant hairy man who lives in a cave on the Hopkins River. He creates various landmarks after killing two children. He turns into the mopoke after being tracked down by warriors. A section headed 'Sociology' describes the kinship and marriage system of western Victoria. The communities are divided into two intermarrying phratries (moieties) which are not divided into sections. Mathews published a slightly expanded version of the story 'Murkupang and Mount Shadwell' in American Antiquarian under the title 'A Giant in a Cave-An Australian Legend' (1907). In 'Sociology of some Australian Tribes' (1905) Mathews modified his view that the Australian moieties are exogamous. He requested that '[i]n any of my previous articles…in which it may be stated that an aboriginal community comprises "two exogamous divisions," the reader is requested to substitute "two principal divisions."'
Notes: TRIBES
1. Dhauhurtwurru
2. Bungandity
3. Wuddyawurru
4. Tyattyalli
5. Kamilaroi

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Portland, VIC
2. Lake Condah, VIC
3. Glenelg River
4. Gellibrand River
5. Hopkins River
6. Eumeralla River
7. Maroona
8. Wickliffe
9. Hexham
10. Mount Shadwell
11. Castlemaine
12. Pyramid Hill
13. Lake Tyrell
14. Lady Julia Percy Island ('the native name of which is Denmar') (70).
15. Warnambool

INFORMANTS
1. 'old men and women in the native camps' (62).
2. 'the aboriginal speakers' (55).
3. 'some old aborigines of the Hopkins and Eumeralla rivers in western Victoria' (66).
4. 'some old blackfellows' (70).

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. 1898 paper contributed to Anthropological Society at Washington on initiation ceremonies and divisional systems of Victorian Aborigines (55).
2. 'In 1902 I read another paper on the aboriginal languages of Victoria before the Royal Society of New South Wales' (55).
3. 'I was the first to report, in any of the Australian languages, the important grammatical forms referred to in this paragraph' (55).
4. 'my Bungandity grammar' (60).
5. 'my Kamilaroi grammar' (61).
6. 'I have elsewhere described some important ceremonies of initiation in use among the native tribes of Victoria' (66). He goes on to briefly describe some of these ceremonies (65).
7. 'Other inaugural ceremonies used in eastern Victoria and elsewhere are described by me in a contribution tot he Anthropological Society at Washington' (66).
8. Article published in 1898: 'I gave a short description of the social organisation of the tribes occupying the southwestern districts of Victoria' (68).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
'Some Initiation Ceremonies of the Aborigines of Victoria' (1905)
'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria' (1905)
An expanded version of ‘Murkupang and Mount Shadwell’ was published as 'A Giant in a Cave—An Australian Legend' (1907).

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Reference Type: Journal Article**
Record Number: 158
Author: Mathews, R. H.
Year: 1904
Title: The Wiradyuri and other Languages of New South Wales
Journal: Journal of the Anthropological Institute
Volume: 34
Pages: 284-305
Keywords: Ceremonies - initiation
Kinship and marriage
Language elicitation

Abstract: This article is one of more than 20 publications documenting Aboriginal languages that Mathews published between 1900 and 1910. Mathews adopted a formula in his linguistic writings, using a template when documenting grammar and vocabulary. In this paper Mathews describes three New South Wales languages: Wiradyuri (also spelled Wiradjuri), spoken in 'an immense region in the central and southern portions' of the state; Burreba-Burreba, spoken 'from about Deniliquin to Moulamein, and from the latter southerly towards the Murray river'; and Ngunawal, spoken in 'the country from Goulburn to Yass and Burrowa, extending southerly to Lake George and Goodradigbee'. Mathews says he gathered the information personally from speakers of the languages. This is followed by a statement on the system of orthography used in the article. Mathews states that his method is adapted from a circular issued by the Royal Geographical Society, London. Mathews then describes the grammatical structure of Wiradyuri, arranging his material under the following headings/sub-headings: 'Nouns' (including sections on 'Number', 'Gender', 'Case'); 'Adjectives'; 'Pronouns'; 'Verbs' (including notes on 'Voice', 'Mood' and 'Tense'); 'Prepositions'; 'Adverbs'; 'Interjections; and 'Numerals'. The grammar of Burreba-Burreba and Ngunawal and described in similar fashion. There is a brief section headed 'Initiation Ceremonies and Marriage Laws' which concerns the Burreba-Burreba community only. Mathews says that their initiation ceremonies are 'the same in all essential respects' to those of the Wiradyuri which he has described in 'The Burbung, or Initiation Ceremonies of the Murrumbidgee Tribes' (1897). The kinship and marriage system is also similar to the Wiradyuri. He explains it by means of a table which shows the community to be divided into two exogamous phratries (moieties), each of which is divided into two sections. The article concludes with a section headed 'Vocabulary of Wiradyuri Words' which contains about 430 English words, followed by their equivalents in Wiradyuri. The words are arranged under the following headings: 'Family Terms'; 'Parts of the Body'; 'Natural Objects'; 'ANIMALS-Mammals'; 'ANIMALS-Birds'; 'ANIMALS-Fishes'; 'ANIMALS-Reptiles'; 'ANIMALS-Invertebrates'; 'Trees and Plants'; 'Weapons'; 'Adjectives'; 'Verbs'. This is followed by 'Vocabulary of Ngunawal Words' in which 290 words are arranged under the same headings. There is no vocabulary of Burreba-Burreba.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Wiradyuri
2. Ngunawal
3. Kamilaroi
4. Burreba-burreba language

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Goulburn
2. Yass
3. Burrowa
4. Lake George
5. Goodradigbee
6. Lachlan River
7. Macquarie River
8. Murrumbidgee River
9. Deniliquin
10. Moulamein
11. Murray River
12. Swan Hill

INFORMANTS
1. ' the old native men and women who still speak the native tongue' (285).
2. 'Wiradyuri natives' (299).
3. ' old men and women in the native camps' (302-3).

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Map in article published by American Philosophical Society 1898 (284).
2. Map in article published by Royal Society of New South Wales 1898 (284).
3. Map in article published by Anthropological Society at Washington 1898 (284).
4. Article on Kamilaroi language published by Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain (284).
5. Article on Wiradyuri initiation ceremonies (285).
6. Wiradyuri initiation ceremonies (294).
7. 1896 article on Bunan ceremony Anthropological Society at Washington (294).
8. 1900 account of abbreviated inaugural ceremony (294).
9. 1901 article on songs, including musical notation, Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (295).
 

