The Native Tribes of North Central Australia: Chapter VII. Initiation Ceremonies

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1 The custom is probably to be regarded as one which was at some distant time prevalent amongst the common ancestors of the central and eastern coastal tribes, but which has undergone changes as the tribes became separated from one another and developed, so far as their customs are concerned, along different lines. In some it has retained its old significance, or may have even acquired still greater importance as an initiatory rite, but in others, as, for example, all those inhabiting the central area, it has lost its old meaning, its place has been taken by other rites, and now it is merely what we may call a rudimentary custom.

To a certain extent, as we have said, the details of the various initiation ceremonies differ in different parts of the tribe. We will first of all describe them as carried out in the groups living on the Finke River, and will then point out variations in the ceremonies as they are enacted, first in the northern, and secondly in the southern parts.

THE FIRST CEREMONY—THROWING THE BOY UP IN THE AIR

 

The first ceremony takes place when a boy is between ten and twelve years of age. The men, and in this instance the women also, assemble at a central spot near to the main camp, and the boys who have reached the right age—the number varying from ceremony to ceremony—are taken one by one and tossed in the air several times by the men, who catch them as they fall, while the women dance round and round the group, swinging their arms and shouting loudly, “pau, pau, pau-a-a,” the last cry being very prolonged. 2 This over the boys are painted on their chests and backs, as shown in the illustration, with simple designs consisting of straight or curved bands outlined by lines of red or yellow ochre. These

1 man, then it is the latter who will draw the design upon him at the close of the ceremony of throwing up.

In all the ceremonies of initiation the youth or man has certain designs painted on his body, and in no case have they of necessity any reference to his own totem, though they are emblematic of some totem with which usually the man who does the painting is associated. These designs come under the general term of Ilkinia, the name applied to the designs, as a whole, which are emblematic of the totems; and so long as the boy, youth or man has one or other of these painted on him, it does not signify which. It must be remembered that the man who does the painting is usually the person who decides upon the nature of the design, and it may also be noted that in the performance of sacred ceremonies men are constantly decorated with designs of totems other than their own.

In the case of this, the first of the initiatory ceremonies, the painting of each boy is done as stated by men who stand to him in the relationship of Umbirna, that is, a man who is the brother of a woman of the class from which his, i.e. the boy's, wife must come. The design is called Enchichichika, and while they are being painted the boys are told that the ceremony through which they have just passed will promote their growth to manhood, and they are also told by tribal fathers and elder brothers that in future they must not play with the women and girls, nor must they camp with them as

1 one of the most important centres of the kangaroo totem situated near to the Finke River. It must always be remembered that the details of these initiation ceremonies vary to a certain extent according to the locality in which they are performed; thus at Undiara the men of the kangaroo totem directed the proceedings, and therefore sacred ceremonies concerned with this particular totem were much in evidence; had Undiara been an emu locality then emu ceremonies would have predominated. Bearing this in mind, the ceremony now to be described may be regarded as typical of the rite of circumcision as carried out by the natives living along the Finke River, who are often spoken of as Larapinta blacks to distinguish them from other groups, Larapinta being the native name of the river.

The boy was seized early in the evening at the Ungunja, or men's camp, by three young men, who were respectively Okilia, Umbirna and Unkulla to him. As soon as they laid hands on him they shouted loudly, “Utchai, utchai,” while being frightened, he struggled, trying to get free from them. He was at once carried off bodily to the ceremonial ground which had been carefully prepared at some distance from and out of sight of the main camp, so that the women, when at the latter, could not see anything of what was taking place at

1 carried along with them as they travelled over the country a number of young boys who were just being initiated. As they travelled along, dancing the whole way, they also carried shields: and therefore it is that, at the present day, the initiation ceremony must commence with an imitation of the Unthippa dance of the Alcheringa. 2 Except in connection with this ceremony women may never carry shields, which are exclusively the property of the men, just as much as a digging-stick is the peculiar property of a woman. While the women were dancing the men sang of the marching of the Unthippa women across the country. After the boy had watched and listened for some time, an Unkulla 3 man came up and twined round and round his hair strands of fur string, until it looked as if his head were enclosed in a tight-fitting skull cap. Then a man who was Gammona to him came up and fastened round his waist a large Uliara, that is, the human hair girdle worn by the men, the girdle being provided by an Oknia of the boy. The two first-named men were respectively the brother of the boy's mother and the

