A favourite practice, and one which is met with all over the continent, is to obtain a “negative” shape of a person’s hand. This is done in the following way: The person puts a small handful of ochre or pipe-clay into his mouth and crunches it to a pulp; then he fills his mouth with water and thoroughly mixes the contents. He holds the hand he wishes to stencil against a flat surface, spacing the fingers at equal distances, and spurts the contents of his mouth all about it. A short while after, the hand is withdrawn. The area which it covered remains in its natural condition, whilst the space surrounding it has adopted the colour of the ochre or clay. Very often the “hand” is subsequently painted over with a colour different from that of the surrounding area. The Arunndta refer to the hand-marks as “ilja imbadja.” Vide [Plate XLIV].
Fig. 21. Charcoal drawing of hopping kangaroos, Pigeon Hole, Victoria River (× 1/6). Tracing.
A native attaches considerable importance to his identity being thus recorded and preserved in some of the caves, believing the brand to stand for his individuality with as much certitude as, say, the European who leaves his card or carves his name in stone or wood. It is compulsory for members of a certain rank in the Worora tribe to have their “hand-shadows” perpetuated upon the walls of caves in which the bones of their ancestors are reposed, because the spirits of the dead are thus supposed to be apprised of any visits which have been made to their last earthly resting places.
It is beyond dispute that the natives possess the faculty of being able to recognize the hand-marks of their relatives and tribesmen, even though they may not have been present when they were made.
Less frequently, the negative imprint process is applied to a person’s feet or any of his private belongings, such as stone tomahawks. At times, too, the hand is smeared over with ochre and then smacked against a surface to obtain a positive. Vide [Plate XLIV], 2.
The number of ochre drawings one finds on rock surfaces is naturally unlimited, especially when extending observations over the whole of Australia; and the variety in regard to subject, colour, composition, and execution is correspondingly large.
Without at this stage attempting to delve deeply into the consideration of individual designs and their artistic merits, let us cast our eyes for a moment upon an illustration, which might be considered typical, to familiarize ourselves with the general appearance of Australian cave drawings ([Plate XLV], 1). We have before us a rock shelter or abris on the Forrest River in the north of Western Australia, a more or less vertical wall at the base, overhung at the top by a solid ledge or “roof” of quartzite. For the better part of the day this spot is protected from the intense heat of a tropical sun; and during the “wet season,” also, it provides a shelter from the prolific rains. But a casual glance at the picture suffices to convince one of the presence of a number of conspicuous designs drawn in ochre upon the rock faces. One in particular, that of a huge snake, immediately catches the eye, but if a careful scrutiny of the lower portion of the escarpment is made, many other smaller designs will be discovered.
When the rocky background is light-coloured, and not sooty, the artists often include charcoal drawings among the coloured ochre designs. The native applies the charcoal either in the form of a powder with the aid of his fingers, or he selects a piece of charred wood, big enough to hold between his fingers, and this he uses after the fashion a modern artist does a crayon. According to the method employed, the result is either a figure blackened all over, or a line drawing, shaded here and there. Some particularly creditable charcoal drawings were obtained near Pigeon Hole on the Victoria River in the Northern Territory; these are described later.