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Abstract: Running to 183 pages, this book is Mathews' longest and most substantial anthropological publication. Printed by W. F. White in Sydney, it was jointly funded by Mathews and the Royal Society of New South Wales. While the ten-page appendix is new, the remainder of the text-as the author acknowledges-is an exact replication of the long article of the same title, published in in 1904. It was not common for the Royal Society to publish articles of such great length. Perhaps in recognition of Mathews' substantial publication record the society accommodated this article in the journal and then assisted financially in the production of the book. However the involvement of the Royal Society imposed certain restrictions upon Mathews who, by 1905, had been regularly publishing ethnological material for twelve years, and would have been in a position to release his major findings in book form. This was not possible in a publication backed by the Royal Society which had received complaints about Mathews republishing in different journals some of his early articles on initiation and rock art. The society insisted, as Mathews states, that the 'Ethnological Notes' contain 'original matter only, which had never been published anywhere before'. Mathews could not re-present or refine earlier findings and found it necessary to 'enumerate all my former works' in a bibliography. Ninety-five publications are listed, although the bibliography is not definitive. Some publications, including all his contributions to Science of Man, are omitted. Others, listed as independent titles (eg. 'Dharruk Language and Vocabulary'), are only sections or appendices of other articles. Owing to the length of this publication, it is not possible to give a full summary in this abstract. The overall scope of the book can be determined from the Table of Contents, cited below.

CONTENTS
Introduction
System of Spelling
Sociology of the Nguemba Tribes
Sociology of the Kamilaroi Tribes
Sociology of the Thurrawal Tribes
Childbirth
The Nguemba Language
The Nguemba Vocabulary
Language of the Thangatti Tribe
Thangatti Vocabulary
Pirrimbir or Avenging Expedition
Explanation of Illustration
The Search for Food
Food Regulations, Totems, etc
Mumbirbirri or Scarring the Body
Some Burial and Mourning Customs
Sorcery or Magic
Aboriginal Astronomy-the Zodiac
Sociology of the Tribes of Western Victoria
Sociology of the Tribes of Eastern Victoria
Language of Mothers-in-law
The Wonggoa or Wongupka Ceremony
The Tyibbauga Ceremony
The Dolgarrity Ceremony
Notes on the Initiation of Girls
Aboriginal Mythology and Folklore
- Baiame
- Dhurramulan
- Miscellaneous Superstitions
- Dyillagamberra the Rainmaker
- How the Wongaibon obtained Fire
- How Water was obtained by the Makilaroi People
- The Dhiel and her Water-trough
- Yandhangga
- The Moon and its Halo
- Two Young Men and the Moon
- The Yaroma
- Wallanthagang
- The Wawi and the Song-makers
Achievements of the Brambambults
1. The Ngihdyal
2. Ngaut-ngaut
3. Wirnbullain
4. Dyuni-dyunity
5. Gartuk
APPENDIX
Rite of Subincision
Additional Folklore
The Bat, his Wives and the Native Cat
Origin of Tulliwaka Ana-branch

As the Table of Contents indicates, the book is something of a mixed bag of ethnographic data. In some parts, such as the sections on the Nguemba and Thangatti languages, the exposition is similar to that of his many other articles containing linguistic documentation. Yet there are aspects of this book that break new ground. The Preface contains information on Mathews' motivations and working methods. The Introduction opens with two pages of autobiographical reflections on the author's childhood and background as a surveyor. The material on the 'Sociology of the Ngeumba Tribe' contains data not previously reported by any author. The Ngeumba-speaking people, according to Mathews, 'formerly occupied the country from Brewarrina to the Darling River southerly up the Bogan almost to Nyngan.' Their territory also stretched westwards beyond Cobar and Byrock, including 'the upper portions of Mulga Creek and surrounding country'. In his writings on Aboriginal kinship and marriage, Mathews had written extensively about the phratries (moieties), sections and totemic groups into which communities were divided. While Mathews' research pointed to the existence of a similar kinship structure in Ngeumba society, he writes that the system was further complicated by 'blood' and 'shade' divisions which he refers to as 'castes'. These caste distinctions, he reports, must also be taken into account when spouses are selected. They also 'regulate the camping or resting places of the people under the shades of large trees in the vicinity of water or elsewhere'. Many other sections of the book contain unique insights on Aboriginal life in Victoria and New South Wales. Especially notable are the sections on childbirth, scarification, burial and astronomy. The 'Notes on the Initiation of Girls' run to only two-and-a-half pages, but they are notable because the (mostly male) anthropologists of this period paid scant attention to the ceremonial life of women. The section titled 'Aboriginal Mythology and Folklore' is Mathews' most substantial documentation of story-telling traditions. Although he retells the stories in his own words (he never attempted to replicate the syntax of his informants), the documentation is invaluable. Individual informants are not identified, however he does name the tribe or locality from which each story originated. Mathews' perspective as a surveyor-his interest in topographical specificity-is fully apparent in his recording of folklore. The stories frequently explain the formation of rivers, mountains and other landmarks. The section of the appendix titled 'The Rite of Subincision' was not included in the 1904 version of the publication is preceded with a warning that parts of it are 'not suitable for the general lay reader'. It describes the initiatory rite of subincision, […] which was practised in a small part of northwest New South Wales (and in many other parts of Australia). Mathews describes the operation in some detail and reproduces two photographs of a subincised penis that were first published by Professor T. P. Anderson-Stuart in volume 30 of the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. In 'Sociology of some Australian Tribes' (1905) Mathews modified his view that the Australian moieties are exogamous. He requested that '[i]n any of my previous articles…in which it may be stated that an aboriginal community comprises 'two exogamous divisions,' the reader is requested to substitute 'two principal divisions.'' In 'Australian Folk-tales' (1909) he revealed that the story of Yarroma was told to him by the Jirringan (Dyirringan) tribe of the New South Wales South Coast.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Nguemba
2. Kamilaroi
3. Wirraidyuri
4. Thurrawal
5. Wombya
6. Parnkall community
7. Wailwan
8. Wongaibon
9. Thangatti
10. Kumbainggeri
11. Thoorga
12. Wirraidyuri language
13. Tharumba
14. Tyat-tyalli language
15. Wimmera
16. Woiwurru
17. Bunwurru
18. Wuddyawurru
19. Thaguwurru
20. Tyapwurru
21. Dhauhurtwurru
22. Bungandity
23. Peekwurru
24. Chaapwurru
25. Yota-Yota
26. Darkinung
27. Nimbaldi
28. Kurna

