Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/682

656 with fat, and are kept for about twelve months, under the belief that if they were thrown away the eagle-hawk would cause larger ones to grow up in their places, which would turn up over the upper lip and thus cause death. The boy's teeth are carefully kept by the boy's father, and long after the mouth is completely healed he disposes of them, in the company of some old men, in the following manner. He makes a low rumbling noise, not using any words, blows two or three times with his mouth, and then jerks the teeth through his hand to a distance. He then buries them about eighteen inches in the ground. The jerking motion is to show that he has already taken all the life out of them; as, should he fail to do so, the boy would be liable to have an ulcerated mouth, an impediment in his speech, a wry mouth, and ultimately a distorted face.

This is another instance of the belief that there is an intimate connection between the teeth and the person from whom they were extracted, even at a distance, and after a considerable time. I have before referred to this belief.

The Karaweli-wonkana, or ceremony of circumcision, is performed when a boy is about nine or ten years of age. The proceedings are commenced by a woman walking up to the boy in the early part of the evening and quietly slipping a string over his head, to which is attached a mussel shell (Kuri). This is done by a married woman, who is not of his class or totem, or in any way related to him. This action usually brings about a disturbance, for neither the boy nor his father have been made aware of what was intended. Directly the boy finds the shell suspended round his neck he jumps up, and runs out of the camp. His father becomes enraged, for it is generally the case that fathers think their sons are too young to undergo the painful operation. He therefore attacks the elders, and a general fight ensues.

From the moment the boy runs out of the camp until