Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/280

254 and Wurunjerri girls were given, became recognised means of communication between the tribes.

It must be noted here that in these tribes marriages not only between the children of two brothers, or of two sisters, but also between those of a brother on one side and of a sister on the other side, were absolutely prohibited, it being held that they were too near to each other.

If a young man were a good hunter, dancer, or fighting-man, or had some other distinctive qualities, some man of one of the intermarrying local groups might take a fancy to him, and if he were not in the prohibited degrees of relationship, and of the proper class, might fix upon him as the future husband of his daughter, and make his choice known to the kindred and to the tribe. Such arrangements were made especially at the great tribal assemblies, where, as Berak in speaking of them said, "People gave each other presents to make friends."

If a girl, being promised in marriage, ran away with another man, it was her brothers, own and tribal, who followed her, and it was with one or all of them that the abductor had to fight. This took place at some time and locality fixed upon, at which the kindred of both sides were present. The two men were each armed with boomerang, club, and shield. The boomerang having been thrown, they fought with club and shield, and when one of them had been wounded so that blood was drawn, to the