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Barwon River
2. Namoi River
3. Castlereagh River
4. Jerry's Plains (Hunter River)
5. Hunter River
6. Walgett
7. Mungindi on the Barwon River
8. Namoi River
9. Gwydir River
10. Hawkesbury River
11. Cape Howe
12. Brewarrina
13. Darling River
14. Bogan River
15. Nyngan
16. Cobar
17. Byrock
18. Mulga Creek
19. Macleay River
20. Narooma, County of Dampier
21. County of Dampier
22. Upper Lachlan River
23. Clarence River
24. County of Kara-Kara, VIC
25. Bourke, NSW
26. Louth, NSW
27. Swan Hill, VIC
28. Murray River
29. Grampian Hills
30. Wimmera River
31. Beaufort
32. Hexham
33. Wickliffe
34. Port Lincoln, SA
35. Lake Eyre Basin, SA
36. Warrnambool, VIC
37. Portland
38. Dhinmar (Lady Julia Percy Island)
39. Geelong, VIC
40. Castlemaine, VIC
41. Pyramid Hill
42. Forest Hill
43. Sturt's Creek, WA
44. Ord River, WA
45. Fitzroy River, WA
46. Upper Murray River
47. Mitta River
48. Kiewa River
49. Ovens River
50. Buffalo River
51. Upper Goulburn River
52. King River
53. Broken River
54. Yarra River
55. Saltwater River
56. Avoca River
57. Byrock, Parish of Bye, County of Cowper
58. Western Railway Line
59. Caronga Peak woolshed, near Byrock
60. Wilgaroon
61. Wittaguna
62. Lake Cudgellico
63. Kangaroo Valley
64. Upper Lachlan River
65. Port Phillip, VIC
66. Mount Freeling, SA
67. Daly River, NT
68. Tuross River
69. Mehi River
70. Gwydir River
71. Jeparit
72. Horsham Plain
73. Lake Hindmarsh
74. Lake Albacutya
75. Wonga Lake
76. Pine Plain
77. Cow Plain
78. Mukbilli
79. Milparinka
80. Tibooburra
81. Cobham
82. Broken Hill


INFORMANTS
1. 'my aboriginal informants' (v).
2. 'the wife of a station manager in the north-western districts of New South Wales. This lady had been a trained nurse and has witnessed several cases of accouchement among the black women on the station where she resided' - childbirth (15).
3. 'the aboriginal speakers' - Thangatti vocabulary (34).
4. 'the remnants of the native tribes' - avenging expedition (37).
5. 'two old aborigines' - tree markings and songs (48).
6. 'the aborigines in various places in New South Wales and Victoria' - food procurement (50).
7. 'My informants were old men who had been operated on in their youth, who showed me their scars, and had a very vivid recollection of the formalities connected with the ordeal' - scarring (60).
8. 'old blackfellows' - on trees and astronomy (80).
9. 'old natives' - star names (81).
10. 'A very old Gurgoity blackfellow on the Wimmera River' (90).
11. 'native men who had passed through the ceremonies' (105).
12. 'an old woman of the Wuddyawurru tribe' - several interviews 'respecting the language and customs of her people (133).
13. 'an old native' on the Mitta Mitta and Ovens Rivers - on the initiation of girls (134).
14. 'old men and women' (135) - myths and folklore

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Photographs of a tree marked by Pirrimbir Warriors (49).
2. Photographs showing the the effect of subincision on the organ (175).

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. 1904 article of same title: 'This fact will no doubt be considered a sufficient guarantee that it is up to the standard required in scientific investigations' (iii).
2. States that the Royal Society of New South Wales has restricted him to 'original matter only, which had never been published anywhere before' (iv), and that, because he couldn't include any of his previous writings, he had to 'enumerate all my former works in the 'Bibliography'' (iv).
3. 'I have recorded and published the grammars of fifty Australian languages and dialects' (iv).
4. Refers readers to 'the comprehensive maps of Australia printed in some of the articles enumerated in the 'Bibliography'' (v).
5. In previous contributions 'I have comprehensively dealt with aboriginal rock-pictures, languages, the bora and several other initiation ceremonies, bullroarers, message-sticks, and native customs generally' (vi).
6. More self-promotion: 'my works have been distributed into the libraries of most of the learned Societies throughout the world' (vi).
7. Refers to methods of other researchers: 'I have adopted none of the opinions nor followed any of the methods of other Australian authors, but have struck out on my own lines, recording all the new and interesting facts within my reach' (2, emphasis added).
8. Treatises on aboriginal ceremonies and customs published in European and American journals (2-3).
9. States that he has introduced some additional rules of orthoepy to meet the requirements of Australian pronunciation (3).
10. Original work on Kamilaroi grammar and vocabulary, published last year (13).
11. Refers to work published on the secret language of the Kamilaroi 1902 (14).
12. Article contributed to Royal Society of New South Wales in 1900 re Thurrawal social organisation (14).
13. 1898 report on eight sections of Wombya tribe, NT (15).
14. 1900 report on eight sections of Wombya tribe, NT (15).
15. Reports that the languages of both Wailwan and Wongaibon have already been published by himself (17).
16. Refers to himself as the first author to report on the importance of pronouns (19).
17. Grammar and vocabulary of Wirraidyuri language contributed to Anthropological Institute of Great Britain 1904 (60-1).
18. Initiation ceremonies of Wirraidyuri contributed to Royal Geographical Society at Brisbane, 1896 (61).
19. Social organisation of Wirraidyuri contributed in two articles to Anthropological Society at Washington in 1897 (61).
20. Dolgarrity ceremony (84).
21. Article on origin of the intermarrying divisions of Australian tribes, read at International Congress on Anthropology and Archæology held at Paris in 1900 (88).
22. Article on sectional divisions, 1897 (88).
23. Article on 'confederacy' hypothesis: 'possibly in the distant past the present names of the sections represented small independent tribes, which became incorporated with each other, for the purpoe of mutual defence, or for other reasons' (88).
24. Tyat-tyalli grammar and vocabulary published in 1902 (90).
25. 1900 - marriage laws of Parnkall nation (94).
26. 1900 - 'limits of the country occupied by the Parnkall nation, and supplied a map, which no previous author had attempted, in which the boundaries were accurately delineated' (94).
27. 1900 - initiation ceremonies of the Parnkalla nation (94).
28. Intermarrying laws and inaugural ceremonies among eastern Victoria tribes, contributed to Anthropological Society at Washington in 1898 (96).
29. 1899 sociology of tribes on Sturt's Creek, Ord River, Fitzroy River, WA, 'which was the first time the eight-section system had ever been reported in that State' (103).
30. 1900 article on geographic limits of eight-section system (103): 'I was the first to observe and publish the marriages which are provisionally distinguished as 'alternative,' 'rare,' and 'exceptional'' (103).
31. Grammars published in New South Wales and America on south-western Victorian languages (102-3).
32. Work on mystic language of the Kamilaroi, communicated to the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain (104).
33. Kannety ceremony of initiation in south-west Victoria (120).
34. Wonggumuk ceremony in central and northern districts of Victoria (120).
35. Grinding places reported and illustrated previously (140).
36. Additional information supplied in a paper which was read before the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1904 (174).
37. 1900 article on phallic rites and initiation ceremonies in SA (174). Photographs of subincised penis complement this article (174).

