Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/791

XII If he killed an emu, he would share it with all in the camp. Porcupine, that is, the spiny ant-eater, is only shared with the hunter's own family. The division of game was on the same lines, unless a very small animal was caught, not more than enough for himself and his wife, if he were married.

In the Gournditch-mara tribe game caught was divided amongst those present. Supposing a kangaroo had been killed, the hunter gave one hind leg and the breast to his most esteemed friend, and kept the other hind leg himself. The remainder was divided amongst the other companions. There was no rule as to the distribution of cooked food in the camp, for each family ate together, and each wife was obliged to sit beside her own husband, and not near any other man, unless her husband sat between them.

In the tribes of South-western Victoria, as described by Mr. Dawson, there are strict rules regulating the distribution of food. "When a hunter brings game to the camp, he gives up all claim to it, and must stand aside and allow the best portion to be given away, and content himself with the worst. If he has a brother present, the brother is treated in the same way, and helps the killer of the game to eat the poorer pieces, which are thrown to them, such as the forequarters and ribs of the kangaroo, opossums, and smaller quadrupeds, and the backbones of birds. This custom is called Yuurka-baawhaar, meaning 'exchange.' The women also divide the food they collect, which is mainly vegetable."

If a Wurunjerri man killed a kangaroo, it was divided in accordance with tribal rules. Assuming that the man had some one with him, they would take out the entrails, and unless the skin was required for some purpose, roast the kangaroo whole. One forequarter was kept by the man for himself and his wife and children. A leg or the other forequarter was taken by his comrade, and the head and a foreleg went to the man's father and mother. A hind leg and the loins went to the hunter's wife's father and mother, the caul and the tail to some one else.