The purely magical dances were performed when the word rhythmically shouted was Daramulun or Murunga, that is, the bull-roarer, this synonym being lawfully used only at the Kuringal, Ngalalbal, the mother of Daramulun, or the names of different parts of the body which might be affected by the Joïas, and lastly the Joïas themselves.
The different Joïas which were "danced" during the night were as follows: Krugialla, the quartz crystal; Kunambrun, a black stone, apparently lydianite; Bundnin, resembling the flesh or the intestine of an animal, and also a substance looking like chalk, of which I did not obtain a sample.
The dance of Daramulun, which was indeed the invocation of him by name, accompanied by dancing, was repeated several times. The dance of Ngalalbal took place only once, and it was partly a performance. The old Wolgal singer struck up a plaintive air, beginning in a high note, and gradually falling, all joining in it, excepting those who represented Ngalalbal.[1] The words of the song are:—
Ngalalbal Ngalalbal walulbal gilli-gulli bela,
or, freely translated, "Oh! Ngalalbal, where do you go, coming from afar?" As the song rose louder from the number of voices that joined in, two figures glided in from the black shadows of the forest to the light of the fire. The word "glided" best expresses the slow movement with which the two figures came forward side by side, as one person, and again vanished out of the circle of firelight into the forest beyond. They glided past silently, almost motionless, each one shrouded from head to foot in the same manner as the novices, and each one protruding from the space in which the face was visible a crooked stick to represent a boomerang, held concave edge outwards, with which, tradition says, the two Ngalalbal, the mothers of Daramulun, were armed. After they passed, there was a magic dance to the word Ngalalbal.
Of the totem dances some were merely the magic dance
- ↑ Ngalal is "sinew," e.g. those at the back of the knee. Bal is a dual postfix, the name being rendered as "the two Ngalalbal." The name probably also refers to the sinewy legs of the emu, for Ngalalbal is the emu.