CROSS-REFERENCES
‘Australian Folk-tales’ (1909) reveals that the story of Yarroma was told to Mathews by the Jirringan (Dyirringan) tribe of the New South Wales South Coast.
 

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Abstract: This article describes two male initiation ceremonies practised in Victoria. The Wonggumuk ceremony occurs on the Campaspe, Lodden and Lower Goulburn rivers, also crossing the Murray into New South Wales. The Kannety ceremony is practised in the territory between the Gellibrand and Glenelg rivers, extending westward into South Australia. Mathews states that all information was gathered personally from Aboriginal people 'whilst visiting their camps in the pursuit of my investigations respecting their language, their laws of marriage, and their customs generally'. The section on the Wonggumuk describes the chronology of the ceremony. This involves the dispatch of messengers who summon neighbouring tribes. A general meeting occurs and the novices are ceremonially painted and separated from their mothers. Then the course of the ceremony, including performances and other rituals, is described in some detail. The Kannety ceremony is described in similar, though less comprehensive, fashion. While the Wonggumuk involves tooth avulsion, the Kennety ceremony involves the plucking out of facial and body hair. There is no indication that Mathews attended either ceremony, instead basing his account on the recollections of informants.
Notes: TRIBES
Not applicable.

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Campaspe River
2. Lodden River
3. Lower Goulburn River
4. Murray River
5. Gellibrand River
6. Glenelg River

INFORMANTS
1. Aboriginal People (872).

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
Not applicable.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
'Australian Ground and Tree Drawings' (1896)
'Additional Remarks Concerning Aboriginal Bora Held at Gundabloui in 1894' (1896)
'Aboriginal Bora held at Gundabloui in 1894' (1894)
'The Bora, or Initiation Ceremonies of the Kamilaroi Tribe' (1895)
'The Bora, or, Initiation Ceremonies of the Kamilaroi Tribe: Part 2' (1896)
'The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes' (1896)
'The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes (Part II)' (1897)
'The Burbung, or Initiation Ceremonies of the Murrumbidgee Tribes' (1897)
'The Victorian Aborigines: Their Initiation Ceremonies and Divisional Systems' (1898)
'Initiation Ceremonies of the Wiradjuri Tribes' (1901)
'The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes' (1900)

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Abstract: ‘Notes on the natives of Australia’ (transl.) is one of nine articles Mathews published in German. It appeared in Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft, a leading anthropological journal published in Vienna. While Mathews seems to have had a basic knowledge of French and German, there is no evidence that he could write professionally in either language. In 2004 the published German article was translated back into English by Christine Winter for inclusion in the Mirranen Archive. Mathews deals with various subjects and localities in this article which is divided into three sections. The first, headed ‘Sociology of the Ngunnhalgu, Mailpurlgu and Maraura Tribes’, describes kinship and marriage customs of several communities residing along the Darling River in western New South Wales. In outlining the territory of these groups, Mathews writes that the Ngunnhalgu are neighbours of the Kurnu people. The Ngunnhalgu live along the Darling from Winbar to Wilcannia. Some way south of the latter settlement, they border with the Mailpurlgu whose territory extends downriver to include the towns of Menindee and Cuthero. The Maraura people occupy the lower parts of the Darling River, their territory extending to the town of Wentworth at the Murray junction. Mathews says that all these communities are divided into two phratries (or moieties). The system perpetuates itself matrilineally over generations, with children in all cases sharing the moiety of their mother. Every individual has a totem, and while it is possible for a man to take a wife from his own moiety, marriage within totemic groups is strictly forbidden. Mathews also writes that people are further classified according to the ‘blood’ and ‘shade’ divisions that he had observed in other parts of western New South Wales. The second part of the article is titled ‘Sociology of some Queensland Tribes’. Concerned with the marriage and kinship customs of north Queensland, it describes the Chunkunji, Gamete and Tanegute tribes who live in the vicinity of Batavia River. They are speakers of the Ngerikudi language which has various dialects. These communities are divided into two phratries (moieties), each of which is divided into two sections. Every individual has a totem. Both sections and totems descend matrilineally through the generations. Mathews briefly mentions male initiation and scarification in these communities. The final section of the article is titled ‘Gure or Revenge Expeditions’. It describes a traditional method of wreaking revenge on an enemy, practised along the Victoria, upper Murray, Mitta Mitta, Ovens, upper Goulburn and Yarra rivers in Victoria. Information was provided by a ‘native from the Mitta Mitta River in northeast Victoria’. Mathews gives a detailed account of the expedition, describing the preparation of weapons, the use of magic spells, the carving of designs onto gray box trees and the attack itself. This type of expedition bore similarity to the pirrimbir which Mathews had described in Notes on the Aborigines of New South Wales (1907).
Notes: TRIBES
1. Ngunnhalgu
2. Mailpurlgu
3. Maraura
4. Kurnu
5. Ngeumba
6. Kamilaroi
7. Wirraidyuri
8. Wailwan
9. Wongaibon
10. Chunkunji
11. Gamete
12. Tanegute
13. Ngerikudi

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Darling River, NSW.
2. Wilcannnia
3. Winbar
4. Menindee
5. Cuthero
6. Wentworth
7. Cape York
8. Mapoon
9. Batavia River
10. Duyphen Point
11. Jardine River
12. Archer River
13. State of Victoria
14. Murray River
15. Mitta Mitta River
16. Ovens River
17. Goulburn River
18. Yarra River

INFORMANTS
1. A ‘native from the Mitta Mitta River in northeast Victoria’.

