The Aborigines of Australia/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X.
FUNERAL RITES— SPONSORIAL CUSTOM— JUVENILE
SPIRITS — PERSONAL BRAVERY — "STRIKING A
LIGHT"— THE BOUGH OF PEACE.
One of the most striking instances in which a similarity is to be traced between the customs of the aborigines of New Holland and those of civilized nations, particularly those of Oriental countries, is to be seen in the manner in which they dispose of their dead. One of their customs in this respect — that of burning the body, with considerable ceremony, on a pile of wood — at once suggests a comparison with the practices of many of those nations which occupy the first position in the pages of history. This rite is at present apparently less frequent among the blacks in the settled portions of the territory — if at all practised in those parts — than formerly. That, however, it was a general custom in former days is attested by several authorities. Collins, in his "Account of the Colony" in the days of its first settlement, gives a minute description of the burning, within the bounds of the present city of Sydney, of the remains of the wife of the celebrated Binnelong, the aboriginal who accompanied Governor Phillip to Europe, the ashes of the deceased being afterwards collected by the husband, and buried with considerable care beneath a mound of earth. Several other similar ceremonies are detailed by the same writer. It appears, however, that only the bodies of such as had passed the middle age were privileged to be disposed of in the manner referred to, and which is hence to be esteemed the more honourable mode of sepulture. The bodies of young people were buried in the ordinary way, or otherwise disposed of, according to the custom of the tribe, such as by placing the corpse, enveloped in folds of bark, on a raised hurdle, or across the limbs of a tree. Sometimes a portion of the weapons or utensils of the deceased, as a basket, spear, and fizgig, were buried along with the corpse. In connection with this branch of aboriginal customs one of the worst features in the character of the New Hollander is brought to light. This is the crime of child-murder, accompanied with the extreme of barbarity. When an infant happens to be deprived of its mother by death, it appears that it is no uncommon thing to bury the living infant in the same grave with its deceased parent; the reason alleged by the perpetrators for the cruel act is that the infant being bereaved of its natural nurse, and other females being adverse to take it under their guardianship, its life would be a course of lingering misery worse than death itself. The existence of this species of infanticide was first made known in the early days of colonization by a party of officers who witnessed the interment of a female, whose surviving infant was thus interred by the father, the work of death being gone through ere the Europeans, who were previously unacquainted with the intent, had time to interpose their influence to save the little victim.
While, however, it is ascertained that very young infants are, or have been, immolated in the manner described, another custom is known to prevail among the aborigines, which proves that they are not by any means indifferent to the fate of their offspring. This custom bears an affinity to the system of sponsorship practised in the Christian church — the difference being that, in the latter case, the duties imposed generally end with the ceremony, while in the former case the duties are generally strictly exacted and scrupulously performed. Thus, when the father of a family dies, his children are invariably taken under protection by some relative or other member of the tribe, on whom the title of the deceased "Bianna," signifying father or chief, is conferred. On this new guardian devolves the self-imposed duties of hunting and fishing for the sustenance of his wards, directing their movements, protecting them from outrage, training them in the exercises of their people, and in every respect providing for their well-being and safety, until such time as they become capable of depending on their own resources. This custom, the existence of which, in some tribes at least, is established beyond doubt, would imply a knowledge and practice of the social duties among the New Hollanders for which few would be disposed to give them credit who have not attentively considered their character, and observed therein the gleamings of the better traits of humanity.
Among the articles of faith of the aborigines, in 90 THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA.
connection with their ideas of a future state, they hold the belief that for a certain period after death, and previous to migration to their final abode, the manes of the departed hover about the country in the neighbourhood of their mortal haunts, in the shape of little children. During the preparatory stage of spiritual existence they inhabit, according to the myth, the luxuriant foliage of the tallest trees, disporting themselves amongst the leaves and branches in their vernal and sunny retreats. Little fishes, with which they are plentifully supplied, are said to form the food of the youthful spirits while sojourning in their intermediate home — a rather strange description of provision for the inabitants of such a peculiarly sylvan abode as theirs! The seeming inconsistency can only be accounted for by the absence on Australian trees of almost every description of fruit.
