Page:Aboriginesofvictoria01.djvu/249

Rh On another occasion Mr. Parker was present when the natives performed the Yepene Amydeet, or dance of the separated spirits. It was new to the Aborigines of the Loddon, and was conducted by an old man, who stated that it was practised by the people of the north-west, amongst whom he had learnt it. It was never introduced on any other occasion, and was soon after nearly forgotten. "Holding boughs in each hand, which were waved in unison alternately over each shoulder, and dancing for some time in lines and semicircles, at length they gradually gathered into a compact circular body; then slowly sinking on the ground, and burying their heads under the boughs, they represented, according to the statement of the old native, who was master of the ceremonies, the approach of death, and in the perfectly still and motionless posture they maintained for some time the state of death itself. Then the old man, breaking suddenly into a new dance, and waving furiously his boughs over the prostrate mass, gave them the word; and, suddenly springing to their feet, they joined him in his rejoicings. This was explained to me as intended to represent the revival of the soul after death."

The ordinary dance of the natives of Victoria—the Ngargee or corrobboree—has been carefully described by Mr. Thomas. A number of males, twenty or thirty, or more, if three or four tribes have assembled for this dance, are selected as the principal performers, and, as a preliminary, they retire to the bush, away from the light of the fire, and decorate themselves, each according to his taste—not, as a rule, consulting one another, and yet no two appear exactly alike, except as regards the faces, which are generally painted pretty much in the same manner. The sockets of the eyes are white, a white ring surrounds the sockets, white streaks are drawn down the nose, and parallel streaks appear on the forehead. On their bodies the lines are arranged fantastically, but always according to some plan in the mind of the performer. During the time the men are thus engaged, a native prepares a blazing fire, and others employ themselves in cutting branches and gathering sticks and leaves, making a heap, so that the fire may be quickly and conveniently fed during the ceremonies, and without occasioning unseemly interruptions. As the flames leap up and the light flashes through the trees, the dancers may be seen emerging from their retreat. They wear boughs around their legs, just above the ankles, and a sort of apron made of dressed skins. They form themselves into groups as they wait for the signal to commence their feats of jumping and dancing. The women who have to act as musicians are seated at some little distance from the fire, arranged in