The following paper was read by the Director:

The JERAEIL, or INITIATION CEREMONIES of the KURNAI TRIBE. By A. W. HOWITT, Esq., F.G.S.

The Kurnai Teraeil.

IN a former communication on Australian ceremonies of initiation, I mentioned that there are marked differences between those of the Kurnai and those of the tribes whose initiation I therein described. I now propose to give an account of the Kurnai Jéra-eil1 sufficiently detailed to bring into view its principal features, and to mark in what manner it differs from, or has resemblance to, the Kūringal of the Murring.

1. Gathering the Jeraeil.-The gathering together of four clans? of the Kurnai tribe who participated in these ceremonies was preceded by long consultations between the elders of the clan in which the initiative was taken. When it was found that there were a sufficient number of boys whom it was necessary to "make young men," the principal headman took action by sending out his messenger, who conveyed a summons to the principal headman of the next clan. He carried with him some token from the sender-such as his club, or boomerang, or shield-and he had given to him, to be conveyed with great secrecy, one of the Sacred Bullroarers (Tundūn) which was the special emblem of his mission. He delivered his message to the old man to whom he was sent, and handed to him the token and the tundun. The headman, having received these, called the elders together at some suitable place apart from the camp; and showing them the token and the tundun, repeated the message. After due consultation by the elders, their decision was announced in a general assembly of all the men; and the headman now in his turn sent the message forward by one of

1 Each native word will be accented once for all when first used.

2 It is well to bear in mind that the Kurnai tribe is divided into five clans, each of which has succession from father to son in the same portion of the tribal territory. I use the word "clan" advisedly, because this tribe has agnatic descent. When I use the word "horde," I refer to a local division of a tribe having uterine descent as to its social organization. The agnatic clan and horde are distinct from the class and totem, which have descent through the mother.

The use of the "message stick was in a very rudimentary stage with the Kurnai. When a messenger was sent to gather together certain local groups, there was given him, as a sort of aide mémoire, a plain stick for each group, cut from any convenient tree or bush: these he delivered with his message. They were not marked or notched.

his own people. In this way the message would travel from clan to clan, and from group to group, until the whole Kurnai community became aware of it-that is to say, all the initiated members of the community; for these proceedings were carefully concealed from the women and children, excepting that the elder women were made aware of what was being mooted by such expressions as "The Mrarts (ghosts) are going to kill a kangaroo." This refers to one of the stages into which the Jeraeil is divided.

These preliminary proceedings take up a long time, perhaps several months. Time is of no value to the blacks, and as the ceremonies were usually held during the summer months, the initiative may have been taken even as far back as the previous autumn or winter.1 More than one set of messengers travelled to and fro in the Kurnai country before the final arrangements were completed, that is, before the exact time for the meeting was agreed upon, as well as the locality. This latter would in most cases be in the country of the headman who called the assembly, for it would be to him, and at his call, that the others

came.

When the time for assembly drew near, the most distant group started in company with the Báiaur (messenger) who had been accredited to them. Proceeding on their way by easy stages, they joined the next local group; until, on reaching the appointed tryst, their contingent might include all, or nearly all of their clan, who were on, or near to, their line of march,

3

The arrival of such a contingent was announced according to rule. A good instance is that of the last great Jeraeil, which was held on the north bank of the Mitchell River at Lucknow, nearly a quarter of a century ago. According to my informants this Jeraeil was called by the principal headman of the northern moiety of the tribe, the renowned warrior Brüthen Munji. The southern moiety arrived under the guidance of their Gwéraeil Kurnai, Bunjil Gwórun. Marching in front of his people, and coming to the edge of the high bank overlooking the river where the town of Bairnsdale now stands, he gave the signal for halting by sticking the great jag-spear, which he carried, into the soil. The men thereupon all halted, and the women, hastily disembarrassing themselves of their burdens, and rolling up their 'possum rugs, commenced to beat time upon them to the words of a Jeraeil song. This, being heard at the encampment beyond the river, was immediately replied to by the same song.

1 Thus, in calling together the Jeraeil which I describe in this paper, I sent out my messengers to the headman of the Brabra clan in August, and the Jeraeil was held at the end of January following.

2 Bruthen-Munji, " Kamilaroi and Kurnai," p. 213.

3 Gworun

=

Thunder.

As the contingents assembled at the appointed place, each one encamped on that side nearest to its own country. In time the whole assembly would thus be gathered together.

During the waiting for arrivals, and during the intervals between the several stages of the Jeraeil ceremony, there were songs and dances at night, in which sometimes the hosts and sometimes the visitors were the performers. At these ceremonial gatherings matters of tribal concern were arranged; and it not infrequently happened that feuds broke out, which required to be temporarily assuaged by those concerned claiming, or submitting to, the ordeal of spears or clubs.

These may be passed over without further notice, as not having any essential connection with the initiation ceremonies. I may, however, notice that these ceremonies were attended by the Kurnai alone, and not even by all of them; for the fifth clan of the tribe, the Kráuatun, did not participate, and had no ceremonies of its own. I have heard that some of the blacks of the Western Port district, which adjoins the Kurnai country on the west, did at times attend the South Gippsland Jeraeils, but I am unable to verify the statement. At any rate, no aliens from any other adjoining tribes were permitted to attend.