1 of the novice was held, and three men, who were respectively Mura, Gammona and Chimmia, were told off to take the boy away and paint him. These men are afterwards called Wulya, or Uwilia, by the boy. They first of all went away and built a second brake of bushes at the western end of the Apulla, at a distance of about forty feet from the end of the cleared path, so that in position the second brake corresponded to the first one at the opposite end. This was henceforth to be the brake behind which the boy had to remain except when brought on to the ground to witness performances. When this had been made the three men returned and led the boy through the dancing women to his brake, where, with great deliberation, they rubbed him all over with grease, and then decorated his body with pinkish-white clay and bird's down.

During all the proceedings every detail, such as the appointing of the various officials, was determined upon by a council of men consisting of the Oknia (tribal fathers) and Okilia (blood and tribal elder brothers) of the novice, and of this council the elder Oknia was head man.

After painting him, the Uwilia told the boy that he was now no longer an Ulpmerka but a Wurtja, that during the proceedings about to follow he must render implicit obedience, and on no account must he ever tell any woman or boy anything of what he was about to see. Should he ever reveal any of the secrets, then he and his nearest relations would surely die. He must not speak unless spoken to, and even then his words must be as few as possible, and spoken in a low tone. He was further told to remain crouched down behind his brake when left there, and that on no account must he make the slightest attempt to see what the men at their brake were doing. Should he try to see what was going on at the Apulla, except when taken there and told to watch, some

1 telling him as she did so to always hold fast to his own fire—in other words not to interfere with women assigned to other men. After this, at a signal from an old Okilia, the Wurtja got up and ran away, followed by a number of shouting boys, who after a short time returned, and, along with the women, left the Apulla ground and ran back to the main camp. The old Mia took her fire-stick with her, and in camp

1 At times they broke into the Lartna song:

“Irri yulta yulta rai
Ul katchera ul katchar-rai,”

which is always sung in loud fierce tones. About midnight two Okilia went to the Wurtja's brake, and having put a bandage round his eyes led him to the men who sat as usual on the side of their brake facing towards the Apulla. Here he was placed lying face downwards, until two men who were going to perform a ceremony were in position between the Apulla lines. The Quabara, which they were about to perform, was one of a certain number which are only performed at a time such as this, though in all important respects these Quabara are identical with those performed during various

1 which is a sacred object emblematic of some totemic animal, in this particular case a kangaroo. This man moved his head from side to side, as if looking for something, and every now and then uttered a sound similar to that made by a kangaroo, which animal he was supposed to represent. Suddenly the dog looked up, saw the kangaroo, began barking, and, running along on all fours, passed between the man's legs and lay down behind the man, who kept watching him over his shoulder. Then the dog ran again between the kangaroo-man's legs, but this time he was caught and well

1 set it up in the Apulla path, and the Wurtja was told by Oknia and Okilia men to go out and embrace it, which he did for some minutes, while the men who had carried it stood by, and the others, gathered together at the brake, sang of the Waninga, and of the wanderings of the rat men in the Alcheringa. Once more the usual instructions and warnings were given to the Wurtja, and he was made to lie down with his head covered while another ceremony of a simple nature was prepared. The men around him occupied the time in singing about a party of Alcheringa individuals who started to walk from a place called Ayaiya. After the singing had gone on for about an hour, the Wurtja was told to look up, and, when he did so, he saw a number of men lying about the Apulla ground who at once began to hop about and to imitate the sound made by kangaroos. One old man in particular was noticeable from the way in which he mimicked the movements of an old and disabled animal. After hopping in and about the Apulla ground for some minutes, they bunched up together at the western end of the ground and then suddenly, rising with a loud shout of “Pau pau pau,” ran away to a small gully out of sight of the Wurtja, who was told that these represented a party of Alcheringa men starting off from Ayaiya. After this, and while further preparations were being made, the Wurtja remained with the audience, but had his head covered. The tradition dealing with this special group of kangaroos relates that the party split into two, a larger and a smaller one, and that the larger one travelled on ahead of the smaller one. When preparing for the ceremony, the bodies were first of all rubbed over with red ochre, then two young men opened veins, first in one arm and then in the other, and allowed the blood to flow out in a stream over the heads and bodies of those who were about to take part in the

