tales of South-east Australia the actors are either of the composite human and animal natures, or entirely human, like Bunjil or Baiame. With the Lake Eyre tribes they are almost entirely human as Mura-muras, and only in rarer cases are they of the composite character, as in the legend of the Mura-muras who became emus, or the tale of Pirinti and Kapiri where they are almost completely animal. But the principal difference lies in this absence among the native tribes of Central Australia of a belief in a tribal All-father, which I shall consider in the following section.
The Tribal All-father
Altogether apart from the Mura-muras, Alcheringa ancestors, or the Muk-kurnai is the supernatural anthropomorphic being in whom the tribes of the south-east of Australia believe, under different names. In the chapter on the initiation ceremonies I describe the manner in which the sacred beliefs are imparted to the novices, and I shall now record what may be gathered therefrom, and also from statements recorded by various writers bearing on this belief.
In doing this I commence with the Narrinyeri, as the most western tribe in which I find the belief exists.
According to Taplin,[1] the Narrinyeri "call the Supreme Being by the names Nurrundere and Martummere. He is said to have made all things on the earth, and to have given to men the weapons of war and hunting, and to have instituted all the rites and ceremonies which are practised by the aborigines, whether connected with life or death. On inquiring why they adhere to any custom, the reply is Nurrundere commanded it. Nurrundere went to Wyirra-warre, taking his children with him."
Wyirra-warre is said to be the sky, and Taplin says: "The Narrinyeri always mention his name with reverence. I never heard them use it lightly or with levity." In speaking of a great kangaroo hunt at which 150 natives were present, he says: "On reaching the hunting-ground,
- ↑ Op. cit. p. 55.
