The Tjilba Purra naturally figures prominently in some of their ceremonies. In fact, it is reproduced and worn upon the head of the leading man during the functions. The sacred effigy consists of an upright column, about two feet high, composed of a stout bundle of grass stalks, in the centre of which the tjuringa is contained. It is decorated with alternating bands of red and white down throughout its length. This upright column represents the “Tjilba” or revered ancestor whose spirit is invoked to “sit” in the tjuringa; at the top of it a plume of wiry emu feathers, well powdered with charcoal (“unjia”) to give it a youthful appearance, takes the place of the forbear’s hair and beard. Standing at an angle with the central column, a similar though slightly smaller structure is intended for the “Purra” or phallus; it carries a plume of white cockatoo feathers at its end to represent the glans. Vide [Plate XXXVIII], 2.
A landmark, of similar significance as the Tjilba Purra of the Arunndta, exists on the Roper River in the Northern Territory; it is a pillar of sandstone known as “Waraka.” Waraka is also the name of the great Spirit Father of the tribe. In very early times this man came to earth in a semi-human form, and made the country abound in game, animals, birds, and fish. Then he found a woman on the shores of Carpentaria Gulf who remained with him as his wife. Many children came of the union; and Waraka’s mate has since been looked upon as the mother of the tribe. The woman’s name was “Imboromba,” and to this day the tribe takes its name after her. Warraka had an enormous sex characteristic which was so ponderous that he was obliged to carry it over one of his shoulders. Eventually the organ became so huge that Warraka collapsed and sank into the earth. His burden remained, but turned to stone, and is now looked upon by the local natives as the great symbol of Nature’s generative power which first produced their game supplies and then the original children of the tribe; it is revered accordingly.
The Kukata have a somewhat similar legend of the origin of a stone of phallic significance, the name of the possessor of the large organ being “Kalunuinti.”
In the extreme north-western corner of Australia, in the Glenelg River district, the natural stone is replaced by an artificially constructed one which possesses the true shape of a phallus. The stone is about three feet long and stands in a vertical position in the ground commanding a ceremonial cirque as if intended to watch over the proceedings which are instituted there.
On the shores of Cambridge Gulf, a grotesque dance is performed by the men, during which a flat, wooden phallus is used, shaped almost like a tjuringa, about seventeen inches long and three inches wide at the middle. It is painted in alternate bands of red and black, running transversely across the two flat surfaces, which are, in addition, decorated with the carved representations of the male organ of generation. The dance takes place at night and is too intricate to describe in detail. It is introduced by the following chant:
“Wa, la, ja-la-la
Wa, la, ja-la-la
Wa la gori wau!”
The verse is repeated three times, and then the performers stamp the ground with their feet, about ten times in quick succession, the action suggesting running without making headway. Presently, and with one accord, the whole party falls upon the knees. The phallus is seized with both hands and held against the pubes in an erect position, and so the party slides over the ground from left to right, and again from right to left. An unmistakably suggestive act follows, when the men jerk their shoulders and lean forward to a semi-prone position, after the fashion generally adopted by the aborigines. Still upon their knees, the men lay the phallus upon the ground and shuffle sideways, hither and thither, but always facing the object in front of them. After several repetitions of this interact, the performers raise their hands, in which they are now carrying small tufts of grass or twigs, and flourish them above their heads, while their bodies remain prone. Then follow some very lithe, but at the same time very significant, movements of the hips. When, presently, they rise to their feet again, the phallus are once more reclaimed and held with one of the pointed ends against the pubes in an erect position. A wild dance concludes the ceremony, during which the men become intensely agitated and emotional; very often, indeed, their excitement, verging on hysterical sensibility, evokes an orgasm.
