Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/541

IX opossum totem, the messenger would also be Yibai-gurimul, and he would carry the message to the head of the same sub-class and totem in the local group, to which he is sent, who would similarly send it on till, in the course of time, it would have gone through the whole tribe. Thus the message travels through the whole community, being carried by members of the opossum totem, whose Headmen communicate it to the other men of their groups. The messenger carries with him a whole set of male attire, together with a bull-roarer (mudji) carefully wrapped in a skin and concealed from women and children. Hence in such tribes the community is assembled by a totem.

In the Kurnai tribe the Jeraeil was called by the Headman of either the southern or the northern moiety of the tribe. So far as I know, there was no rule as to which it should be. The initiative was taken by the local organisation. It could not be by the social organisation, for in this tribe that organisation had become totally extinct.

This action was preceded by long consultations between the elders of the clan in which it originated. When it was found that there was a sufficient number of boys to be made men, the Gweraeil-kurnai in that clan sent out his Baiaur, or messenger, to summon the principal Headman of the next clan. He carried with him some token from the sender, such as his club, or boomerang, or shield, and he had given to him to convey with great secrecy one of the larger of the two bull-roarers used in this tribe. He delivered his message to the old man to whom he was sent, together with the bull-roarer and the tokens. The Gweraeil-kurnai then called together the elders at some suitable place apart from the camp, and, showing them the tokens and bull-roarer, told them the message. After due consideration, the message was announced in a general assemblage of all the initiated men, and the Gweraeil-kurnai sent forward the message by one of his own men. These proceedings are carefully concealed from the women, excepting the old women of consideration, to whom a hint is given by some such expression as "the Mrarts (ghosts) are going to kill a kangaroo."