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NATIVE TRIBES OF SOUTH-EAST AUSTRALIA
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ceremonies of his tribe. He had been careful not to betray anything unlawfully, until he found from my answers to his questions that I was indeed one of the initiated. He then, as I have always found to be the case under such circumstances, became communicative and gave me a full account of the Wiradjuri Burbung, and from previous knowledge I was able to check his statements and found that he was quite accurate. He then, when we were talking of the magical exhibitions by the medicine-men at the ceremonies, said, "I will tell you how my old father began to make a blackfellow doctor of me."

My impression of his account is that it was bona fide, and from my experience I should say that it would be an unheard-of thing for a man to falsify, when speaking of matters relating to such sacred subjects as the initiation ceremonies, to one of the initiated. I mention this because I have not been able to check his statements.

I give his account, so far as possible, in his own words, and leave it to my readers to form their own opinion of its value.

"My father is Yibai-dthulin.[1] When I was a small boy he took me into the bush to train me to be a Wulla-mullung. He placed two large quartz crystals[2] against my breast, and they vanished into me. I do not know how they went, but I felt them going through me like warmth. This was to make me clever and able to bring things up. He also gave me some things like quartz crystals in water. They looked like ice and the water tasted sweet. After that I used to see things that my mother could not see. When out with her I would say "What is out there like men walking?" She used to say, "Child, there is nothing." These were the Jir (ghosts) which I began to see.

"When I was about ten years old, I was taken to the Burbung and saw what the old men could bring out of themselves; and when my tooth was out the old men chased me with the wallungs in their mouths, shouting 'Ngai, Ngai,' and moving their hands towards me. I went into

  1. Dthulin is a lizard, and I think the lace-lizard.
  2. Called wallung. This word may be spoken anywhere or by any one, but its equivalents, gunabillung and ugulin, may not be uttered before uninitiated persons.