Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/785

XII Brewit (unmarried man) would all go to the wife's parents except the left leg to his brother, and the right leg to the Brewit.

If a catch of eels were made, the following might be the division of them, if the individuals were camped together. Man and wife, a large eel. Mother's brother and wife, a large eel. Children of mother's brother, a small eel; and to married daughter, a small eel.

Similar rules obtained in the Ngarigo tribe, of which the following may be taken as an example:—

Of a kangaroo the hunter would take a piece along the backbone near the loin. The father would have the back-bone, ribs, shoulders, and head. The mother the right leg, the younger brother the left foreleg. The elder sister would have a piece alongside the backbone, the younger sister the right foreleg. The father shares his portion thus: to his parents, tail and piece of backbone; and the mother shares her portions with her parents, giving them part of the thigh and the shin.

A wombat is cooked, then cut open and skinned. The skin is cut into strips and divided with parts of the animal thus:—The head to the person who killed the animal. His father the right ribs; mother the left ribs and the backbone, which, with some of the skin, she gives to her parents. Her husband's parents receive some of the skin. The elder brother gets the right shoulder, the younger the left. The elder sister the right hind leg, the younger the left hind leg, and the rump and liver are sent to the young men's camp.

A native bear is divided in the following manner:—Self, left ribs; father, right hind leg ; mother, left hind leg; elder brother, right forearm; younger brother, left forearm. The elder sister gets the backbone, and the younger the liver. The right ribs are given to the father's brother, a piece of the flank to the hunter's mother's brother, and the head goes to the young men's camp.

An emu was divided as follows:—The backbone to the hunter; left leg, left shoulder, and left flank to his father. The neck and head, right flank and right ribs to his mother. To his elder brother, the left rib; younger brother, part of the