Page:The Native Tribes of South Australia (1879).djvu/330

 248 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. too much." If they have occasion to allude to dead persons, it is done by circumlocutions, such as these: I am a widower, fatherless, childless, or brotherless, as the case may be, instead of saying: my wife is dead, my father, child, or brother is dead. If a death occurs among them in the bush, it is with great difficulty that the name of the deceased can be ascertained. In such a case, the natives will remind you of incidents that may have happened in his lifetime, that he did such a thing, was present on such an occasion, &c., but no persuasion on earth will induce them to pronounce his name; and as a last reason for the sincerity of their sorrow, it may perhaps be mentioned that they will venture their own lives in avenging their departed friends if it is suspected that they have come by their deaths unfairly. The mode of burial observed by the Port Lincoln natives is described by themselves as attended with many ceremonies, which are, however, sometimes dispensed with, as was the case with an old man, the only person that I have seen buried. A pit about five feet in depth, and only four feet in length, was dug; on the bottom some dry grass was spread, and on this the body was laid with legs bent upwards. The head was placed towards the west, a custom that I am informed is always observed, and is founded on their belief that the soul goes to an island in the east. The body is covered with a kangaroo skin, and strong sticks are placed lengthways over the mouth of the grave, one end being stuck in the earth a little below the surface, and the other resting on the opposite edge of the grave. On these the earth is put so as to leave a vacuum between them and the body and to form a mound of earth over the grave. A few branches or bushes thrown carelessly round the mound complete the simple ceremony. The Aborigines inhabiting the Peninsula of Port Lincoln are divided into several tribes, with two of whom the European settlers are in daily contact, namely, the Nauo and Parnkalla tribes. Besides these, three other tribes are mentioned by the natives as known to them: the Nukunnus in the north-east, the Kukatas in the north-west, and the Ngannityiddis in the north,