At the Jeraeil which I attended, and which I am about to describe, the old men had decided that, being short-handed, the Krauatun headman and one other should be permitted to help. This distinction between the words "help" and "participate marks the fact that neither of these men had been formally initiated, that is to say, they had not passed through the stages of Tutnurring and Brewit to Jeraeil. Moreover, although the Kurnai were short-handed, on this occassion, and had only six boys to be initiated, they absolutely refused to allow any halfcastes even to be present, giving as their reason, "these half-castes have nothing to do with us." This is a well-marked illustration of the view of agnation, and of the derivation of the child, held by this tribe.1

All the Kurnai being assembled, the headmen decide when the ceremonies shall commence. In the Jeraeil which I shall now describe, the ceremonies were, according to the statements of the old men who conducted them, the exact reproduction of the Jeraeil of their fathers, at which they themselves had been initiated, and made the depositories of the ancestral knowledge. After the occupation of Gippsland these ceremonies were held at intervals for some twenty years. They then fell into disuse, and were only now revived in response to the message which I had

1 It would be unsafe to argue from the custom of the Kurnai on this matter to that of the Australian tribes in general.

sent round. The old men said they were glad to receive my message, and to hold the Jeraeil, for the reason that the Kurnai youth "were now growing wild. They had been too much with the whites, so that now they paid no attention either to the words of the old men, or to those of the missionaries."

2. The Preliminary Ceremony.-In the afternoon of the day on which the first ceremony of the Jeraeil was held, the oldest woman, the wife of the second headman, called the other women together near the camp; and, having then summoned to her the Tutnurring (novices)3 proceeded to drill them, as also their Kráu-un, in the performances. It was, in fact, a rehearsal. The boys were seated cross-legged in a row with their arms folded, and were told by the old woman to keep their eyes cast down, and not to stare about, also to mind and keep good time to the drumming by the women. The Krauun were placed in a row just behind the Tutnurring, and were instructed to copy their movements exactly. The women now commenced to drum slowly on their folded rugs, and in accord with the time the two rows of seated figures moved their bodies sharply first to one side and then to the other, at the same time reclining the head almost on the alternate shoulders. One boy, who was not quite quick enough in his movements, was told by the old woman to move more sharply, as if some one were tickling him." After some practice, the old woman thought the performance satisfactory, and told the boys to go away and rest themselves.

During the day the Jeraeil ground had been selected by the headman in an open space about a quarter of a mile from the camp. All the little bushes were chopped up, and the ground cleared of sticks and rubbish.

About sundown the headman gave the word to commence, and walked off into the forest, followed by the men. The old woman walked to the Jeraeil ground, followed by the women and by the novices, who were attended by one of the Bullawangs.

1 Those to whom the message goes accompanied by the Tundun must obey the call. Two of the Braiáka clan failed to attend after being summoned, having remained at one of the missions at a wedding. The old men were very indignant, and said, "when that kalk (wood) goes to a man he must come, he cannot stop away.' In olden times this non-attendance would have had serious

results for the two Braiakas.

2 Gweraeil Rūkǎt; Rukut

woman.

3 The novices are called Tutnurring during the ceremonies, afterwards they are Brewit (young men) or Jeraeil.

4 The Krauun is one of those women who stand in the relation of "sister" to the Tutnurring. For instance, she is his "tribal," if not "own," mother's brother's daughter. In other words, she is the "tribal," if not "own" sister to the Bullawang.

5 The Kurnai name for the Australian robin (Petroica multicolor). Pointing to one of these birds, an old man said to me, "that is the policeman who looks after the boys." The birds Bullawang, Yeerung, and Djeetgun are said to be three of the "leen muk-kurnai " ("real Kurnai ancestors ").

This man being a cripple was unable to take an active part in the ceremonies, and had therefore been assigned specially to watch and instruct the Tutnurring.

1

On reaching the ground the Tutnurring and the Krauun were seated in two rows, as at the rehearsal, the pairs being allotted to each other in accordance with their group-relationship. The mothers of the boys stood in a row behind them, each bearing a staff surmounted by a tuft of eucalyptus twigs. The Gweraeil Rukut acted as mistress of the ceremonies. When the arrangements had been completed and the boys were sitting silently with their eyes cast down on the ground, a distant noise was heard of rhythmical shouts, accompanied by dull muffledsounding blows. These coming nearer, a procession of men came in sight led by the headman. The performers were smeared over with charcoal powder, and bound round with strips of white bark, across their bodies like shoulder-belts, round their waists, legs, and arms, and in coronets round their heads, from which rose tall waving tufts of grass. Similar bunches of grass were thrust from each side through the nose-perforations. Each man held a strip of bark, about three feet in length and four inches wide, in each hand. In the olden times-twenty odd years back -the men were entirely naked during these ceremonies, but now civilisation has so far modified their customs, even in the Jeraeil, that they wore their trousers, and some of them their shirts also. The line of men came rapidly forward from the bush in a series of short runs, following and imitating the actions of their leader, who came on in a serpentine course, shouting " Huh! Huh!" beating the ground in time with his strips of bark, first on the one side and then on the other. After every fifteen or twenty paces the men stopped, and, raising their strips of bark, set up a loud shout of "Yeh !" (Hurrah!)

As soon as the men appeared the women began to beat their rugs, the mothers kept time by stamping their yam-sticks on the ground, and the seated rows of Tutnurring and Krauun swayed in perfect unison alternately to right and left. The men, having run in a winding course once or twice past the boys, formed a

1 These staves should properly have been "yam-sticks," but these implements are no longer used by the Kurnai, flour having replaced the former food of roots or tubers. The bunches of leaves which play a part in these ceremonies are called "Jerung' branches, boughs, or twigs. Hence Jeraeil, which may be translated "leafy," or "having leaves or twigs." It is analogous to the Murring word "Kuringal," which may be translated "of the forest," or "foresty." Eil, al, or gal, are adjectival terminations.

2. Both in the Kurnai and in the Murring tribes the use of charcoal powder belongs to these ceremonies and to sorcery. Among the Kurnai the BunjilBarn, i.e., wizards who killed by the Barn (Casuarina suberosa), rubbed themselves all over with charcoal powder when at their incantations. See "Kamilaroi and Kurnai," p. 252.