Many circumstances and anecdotes tend to show that bravery is among the most prominent qualities of the aboriginal race. Although sometimes cautious and watchful in their first interviews with Europeans, they have uniformly on those occasions manifested a coolness and courage which have excited the admiration of the whites. Sometimes indviduals among them, who have never before seen a white man, have walked into the midst of a party of armed Europeans with a confidence and frankness which amounted almost to a reckless indifference. Among the numerous instances in which individual bravery has been displayed by aborigines, one is particularly deserving of notice. A traveller, while pursuing an equestrian tour in the earlier days of the settlement, suddenly came upon a solitary aboriginal who had strayed from his tribe on a hunting expedition. The black, who had never before, in all probability, seen a white man, and certainly had never seen such an animal as a horse with a rider on its back, having partially recovered from the first effects of surprise and wonder, and probably terror, which the sudden appearance of so strange an apparition produced, retreated a few paces, and then, turning round and throwing himself into an attitude of defence, poised a formidable spear which he held in his hand, evidently resolved to hurl it with effect should the horseman, who in the meantime had halted his steed, advance. This first scene of a romantic little drama — which scene is submitted for the consideration of all and several of our Australian artists — continued for a few minutes, during which the aboriginal, from the expression of amaze and terror which commingled with that of determination and ferocity in his countenance, regarded the horse and rider as one being. In order to put an end to this involuntary representation of statuary, and probably dreading that the spear which his confronter held poised in air might receive an impulse anything but favourable to his own personal safety, the European slowly and cautiously dismounted, and, standing a few paces from his horse, made friendly gestures towards his new acquaintance. The latter, now somewhat reassured by finding that he had to deal with a being bearing a close affinity to himself in shape and proportions, having hesitated for a moment, at last drove his spear upright into the ground, and slowly approached the stranger, keeping, however, at a respectful distance from the horse, towards which he occasionally cast a glance of suspicion and scrutiny. After a time, the parties having become mutually confiding, entered into a conversation by means of signs and gestures, which terminated by the New Hollander pointing out to the other a spot in which he would be able to procure water, of which he was in quest, stepping aside out of the way of the horse when his rider had remounted, and bidding good-bye with a movement of considerable dignity and politeness.
Among tribes of so very unsettled and migratory habits as the aborigines, who seldom reside in the same locality for more than a day or two, the preserving or procuring sufficient fire to ignite the wood with which they cook their food, or warm the air around their couches at night, must form an important part of their everyday economy. Very generally, when they remove from one locality to another, the females carry burning sticks in their hands to serve the necessary purpose at the next camping-place. As fire cannot always be preserved in this way, however, owing to the length of their marches and the various
vicissitudes to which the travellers are subjected in "STRIKING A LIGHT." 93
their wanderings, it is necessary that some method of producing fire should have been discovered. Necessity has pointed out to the aboriginal a simple and ever- available means of attaining this end by the friction of two pieces of a peculiar description of dried wood very plentiful in the bush. Ignition is produced by making a hole in one of the pieces, into which the sharpened end of the other piece is introduced; this is turned round with both hands with as much rapidity as possible, until the desired object is attained. As it often happens that it requires a considerable amount of friction to produce the fire, several blacks generally take part in the operation, seating themselves in a circle round the fire-stick and taking part in the work of friction by turns.
It would appear as though Providence had implanted in the breasts of all mankind certain particular instincts, feelings, and emotions, by which the kindred of the entire race may be incontrovertibly fixed, in anticipation of the false theories of those who would divide mankind into distinct classes, the one enjoying higher attributes, and, as a consequence, entitled to hold unlimited sway over the other. "One touch of nature makes the whole world akin" is a maxim as true as it is trite; but it is not only the manifestations of a common feeling which prove the kindred of the world. There are certain customs and certain symbols practised and understood by all the races of mankind which prove a common origin and common kindred none the less. That with which we have to do in the present instance is the significance attached to a green bough, when carried as a propitiatory symbol, by the New Hollanders in common with the natives of nearly all parts of the world. That the carrying or bearing of a branch by a stranger in his first interviews with the aborigines is understood to be a sign of friendly intentions is a fact proved by the experience of more than one explorer and traveller. Captain Sturt, in the journal of his expeditions in South Australia, mentions the efficacy of the symbol in disarming, on more than one occasion, the hostility of strange tribes, securing a peaceable interview when all other means had failed. Travellers among the Indians of South and North America also mention that the carrying of a green bough by strangers is understood by the former as a token that their intentions are of a peaceful and amicable nature.