CORRESPONDENTS
1. No reference.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. ‘Sociology of some Australian Tribes’ (1905).
2. ‘Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria’ (1904), pp. 206-16.
3. ‘Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland’ (1904-05).
 

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Reference Type: Journal Article**
Record Number: 84
Author: Mathews, R. H.
Year: 1906-07
Title: Initiation Ceremonies of the Murawarri and Other Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland
Journal: Queensland Geographical Journal
Volume: 22
Pages: 64-73
Keywords: Ceremonies - initiation

Abstract: This article is a further contribution to Mathews' extensive documentation of male initiation ceremonies in eastern Australia. It concerns the Multyerra, a form of initiation practised by the Murawarri (Muruwari) and Baddyeri communities of southern Queensland. Mathews obtained the information personally 'from intelligent old natives belonging to each of the tribes mentioned'. The description of the initiation, which involves tooth avulsion, bears generic similarities to other New South Wales and Queensland ceremonies previously described by Mathews. However the generalised quality of the account, and the fact that no initiation site is mentioned, suggests that Mathews was not writing about a particular ceremony. He gives a chronology of the ceremony, commencing with the dispatch of messengers to summon neighbouring tribes. A general camp is formed and the initiates are ceremonially taken from their mothers and taken into the bush where the rituals are performed. Mathews concludes the article with some minor corrections of 'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland' (1904-05), published in Queensland Geographical Journal. A description of the Multyerra performed by the Kurnu people of New South Wales appeared in 'Die Multyerra-Initiationszeremonie' (1904).
Notes: TRIBES
1. Murawarri, Muruwari
2. Baddyeri
3. Inchalachee
4. Kamilaroi
5. Wirradyuri
6. Darkinyung
7. Yualeai
8. Pikumbil
9. Kogai
10. Burranbinya
11. Kurnu

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Port Curtis
2. Dawson River
3. Condamine River
4. Halifax Bay
5. Georgina River
6. Gilbert River
7. Gulf of Carpentaria
8. Cape York Peninsula

INFORMANTS
1. 'intelligent old natives belonging to each of the tribes mentions' (64).

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. 1902 grammar of Murawarri language (64).
2. 1905 social structure of Murawarri, Baddyeri, Inchalachee and other tribes in southern and northwestern Queensland (64).
3. 1900 description of Toara ceremony of initiation in Queensland: 'That was the first account of the Toara which had ever appeared. I therefore claim the credit of being the first to preserve a record of these two important and interesting ceremonies' (64).
4. Reports on initiation ceremonies of Kamilaroi, Wirradyuri, Darkinung (65).
5. Grammars and vocabularies of Yualeai, Pikumbil, Kogai (72).
6. 1902 Murawarri grammar which described forms of the personal pronoun (72).
7. 1898 work on social divisions and intermarrying lays in Queensland (72).
8. 1900 sociology of aboriginal tribes on Cape York Peninsula (73).
9. 'I was the first author, and as far as I am aware, the only one, who has reported the eight section system in Queensland' (73).

CROSS REFERENCES
Minor corrections to ‘Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland’ (1904-05) appear on page 73 of this article.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘Die Multyerra-Initiationszeremonie’ (1904).

 

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Abstract: This is a forty-page booklet aimed at a general audience. It was published by the New South Wales Government Printer and in the main it replicates material covered in earlier publications. The text is organised under eleven headings. 'Sociology of the Ngeumba Tribe' describes the kinship and marriage customs of the Ngeumba people who live in the vicinity of Brewarrina in northwest New South Wales. Mathews describes how the communities is organised into moieties and sections. He also describes the 'blood' and 'shade' divisions which also influence betrothals. He had previously written about this in Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria (1905) and other publications. The section headed 'The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes' replicates the account of the male initiation ceremony at 'Tallwood' in 1895. Mathews had visited the site of this ceremony and written about it in 'The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes' (1896). Much of the text here replicates the earlier article, however the two illustrations are new. They consist of a map of the bora encampment and a plate showing 54 tree carvings and ground designs […]. The carvings and designs are described in explanatory notes. The section titled 'Aboriginal Weapons, & c.' describes 35 artifacts used by the Kutthung of Port Stephens and adjacent tribes. The spears, shields, boomerangs, etc. are illustrated in two photographic plates which were supplied by Mathews' friend W. J. Enright who had previously reproduced them in articles published by the Royal Society of New South Wales. Sections titled 'Aboriginal Rock Paintings' and 'Aboriginal Rock Carvings' contain illustrations and descriptions of rock art sites from the Sydney region. Most, if not all, had previously been described in Mathews' earlier rock art publications. A section titled 'The Yaroma: a Legend' recounts a story concerning a large creature capable of eating whole men. This is followed by a section headed 'Pirrimbir, or Avenging Expedition'. Mathews has previously written on these subjects in Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria (1905). In 'Australian Folk-tales' (1909) he revealed that the Yaroma story was told by the Jirringan (Dyirringan) tribe. The section titled 'Bull-roarers used by the Aborigines' describes the sacred instruments used at initiations. The text as well as the illustrative plate is duplicated from Mathews' article 'Bullroarers used by the Australian Aborigines' (1897). The section titled 'Aboriginal Songs at Initiation Ceremonies' gives the lyrics and musical notation of 'certain sacred songs' from the South Coast of New South Wales. Mathews had previously published this material in 'The Thoorga Language' (1901-02). The section titled 'Some Curious Beliefs' recounts various beliefs concerning animals and the afterlife. Mathews also describes a practice in which the shriveled hand of a deceased person is carried as a charm against evil. The final section of the booklet is titled 'The Aboriginal Fisheries at Brewarrina'. This description of the Aboriginal weirs on the Barwon River includes a map and a photograph of the site. All were previously published in 'The Aboriginal Fisheries at Brewarrina' (1903).
Notes: TRIBES
1. Nguemba
2. Wongaibon
3. Kurnu
4. Kamilaroi
5. Pikumbil
6. Yualeai
7. Shoalhaven tribes
8. Wiradjuri
9. Kutthung
10. Thoorga
11. Wiradthuri
12. Parnkalla
13. Dyirringan
14. Nimbaldi

