Page:Notes on the Aborigines of New South Wales.djvu/12

Rh of the designs was 37 feet in length by 7 feet in width, part of which is shown in Fig. 31; another was 29 feet by 5 feet, and is shown in its entirety in Fig. 34. Some of the smallest of these carvings in the soil were only 2 or 3 feet in length, filling out spaces between trees. A good deal of the soil cut out in carving these designs was used in building the raised representations of Baiamai and Goolerangalnga described farther on.

Fig. 46 represents a legendary, serpent-like monster called the Kurrea, which is supposed to have its abode in deep lagoons and other sheets of water, and devours human beings who may come within its reach. This drawing measures 39 feet in length, and its greatest width is about a foot. It is formed by a groove about 3 inches wide dug into the turf along its outline. Fig. 47 is a woman cut in the ground in a similar manner. The height is 7 ft. 4 in., but would be more if the legs were not so much distended.

Fig. 48 is a huge horizontal representation of Baiamai, lying on his back, formed by building up the loose earth, which was 1 ft. 2 in. high at the chest. The length of the figure was 9 ft. 3 in., and the width from hand to hand 9 feet.

Fig. 49.—On the opposite side of the pathway, close to the last described, was a figure of Gooberangalnga, the wife of Baiamai, formed in the same way, but with the addition of a coat of kneaded clay on top, in which were moulded the features of the face, the mammae, &c. The length of the figure was 10 ft. 9 in., with a distance of 8 feet between the hands.

Fig. 50 delineates a man with a boomerang in each hand, and a belt around the waist. The object 2 ft. 5 in. long rising from the top of the head was, the native artist told me, intended to represent a feather stuck in the hair. This drawing bears a striking resemblance to some of the aboriginal rock features found in other districts.

Fig. 51 represents two death adders, formed of raised earth, with their heads in the same direction. One of these reptiles is 9 feet long, the other 10 ft. 6 in.

Fig. 52.—This drawing, which is outlined by a nick dug into the soil in the way already stated, represents a cod-fish 9 feet in length, and 3 ft. 8 in. across the body.

Fig. 53 was intended to denote an emu, and was formed in the same manner as the last described. Its length from the bill to the tail was 12 ft. 6 in., and its height from the feet to the top of the back 7 ft. 9 in. The legs are short in proportion to the body, being only 2 ft. 6 in.—perhaps to indicate that the bird is sitting or crouching down.

Fig. 54 represents two more death adders, which are also formed by heaping up the loose earth into the required shape. Their heads and tails are almost touching, as if in the act of coupling, and the length of each reptile is a little over 16 feet. At intervals on either side of the thoonburnga were imitations of the lairs and nests of different animals. The space containing the marked trees and all the drawings on the turf is indicated on the plan by the broken lines from No. 9 to No. 15.

Having described the circles, the drawings raised and graven on the turf, the marked trees, and other adjuncts of the Bora encampment, I shall now pass on to give a brief account of the procedure in carrying out the details of the inaugural rites.