Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/67

II

I use the word "tribe" as meaning a number of people who occupy a definite tract of country, who recognise a common relationship and have a common speech, or dialects of the same. The tribes-people recognise some common bond which distinguishes them from other tribes, usually a tribal name, which may be their word for "man," that is, an aboriginal of Australia.

In such cases there is a prefix or postfix meaning "people" or "tribe"; thus the Wotjo are collectively called Wotjo-baluk, that is to say, "tribe of men." Or the name may be derived from the word in their language for "no" or "yes," more frequently the former, as with the Woëworung of the Yarra River in Victoria, Woë meaning "no," and the postfix Worung "lip," hence "speech."

But while individual tribes are thus distinguished from others, there are numerous cases in which the word for "man" is common to the languages of a considerable number of more or less nearly related tribes, indicating a larger aggregate, for which, in default of a better term, I use the word "nation." For instance, the word "Kulin" (man) was used by tribes over most of the eastern half of Victoria, with the exception of Gippsland.

A distinction is drawn by tribes between themselves and aliens by some term applied to the latter, either of contempt or fear. Thus while the Kurnai speak of themselves as "men," they give the name of Brajerak, from bra, "man," and jerak, "rage" or "anger," to their neighbours, the Theddora of the Omeo tableland, the Ngarigo of the Manero tableland, and Murring of the south coast of New South Wales.

Those living in the Western Port district of Victoria they called Thurung or tiger -snakes, because, as I have heard them say, "they came sneaking about to kill us."

In all the native tribes of Australia there are geographical divisions of the community determined by locality, and also