On showing the teeth to our medical gentleman there, and to others since my return to England, they all declared that they could not have been better extracted, had the proper instrument been used, instead of the stone and piece of wood.
On a view of all these circumstances, I certainly should not consider this ceremony in any other light than as a tribute, were I not obliged to hesitate, by observing that all the people of Cam-mer-ray, which were those who exacted the tooth, were themselves proofs that they had submitted to the operation. I never saw one among them who had not lost the front tooth. I well recollect Bennillong, in the early period of our acquaintance with him and his language, telling us, as we then thought, that a man of the name of Cam-mer-ra-gal wore all the teeth about his neck. But we afterwards found that this term was only the distinguishing title of the tribe which performed the ceremonies incident to the operation. Bennillong at other times told us, that his own tooth was bour-bil-liey pe-mul, buried in the earth, and that others were thrown into the sea. It is certain, however, that my female friends, who gave me the teeth, were very anxious that the gift should not come to the knowledge of the men of Cam-mer-ray, and repeatedly said that they were intended for them.
In alluding to this ceremony, whether by pointing to the vacancy occasioned by the lost tooth, or by adverting to any of the curious scenes exhibited on the occasion, the words Yoo-lahng erah-ba-diahng were always used; but to denote the loss of any other tooth the word bool-bag-ga was applied. The term Yoo-lahng erah-ba-diahng must therefore be considered as applying solely to this extraordinary occasion; it appears to be compounded of the name given to the spot where the principal scenes take place, and of the most material qualification that is derived from the whole ceremony, that of throwing the spear. I conceive this to be the import of the word erah-ba-diahng, erah being a part of the verb to throw, erah, throw you, erailley, throwing.
Being thus entered on 'the valued file,' they quickly assume the consequence due to the distinction, and as soon as possible bring their faculties into action. The procuring of food really seems to be but a secondary business with them; the management of the spear and the shield, dexterity in throwing the various clubs they have in use among them, agility in either attacking or defending, and a display of the constancy with which they endure pain, appearing to rank first among their concerns in life. The females too are accustomed to bear on their heads the traces of the superiority of the males, with which they dignify them almost as soon as they find strength in the arm to imprint the mark. We have seen some of these unfortunate beings with more scars upon their shorn heads, cut in every direction, than could be well distinguished or counted. The condition of these women is so wretched, that I have often, on seeing a female child borne on its mother's shoulders, anticipated the miseries to which it was born, and thought it would be a mercy to destroy it. Notwithstanding, however, that they are the mere slaves of the men, I have generally found, in tracing the causes of their quarrels, that the women were at the head of them, though in some cases remotely. They mingled in all the contests of the men; and one of these, that was in the beginning attended with some ceremony, was opened by a woman:
We had been told for some days of their making great preparations for a fight, and gladly heard that they had chosen a clear spot near the town for the purpose. The contending parties consisted of most of our Sydney acquaintance, and some natives from the south shore of Botany Bay, among whom was Gome-boak, already mentioned in Chapter XXVIII ["About the latter end of the month . . .">[. We repaired to the spot an hour before sun-set, and found them seated opposite each other on a level piece of ground between two hills. As a prelude to the business, we observed our friends, after having waited some time, stand up, and each man stooping down, take water in the hollow of his hand (the place just before them being wet) which he drank. An elderly woman with a cloak on her shoulders (made of opossum skins very neatly sewn together) and provided with a club, then advanced from the opposite side, and, uttering much abusive language at the time, ran up to Cole-be, who was on the right, and gave him what I should have considered a severe blow on the head, which with seeming contempt he held out to her for the purpose. She went through the same ceremony with the rest, who made no resistance, until she came up to Ye-ra-ni-be, a very fine boy, who stood on the left. He, not admiring the blows that his companions received, which were followed by blood, struggled with her, and had he not been very active, I believe she would have stabbed him with his own spear, which she wrested from him. The men now advanced, and gave us many opportunities of witnessing the strength and dexterity with which they threw their spears, and the quickness of sight which was requisite to guard against them. The contest lasted until dark, when throwing the spear could no longer be accounted fair, and they beat each other with clubs, until they left off by mutual consent. In this part of the contest many severe wounds were given, and much blood was drawn from the heads of each party; but nothing material happened while they had light enough to guard against the spear.