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Brewarrina
2. Darling River
3. Bogan River
4. Nyngan
5. Cobar
6. Byrock
7. Mulga Creek
8. Tallwood QLD
9. Count of Carnarvon QLD
10. Redbank Creek QLD
11. Weir River QLD
12. Goondiwindi QLD
13. Welltown QLD
14. Kunopia QLD
15. Meroc QLD
16. St. George QLD
17. Moogan Mungindi QLD
18. Gundabloui QLD
19. Shoalhaven River
20. Manning River
21. Gulf of Carpentaria
22. Chasm Island
23. Port Jackson
24. Parish of Wareng
25. County of Hunter
26. Parish of Macdonald
27. Tollagong
28. Macdonald River
29. Botany Bay
30. Wisemans Ferry
31. Parramatta'
32. Parish of Frederick
33. Mangrove Creek
34. Hawkesbury River
35. Bantry Bay
36. Manly Cove
37. Peats Ferry Road
38. Narooma
39. County of Dampier
40. Adelaide SA
41. Port Lincoln SA
42. Macquarie River
43. Bogan River
44. Culgoa River
45. Clarence River
46. Richmond River
47. Bulli

INFORMANTS
1. 'my young friend Mr. W. J. Enright' (see 'other notes') (19).
2. 'two old aboriginals' (27).
3. Mr. W. W. Froggart (?), who 'courteously lent' Mathews a bullroarer (31).

CORRESPONDENTS
1. Mr. W. J. Enright

ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Drawing - Plan of Bora Camp (6).
2. Drawing - Tree Carvings and Ground Drawings at Bora Camp (9).
3. Plate (photograph?) - Aboriginal Weapons (20). Plate supplied by Mr. W. J. Enright (20).
4. Plate (photograph?) - Aboriginal Weapons (22). Plate supplied by Mr. W. J. Enright (22).
5. Drawing - Aboriginal Rock Carvings (25).
6. Drawing - Plan of the Ngunnhu or Native Fish Traps in the Darling River at Brewarrina (39).
7. Photograph - Photographic View of the Ngunnhu or Native Fish Traps in the Darling River at Brewarrina (40).

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Mathews refers collectively to his articles published by Royal Society of New South Wales, Geographical Society of Queensland, Royal Society of Victoria, Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, and Victoria Institute, London (3).
2. 'Ethnological Notes of the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria' (3).
3. 'Sociology of some Australian Tribes' and 'Ethnological Notes of the Aboriginal Tribes of Queensland' (5).
4. Descriptions of Kamilaroi Bora published by Royal Society of New South Wales, Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, Royal Society of Victoria (18).
5. Articles on Bunan and Keeparra ceremonies (18).
6. Burbung of Wiradjuri (18).
7. Several articles in different journals dealing with initiation ceremonies of 'all the native tribes of New South Wales' (18).
8. Avenging parties (29).
9. Paper on Bunan (32).
10. Article to Anthropological Society of Washington 1896 - Bunan ceremony and songs (33).
11. Article to Royal Society of New South Wales on preparatory initiation rite and songs (33).
12. Work on songs (33).

CROSS-REFERENCE
'Australian Folk-tales' (1909) indicates that the Yarroma story was told by the Jirringan (Dyirringan) tribe.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
'Ethnological Notes of the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria' (1904 & 1905)
 

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Abstract: On 9 May 1907 Nature had published Mathews' 'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria [Letter to the Editor]' (1907) in which he criticised A. W. Howitt and W. Baldwin Spencer for ignoring his work. Howitt responded to these criticisms in a letter published on 28 November 1907. Mathews was given this right of reply which was published alongside Howitt's letter. In his rejoinder Mathews questions Howitt's claim that it was the Queensland settler Harry E. Aldridge who supplied details of the Toara or Dora ceremony which appeared in Howitt's book The Native Tribes of South-East Australia (1904). Mathews himself had published a description of this initiation in 'The Toara Ceremony of the Dippil Tribes of Queensland' (1900). Mathews also claims that Howitt must have realised that a map of South Australia he published in 1890 was inaccurate because he published a new version in 1904 (in The Native Tribes of South-East Australia). Mathews alleges that in this map Howitt pirated the one he had published in 'Divisions of the South Australian Aborigines' (1900). Mathews argues about various other matters and effectively accuses Howitt of lying. Howitt states in his letter that so far as he was aware, Mathews had only ever released two anthropological publications.
Notes: TRIBES
Not applicable.

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
Not applicable.

INFORMANTS
1. Harry E. Aldridge (Howitt's)
2. Rev. Otto Siebert (Howitt's)

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
Not applicable.

CROSS REFERENCES
'Notes on the Aborigines of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland' (1907) contains reference to Harry Aldridge, the informant mentioned by Howitt.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
'Literature relating to Australian Aborigines [Letter to the Editor]' (1907) (this paper)
'Divisions of the South Australian Aborigines' (1900)
Phallic Rites and Initiation Ceremonies of the South Australian Aborigines (1900)

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Abstract: 'Initiation Ceremony of the Birdhawal Tribe' (transl.) is one of nine articles Mathews published in German. It appeared in Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft, a leading anthropological journal published in Vienna. While Mathews seems to have had a basic knowledge of French and German, there is no evidence that he could write professionally in either language. Although no translator is credited in any of the German articles, the existence of translator's comments in the published footnotes establish conclusively that someone other than the author translated the text from English into German. In 2004 the published article was translated back into English by Christine Winter for inclusion in the Mirranen Archive. This was done with reference to a draft manuscript by Mathews (in English), held by the National Library of Australia (NLA MS 8006/5/5). The article describes an initiation ceremony known as the Dyerrayal, practised by the Birdhawal tribe 'whose hunting grounds were situated in the northeast corner of the State of Victoria'. Mathews says that the article is 'compiled from notes, which I myself have written down in the course of some personal meetings with survivors of the Birdhawal tribe at their places of residence'. Situating the article in terms of his now extensive documentation of ceremonial life in eastern Australia, Mathews states that this paper 'completes the details of all initiation rites exercised by the coastal tribes beginning in Sydney, New South Wales, up to Port Phillip in Victoria'. He claims there are points of resemblance between this ceremony and those practised along the Macleay, Bellinger, Clarence and other northern rivers of New South Wales. He describes the general chronology of the Dyerrayal ceremony, which starts when messengers are dispatched to summon neighbouring tribes. The initiated men then form a separate detachment. They collect the novices and the rituals of the initiation begin. After the ceremony the new initiate must participate in one or more future gatherings before he is qualified 'to take his place as a man of the tribe'. One of the more interesting facets of this article is the attention it gives to the role of women in the ceremony. They played various roles in the course of the ritual, including painting the bodies of the boys prior to their separation from the women and children. A shorter version of this article was published in English under the title 'Initiation Ceremony of the Birdhawal Tribe' (1916-18).
Notes: TRIBES
1. Birdhawal.

