Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/266

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NATIVE TRIBES OF SOUTH-EAST AUSTRALIA
CH.

The diagram of the Arunta marriages serves for the Waramunga also.

Diagram XXI
Waramunga Marriage Rule
m. Kbidji m. Thakomara
f. Nakomara f. Nalkari
 
 
   
m. Chunguri m. Chupilla
     
m. Kabidji     f. Nalkari m. Thakomara     f. Nakomara

It is as well to mention here that the difficulty which is felt in cases of tribes which have not classes or totems affecting descent, is not experienced with the tribes now under consideration. Their ceremonies and customs make clear the manner in which the sub-classes are associated in pairs, thus indicating the original divisions.

A comparison with former diagrams, especially those of the Urabunna and Dieri, shows that the Waramunga rule is precisely that of the latter. The term of relation "Wankili" is the same as the Dieri "Kami," and the term "Kula-kula" is the same as "Noa." Thus the children of Chunguri are born into the marriageable group formed by the children of Chupilla, and Chunguri and Chupilla are also groups in a wider sense.

These examples will suffice to show the sequence of changes made in the class systems of the tribes of Central Australia from the starting-point of the two class divisions. These changes have been made intentionally for some purpose, and the remarkable feature is the uniformity of the progression, and the vast extent of country over which these changes have been made.

Tribes with Anomalous Class Systems and Female Descent

In Victoria, south of the River tribes, before spoken of, there were the tribes which have been referred to as the Wotjo nation. Of these I take the Wotjobaluk tribe as