Dress and Personal Ornaments.
The coverings and ornaments used and worn by the Australian natives—male and female—are fully described in the notes prepared at my request by the late Mr. William Thomas, and in the letters and memorandums furnished in reply to questions put by me, by Mr. John Green, of Coranderrk, the Rev. Mr. Bulmer, of Lake Tyers, in Gippsland, and Dr. Giuiimow, J.P., of Swan Hill.
The males paid attention to their weapons rather than to their dress; and the females relied more on the attractions presented by their forms unadorned than on the necklaces and feathers which they carried. The proper arrangement of their apparel, the ornamentation of their persons by painting, and attention to deportment, were important only when death struck down a warrior, when war was made, or when they assembled for a corrobboree.
In ordinary life little attention was given to the ornamenting of the person. Different from the women of Polynesia, the Australian females seem to have no love for flowers. The rich blossoms of red, purple, and yellow, so abundant in the forests, are never, or very rarely, twined in their hair, or worn in rich garlands around the neck: nor do they deck themselves with the bright plumage of birds. A warrior may wear a plume, but his daughters are content with the grey, hair-like feathers of the emu for the slight covering which decency demands. Nor did they use in Victoria—as far as I can gather—the gaily-colored shells of the sea-shore for necklaces, as the Tasmanians did.[1]
The men had no ear-rings of gold, nor armlets of silver: none of the metals were known to them; and no precious stone—not a piece of jade even—was worn by them: yet their rugs of skin; their aprons of feathers or skins; their necklaces of reeds or teeth; their head-bands of fibre; their dresses of boughs for the dance—are not without interest.
I believe I have gathered together all that is known of the dress and ornaments of this people; and my correspondents have been careful in making enquiries and exact in giving information. The dress and ornaments of the Aborigines of the Yarra tribe were, according to the information afforded by the late Mr. Thomas, as follows:—
- ↑ The Tasmanian necklace is described elsewhere. The late Mr. Thomas states in one of his papers (referred to in another part of this work) that Aboriginal girls are sometimes decked with flowers when they dance together. I have never seen the natives use flowers for ornamenting their persons. Careful enquiries have been made, and it would appear that they are not so used commonly in any part of Australia.