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. The northeast corner of the State of Victoria.
2. The boundaries of their territory, which overlapped the New South Wales frontier, are fully set out in my paper on the 'Birdhawal Language'.
3. Macleay, Bellinger, Clarence and some other northern rivers of New South Wales.

INFORMANTS
Not applicable.

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. 'Language of the Birdhawal Tribe in Gippsland, Victoria', Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 46, 1907.
2. 'The Murrawin Ceremony', Queensland Geographical Journal, vol. 16, 1900.
3. 'The Bunan Ceremony of New South Wales', American Anthropologist, vol. 9, 1896.
4. 'The Bora of the Kamilaroi Tribes', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, vol. 9 (New Series), 1896.
5. 'The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes', Journal of the Anthropological Institute, vol. 25, 1896.
6. 'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. 38, 1904.
7. 'The Wandarral of the Richmond and Clarence River Tribes', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, vol. 10 (New Series), 1897
8. 'The Toara Ceremony of the Dippil Tribes of Queensland', American Anthropologist, vol. 2 (new series), 1900
9. 'Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales and Victoria', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. 38, 1904
10. 'Initiation Ceremonies of Australian Tribes', Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 37, 1898.
11. 'The Walloonggurra Ceremony', Proceedings and Transactions of the Queensland Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, vol. 15, 1899-1900.
12. 'The Keeparra Ceremony of Initiation', Journal of the Anthropological Institute, vol. 26, 1897.
13. 'The Keeparra Ceremony of Initiation', Journal of the Anthropological Institute, vol. 26, 1897.
14. 'The Burbung of the New England tribes, New South Wales', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, vol. 9 (New Series), 1896.
15. 'Language of the Birdhawal Tribe in Gippsland, Victoria', Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 46, 1907.
16. 'The Aboriginal Languages of Victoria', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. 36, 1902

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
A shorter version was published in English as 'Initiation Ceremony of the Birdhawal Tribe' (1916-18).
 

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Abstract: This article describes two ceremonies associated with male initiation. One is known as the Toara. The other is the Bundandaba, the final rite in becoming a man. The ceremonies were practised by tribes in southern Queensland 'situated along the coast from the boundary of New South Wales northerly, to the vicinity of Port Curtis, extending inland to comprise a zone from 150 to 200 miles wide'. This is the area drained by the Burnett, Mary, Brisbane, and other rivers, as well as the valley of the Dawson and upper Condamine River. The ceremonies had apparently fallen into disuse by the time Mathews gathered descriptions of them from 'old natives' who recalled the details. The ceremonies do not appear to have involved any bodily modification. Proceedings occurred in […] the forest […]. The article mentions some other customs of the region and briefly describes the kinship system. Mathews also discussed these ceremonies in the following papers: 'The Toara Ceremony of the Dippil Tribes of Queensland' (1900) and 'Die Bundandaba-Zeremonie in Queensland' (1910).
Notes: LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Port Curtis
2. Burnett River
3. Mary Rivver
4. Brisbane River
5. Dawson River valley
6. Condamine River

INFORMANTS
1. 'old natives' (103).
2. 'native informants' (103).

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. States that '[n]othing was known of the toara ceremony until 1900, when I published a short account ... ' (118).
2. Mathews refers to brief report he furnished to the Anthropological Society of Vienna in 1909 as being the 'first and only notice of the bundandaba ceremony' (118).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘The Toara Ceremony of the Dippil Tribes of Queensland’ (1900).
‘Die Bundandaba-Zeremonie in Queensland’ (1910).
 

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Abstract: 'The Bundandaba Ceremony of Initiation in Queensland' (transl.) is one of nine articles Mathews published in German. It appeared in Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft, a leading anthropological journal published in Vienna. While Mathews seems to have had a basic knowledge of French and German, there is no evidence that he could write professionally in either language. Although no translator is credited in any of the German articles, the existence of translator's comments in the published footnotes establish conclusively that someone other than the author translated the text from English into German. In 2004 the published German article was translated back into English by Christine Winter for inclusion in the Mirranen Archive. This was done with reference to a draft manuscript by Mathews (in English), held by the National Library of Australia (NLA MS 8006/5/4). The article is concerned with an initiation ceremony known as the bundandaba which occurs in the area of Southern Queensland 'situated along the coast from the boundary of New South Wales northerly to the vicinity of Port Curtis, extending inland to comprise a zone from 150 miles to 200 miles wide'. This, Mathews explains, is the territory 'drained by the Burnett, Mary, Brisbane and other rivers, as well as the Valley of the Dawson and upper portions of Condamine River'. The men of this region practise two forms of initiatory rite. The bundandaba is the second and final stage of male initiation. It is preceded by the toara, which Mathews had written about in 'The Toara Ceremony of the Dippil Tribes of Queensland' (1900). Mathews states that no description of the bundandaba had been published previously. This would have been true at the time of writing, although a description very similar to this was published as part of the article 'Initiation Ceremonies of some Queensland Tribes' (1909-10). Mathews says that the data reported here were 'obtained by me direct from the mouths of old natives of the region…who had themselves passed through all the stages of the bundandaba ceremony'. He explains that the bundandaba occurs six months to a year after the toara. There is detailed description of the events associated with the ceremony […]. The article provides insights on Mathews' views on cannibalism in Aboriginal communities. There are unusual details about the way in which the roles of particular men in the ceremony were determined by the kinship system. There is a brief explication of southern Queensland kinship and marriage rules at the end of the article and a few remarks about beliefs concerning animals. Among the Aboriginal people of the Burnett, Mary and Dawson rivers, the common bat is a friend of all men, while a small owl or nighthawk is the friend of women.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Southern Queensland.
2. Wirraidyuri.
3. Inhabitants of Burnett, Mary and Dawson rivers.

