Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/574

548 the actions of a "doctor," in stroking the child with their hands, and extracting from it stones, pieces of wood, bark, and other things, as the cause of the disease. This was received with shouts of laughter from all, from the medicine-men as well as the others. The only ones who did not even smile were the utterly unmoved novices.

Another pantomime represented a number of very old men who came up, following each other, out of the forest, and circled round the fire in the usual rhythmical manner, swaying from side to side at each step, and each holding his head with both hands, one at each temple. After going round the fire several times, the chain broke up into individuals, who began tickling each other, finally falling down into a heap, screeching with laughter. Such an exhibition of childishness in venerable old greybeards was ridiculous, and this was impressed on the novices by going up to them and saying, "When you go back to the camp do like that—yah!" by this warning them not to be guilty of such childish acts in their new characters of men.

Other pantomimic representations were to impress rules of tribal morality by visible instances.

A man lay down on the ground near the fire, as if a woman asleep. The other performers were hidden by the shadows thrown by the trees beyond the fire. One man then stole out, and seeing the woman sleeping, cautiously approached, after peering all round to see if any one were near. He tried in vain to wake her, and made comic gestures which left no doubt of his intentions. Being unable to succeed, he went across and lay down at the edge of the clear space. One by one the other men came by, each fruitlessly endeavouring to waken the sleeping woman, and also making gestures showing what he intended. When all had passed the pseudo-woman, one of the Gommeras jumped up and commenced his dance, the disappointed suitors joining in it. This play, taken by itself, was comic, but when looked at in reference to the gestures made by the men, suggested what might happen if a savage found a solitary woman sleeping in the bush. But a remarkable commentary was applied, not only by the broad allusions made by the