1 to the boy, to come up and rub out the design. They came forwards with apparent reluctance, though in reality highly honoured by being thus chosen, and, stooping down, effaced the drawing by rubbing it over with their foreheads.

The men with the Arachitta poles were now ready to come on to the Apulla, and there, with the poles attached to their ankles, they ran up and down between the banks, dancing and singing, while the women, shouting, followed them all about, stripping the leaves as they did so from off the poles. It was now dark, but piling the two brakes, which had served their purpose and would not be used again, on top of one another, the whole mass was set on fire, 2 and the flames lighted up a scene of the weirdest description possible, on which the Wurtja looked in silence apparently quite unmoved. Suddenly the old Mura man gave out a great roar, the dancing ceased, and, followed by menacing shouts from the men, the women made haste back to their own camp, while from all sides the sound of bull-roarers was heard. At this signal the Wurtja was laid down on his back, and some of the Oknia and Okilia men, taking up a number of the Arachitta poles, stacked them on top of him, lifting them up and down as if beating time with them on his body, while they all sang wildly:—

“Ingwa alkirna alkirni li
Urtnanthi alkirli impara.”

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The Arachitta poles were then quickly removed from the top of the Wurtja, and he was at once lifted up by Okilia and Oknia men, who ran, carrying him feet foremost, and placed him on the shield. Then in deep, loud tones the Lartna song was sung, indeed almost thundered out, by the men:—

“Irri yulta yulta rai
Ul katchera ul katch ar-arai
Irri yulta yulta rai
Ul katchera ul katch ai.”

The assisting Atwia atwia at once grasped the foreskin, pulled it out as far as possible and the operator cut it off, and

1 As each man came up and the presentation was made, the same ceremony was gone through, and in turn every one of those who had taken any special part was named by the Okilia, whose

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Until the Arakurta has undergone and quite recovered from the ceremony of sub-incision, he is forbidden to eat the flesh of opossum, snake, echidna and all lizards. Should he eat any of these his recovery would be retarded and his wounds would become much inflamed. In addition to these there exists in the case of each individual the restriction with regard to the eating of his totem, and to every one not only at this, but at all times, there exists the general restriction with regard to the eating of the wild cat.

At the moment when the Arakurta is seized for the purpose of having the rite of Ariltha performed upon him the men set up a loud shout of “Pirr-rr”—loud enough to be

1 New South Wales, and South Australia, right away to the far north, and at all events a very large part of West Australia, 2 has frequently been alluded to by Curr and other writers under the name of the “terrible rite”—a term which, as Dr. Stirling suggested, may well be discarded. It consists, as is well known, in sub-incision of the penis, so that the penile urethra is laid open from the meatus right back to the junction with the scrotum. It is certainly a most extraordinary practice, and one which it might be thought would be frequently attended with serious results; but none such apparently ever follow, though in their native condition the operation is performed merely with a sharp chipped piece of flint or a small knife made of a hard flaked quartzite. The Arunta natives have no idea as to the origin of the practice, and it seems almost useless to speculate upon it. Mr. Roth has suggested that the mutilation of the women, which takes place, so far as is known, in all those tribes where sub-incision is practised by the men, was indirectly the origin of the latter, “that, on the principle of a form of mimicry, the analogous sign was inflicted on the male to denote corresponding fitness on his part.” This still leaves unexplained the mutilation of the women, and it would seem to be almost simpler to imagine that this was a consequence of the mutilation of the men.