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Area of Southern Queensland, situated along the coast from the boundary of New South Wales northerly to the vicinity of Port Curtis, extending inland to comprise a zone from 150 miles to 200 miles wide. This area contains the country drained by Burnett, Mary, Brisbane and other rivers, as well as the Valley of the Dawson and upper portions of Condamine River.

INFORMANTS
Not applicable.

CORRESPONDENTS
Nil.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Published a brief description of the toara ceremony in ‘The Toara Ceremony of the Dippil Tribes of Queensland’, American Anthropologist, vol 2 (new series) (1900).
2. ‘The Burbung of the Wiradthuri Tribes’, Journal of the Anthropological Institute, vol. 25 (1896).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘The Toara Ceremony of the Dippil Tribes of Queensland’ (1900)
‘Die Bundandaba-Zeremonie in Queensland’ (1910)

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Abstract: This article is a condensed, English-language version of Mathews German publication 'Initiationszeremonie des Birdhawal-Stammes' (1908). It describes an initiation ceremony known as the Dyerrayal, performed by the Birdhawal tribe 'whose hunting grounds were situated in the north-east corner of the State of Victoria'. He claims there are points of resemblance between this ceremony and those practised along the Macleay, Bellinger, Clarence and other northern rivers of New South Wales. Mathews describes the general chronology of the Dyerrayal ceremony, which starts when messengers are dispatched to summon neighbouring tribes. The initiated men then form a separate detachment. They collect the novices and the rituals of the initiation begin. After the ceremony the new initiate must participate in one or more future gatherings before he is qualified 'to take his place as a man of the tribe'. Mathews does not state how he obtained the information published in this article.
Notes: TRIBES
1. Birdhawal
2. Kamilaroi

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. North-east Victoria
2. Macleay, Bellinger, Clarence and other rivers in northern NSW

INFORMANTS
Not applicable.

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Boundaries of Birdhawal territory (89).
2. Murrawin ceremony (89).
3. Wallonggurra ceremony (89).
4. Bunan ceremony (90).
5. Bora of the Kamilaroi (90).
6. Bora of the Wiradjuri (90).
7. Wonggoa ceremony (90).
8. Wandarral ceremony (90).
9. Toara ceremony (90).
10. Dolgarrity ceremony of Victoria (90).
11. Nguttan ceremony (90).
12. Keeparra ceremony (98).
13. New England Burbung (98).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘Initiationszeremonie des Birdhawal-Stammes’ (1908).
 

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Reference Type: Journal Article**
Record Number: 53
Author: Mathews, R. H.
Year: 1917
Title: Description of Two Bora Grounds of the Kamilaroi Tribe
Journal: Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales
Volume: 51
Pages: 423-30
Keywords: Baiame - stories and motifs
Ceremonies - initiation
Sand and ground designs
Tree carvings

Abstract: In this article, published the year in which he died, Mathews returns to the subject of male initiation ceremonies. He considers the Kamilaroi bora as 'a great educational system for the initiation of the youths to the privileges and obligations of manhood; and at the same time to inculcate the civil and moral laws of the community'. Mathews describes two New South Wales bora grounds that he has personally visited. Both were in the territory of the Kamilaroi people. The first was at 'Terry-hie-hie', a pastoral station which Mathews reached via Moree. It had previously been referred to by John Fraser in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1882. When Mathews visited in 1901, he 'secured the services of two old Kamilaroi blackfellows, who had been present at the last bora held at this place, and who were able and willing to tell me everything I wanted to know in regard to it'. They estimated that the bora ground had not been used for about 15 or 20 years. Mathews describes the layout of the ceremonial ground. […]. The second bora ground described in the article was located near the 'Kunopia' Homestead near Gnoura Gnoura Creek in the Parish of Bonanga, County of Benarba. Mathews had gone there in 1892 to document an initiation that occurred the previous year. Mathews had discussed this site in previous publications including 'Australian Ground and Tree Drawings' (1896). Mathews explains that he was guided around the site by two Kamilaroi men, Billy Wightman (previously spelled Whiteman) and Jimmy Gular. He gives detailed description of the forest clearings where the ceremonies were performed […]. Mathews says that inquiries at the Kunopia police station revealed that 250 people had attended the ceremony. They came from Willarie, Moogan, 'Gundabloui' (station), Mungindi and other localities. Mathews briefly mentions the ceremony in 'The Bora, or Initiation Ceremonies of the Kamilaroi Tribe' (1895).
Notes: TRIBES
1. Kamilaroi

LOCATIONS MENTIONED
1. Hunter River
2. Jerrys Plains
3. Walgett
4. Mungindi
5. Boggabilla
6. Barwon River
7. Namoi River
8. Gwydir River
9. Terry-hie-hie Station, Parish of Terry-hie-hie, County of Courallie, NSW
10. Moree
11. Kunopia Run
12. Gnoura Gnoura Creek
13. Kunopia Homestead, Parish of Bonanga, County of Benarba
14. Willarie
15. Moogan
16. 'Gundabloui'
17. Mungindi

INFORMANTS
1. 'two old Kamilaroi blackfellows, who had been present at the last bora held at this place, and who were able and willing to tell me everything I wanted to know in regard to it' (424).
2. 'My native guides' (425).
3. ''Billy Wightman' and 'Jimmy Gular,' two of the principal old Kamilaroi blacks who had charge of the ceremonies in 1891, and they were very willing to give me all the assistance they could' (427).
4. Police station at Kunopia (430).

CORRESPONDENTS
Not applicable.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Nil.

REFERENCE TO OWN WORK
1. Gundabloui Bora paper 1894 (423).
2. Kamilaroi Bora paper 1896 (423).
3. Grammar and vocabulary of Kamilaroi language 1903 (423).
4. Article published on ground and tree drawings in NSW 1896 (430).

RELATED PUBLICATIONS
‘Australian Ground and Tree Drawings’ (1896).
‘The Bora, or Initiation Ceremonies of the Kamilaroi Tribe’ (1895).
 

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