In the exercise of this weapon they are very expert. I have seen them strike with certainty at the distance of seventy measured yards. They are thrown with great force, and where they are barbed are very formidable instruments. The wo-mer-ra, or throwing-stick, is always made use of on such occasions. This is a stick about three feet long, with a hook at one end (and a shell at the other, secured by gum), to receive which there is a small hole at the head of the spear. Both are held in the right hand. the fingers of which are placed, two above the throwing-stick, and two between it and the spear, at about the distance of two feet from the hook. After poising it for some time, and measuring with the eye the distance from the object to be thrown at, the spear is discharged, the throwing-stick remaining in the hand. Of these instruments there are two kinds; the one, named Wo-mer-ra, is armed with the shell of a clam, which they term Kah-dien, and which they use for the same purposes that we employ a knife. The other, which they name Wig-goon, has a hook, but no shell, and is rounded at the end. With this they dig the fern-root and yam out of the earth, and it is formed of heavy wood, while the wo-mer-ra is only part of a wattle split. They have several varieties of spears, every difference in them being distinguished by a name. Some are only pointed; others have one or more barbs, either shaped from the solid piece of wood of which the spear is made, or fastened on with gum; and some are armed with pieces of broken oyster-shell for four or five inches from the point, and secured by gum. All these barbed spears are dangerous, from the difficulty of extracting them. Of shields they have but two sorts. One, named E-lee-mong, is cut from the bark of the gum tree, and is not so capable of resisting the spear as the Ar-rah-gong, which is formed of solid wood, and hardened by fire. This shield is not so much in use as the e-lee-mong, as I imagine from its greater weight, and perhaps also from the superior difficulty they meet with in procuring it. Of clubs they use several sorts, some of which are of very large dimensions. They have one, the head of which is flat, with a sharp point in the centre. The flat part is painted with red and white stripes from the centre, and does not look unlike what they term it, Gnal-lung-ul-la, the name given by them to a mushroom. They have yet another instrument, which they call Ta-war-rang. It is about three feet long, is narrow, but has three sides, in one of which is the handle, hollowed by fire. The other sides are rudely carved with curved and waved lines, and it is made use of in dancing, being struck upon for this purpose with a club. An instrument very common among them must not be omitted in this account of their weapons of hostility, for such, I fear, some of our miserable straggling convicts have found it to their cost, though it generally is applied to more peaceful purposes. This is the Mo-go*, or stone-hatchet. The stone is found in the shallows at the upper part of the Hawkesbury, and a handle being fixed round the head of it with gum, the under part is brought by friction to an edge fine enough to divide the bark of such trees as they take their canoes or hunters huts from, and even the shields which are cut from the body of the tree itself. There is no doubt of their readily applying this as a weapon, when no other offers to their necessities.
[* A representation of this and other instruments is given in [Plate 11].]
It must be observed, that the principal tribes have their peculiar weapons. Most of us had made collections of their spears, throwing-sticks, etc. as opportunities occurred; and on showing them to our Sydney friends, they have told us that such a one was used by the people who lived to the southward of Botany Bay; that another belonged to the tribe of Cam-mer-ray. The spear of the wood tribes, Be-dia-gal, Tu-ga-gal, and Boo-roo-bir-rong-gal, were known from being armed with bits of stone, instead of broken oyster-shells. The lines worn round the waist by the men belonged to a peculiar tribe, and came into the hands of others either by gift or plunder. The nets used by the people of the coast for carrying their fish, lines, etc differed in the mesh from those used by the wood natives; and they extend this peculiarity even to their dances, their songs, and their dialect.
Among other customs which these people invariably practise, is one that is highly deserving of notice, as it carries with it some idea of retributive justice.
The shedding of blood is always followed by punishment, the party offending being compelled to expose his person to the spears of all who choose to throw at him; for in these punishments the ties of consanguinity or friendship are of no avail. On the death of a person, whether male or female, old or young, the friends of the deceased must be punished, as if the death were occasioned by their neglect. This is sometimes carried farther than there seems occasion for, or than can be reconcilable with humanity.