1 the second in the chapter dealing with the social organisation, as it has important bearings upon this, and may be most conveniently dealt with in connection therewith.

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Footnotes

214:1 Roth points out that in the tribes studied by him the knocking out of teeth is independent of any initiation rite, op. cit., p. 170.

214:2 In the initiation of the Kurnai, Mr. Howitt describes how at the beginning of the ceremony each boy is thrown into the air by the bullerwang, or man in charge of him. Kamilroi and Kurnai, p. 196.

215:1 If a woman, whose daughter has been allotted to a man, has a son born before she has a daughter, the man may, if he elects to do so, renounce his right to the daughter, and becomes Unjipinna to the boy, who has, until he is initiated, to provide the man with his hair.

219:1 For a description of Undiara, and the traditions and ceremonies associated with it, see Chapter VI., p. 193 sqq.

220:1 For an account of these see p. 441.

220:2 Roth describes the women as decorated after the manner of warriors about to engage in a fight during the early part of the proceedings, op. cit., p. 170.

220:3 If the boy had had an Unjipinna man, that is an Umbirna who had waived his right to the boy's sister as wife, then it would have been the duty of this man to tie the hair up.

221:1 In using these terms we include, unless specially stated to the contrary, tribal as well as blood relations; the Oknia, for example, include the actual father and also the father's brothers.

222:1 The handing of the firestick is called Unchalkulkna, and the fire is regarded as being of a sacred character.

224:1 In the southern part of the tribe the tradition is that an aged woman, angry because of the number of boys who were killed in consequence of the use of a fire-stick for circumcision, showed the men how to use a stone knife.

225:1 For a description of this, see page 231 sq.

234:1 In the southern part of the Arunta the Waninga is used in this way during the ceremony of Lartna, but neither a Waninga nor a Nurtunja is used at the ceremony of sub-incision; in the central and western part of the Arunta a Waninga is used at circumcision and a Nurtunja at sub-incision, and in the northern part of the Arunta and in the Ilpirra tribe neither of them is used at circumcision, but a Nurtunja at sub-incision.

244:1 The Ipmunna men and women belong to the sub-class into which the novice's children will pass.

244:2 Roth describes the brake of boughs used during the ceremony, and called errulli, as being burnt at the close of the proceedings, loc. cit., p. 171.

246:1 The sound of the bull-roarer is believed by the women to be the voice of the spirit Twanyirika, who has taken the boy away from them into the bush. This spirit, they are told, lives in wild and inaccessible regions, and only comes out when a youth is initiated. He enters the body of the boy after the operation and takes him away into the bush until he is better, when the spirit goes away and the boy returns, but now as an initiated man. Both uninitiated youths and women are taught to believe in the existence of Twanyirika. This belief is fundamentally the same as that found in all Australian tribes. Amongst the Kurnai, for example, as related by Mr. Howitt, the sound of the bull-roarer is the voice of Tundun, who himself comes down to make the boys into men. Amongst certain other tribes of the south-east coast Daramulun's voice is heard when the bull-roarer sounds, and he it is who initiates the youths by knocking out a tooth. In many tribes, such as the Kurnai, two bull-roarers, as described by Mr. Howitt, are sounded, a larger and a smaller one, the latter representing Tundun's wife, but amongst the Arunta, Ilpira and Luritcha there is only one, and that represents the male spirit.

248:1 After this the novice must use these terms in addressing these special individuals, though he may not speak to any one of them until such time as he shall have made him an offering of food.

256:1 As a result of the operation of Ariltha-kuma, micturition is always, in the native state, performed in a squatting position, and it is a very characteristic action for a little hollow to be scooped out with the hand in the soil, and then into this micturition takes place.

263:1 Cf. Roth, loc. cit.

263:2 Mr. A. Morton, who has recently been engaged in anthropological work in West Australia, informs us that the operation is universally carried out amongst the tribes with whom he came in contact. See also Helms. Trans. Roy. Soc. South Australia, vol. xvi., p. 276.

270:1 Cf. Chapter XII.