The cases before us are not accidental, but we have acquainted ourselves with the recognized determinative system of Australian pictographs which is quite analogous to that known to have been practised by the ancient Egyptians. Consider, for instance, the character signifying “to love”—a human figure in profile with one hand lifted to the level of the mouth. The same figure, with a few parallel wavy lines, signifying water, drawn against it, means no longer “to love,” but “to drink.” The wavy lines in this instance are the determinative. In the Australian illustrations given above, we have selected samples which are easily followed, but there are many cases where the reading would be quite impossible if it were not for the presence of the little, subsidiary, determinative sketch.
In his endeavour to make the meaning of some of his designs clear, a native often embodies as many features as possible, quite regardless as to whether in reality they would all be visible in the one plane he is drawing. In the picture of a crocodile appearing on a boabab-nut from the Derby district in Western Australia, shown in [Fig. 16], it will be observed that the reptile, in spite of having its dorsal surface represented, has its vent indicated. The long, slender muzzle of this figure, by the way, makes it clear that the smaller species of the two northern Australian crocodiles (C. Johnstoni) is intended. The human figure, too, very often appears half in full and half in profile.
The aboriginal is a keen observer, and takes careful note of many things besides a kangaroo, a snake track, or other similar natural objects which may lead him to his daily bread. When travelling in the Buccaneer Archipelago in the far north-west I remember one of the natives drawing my attention to a peculiar formation in the clouds, and saying, in the Sunday Island dialect: “Arrar ninmiddi,” which means, literally: “Cloud knee.” My instructor proceeded to draw the extraordinary shape he could see with his finger upon the hatchway of the pearling lugger we were sailing in, after which he completed the figure of a man. I was struck with this man’s faculty of observation, because the cloud effect he referred to was rather out of the common and projected from a cirro-cumulus like the bent limb of a swastica.
It is in this way that many inspirations come to the cave artist. Repeatedly one has occasion to notice how a pre-existing feature or defect in the rock face—a crevice, a floor, a concretion—becomes the centre piece of a design drawn to suit it. The feature one finds most commonly embodied in a cave drawing is a small hole. This often figures in the place of an animal’s eye, or a hole into which a snake is disappearing. A local bulge in the rock may also be taken in as part of a design and represent portion of a head or body.
Not only does the artist embody suitable natural features in his designs, but, conversely, he also applies his knowledge of form to explain already existing phenomena in the world about him. The embodiment of his artistic ideas in his poetical explanations of Nature’s wonders plays, as might be expected, an important role in his mythology. These remarks apply especially to any striking characteristics in the sky. When among the tribes of the Musgrave Ranges, I ascertained that the black-looking gap in the Milky Way, close to the Southern Cross, which is commonly known as the Coal Sack, was referred to as “Kaleya Pubanye,” that is, the “Resting Emu.”
Fig. 28. Charcoal sketch of ceremonial dance, Pigeon Hole, Victoria River (× 1/6). Tracing.
In the north of Australia, the Larrekiya, Wogait, and other tribes have adopted a similar designation for a series of dark spaces along the Milky Way. But they have extended the idea considerably in that the Coal Sack represents only the head of a gigantic emu, the beak of which is pointed towards the Musca constellation (i.e. towards the south). A small star of the Southern Cross group very appropriately stands for the eye of the bird; the nebulous effect usually surrounding this star gives it an extra life-like appearance. The neck is but faintly discernible near the head, but becomes clearly visible in the neighbourhood of the nearer Pointer; it passes between the two Pointers and curves slightly towards the constellation of Lupus. Within the constellation of Norma, the dark space widens considerably and represents the body of the emu. The blunt tail turns sharply towards, and into, the constellation of Scorpio. A nebulous patch lying practically on the point of junction between the imaginary areas of Ara, Scorpio, and Norma affords a good division between the legs of the bird, whilst another lying between μ and ζ of the Scorpion group separates the tail. The lower portions of the legs are not very clear, but some of the more imaginative natives maintain that they can distinguish three toes on each extremity. There is no doubt the primitive eye has herein discovered a striking similarity between an optical phenomenon in the southern sky and a living creature, which is of great importance in the hunting field, and at the same time plays a prominent role in tribal folk-lore. They refer to this emu by the name of “Dangorra.” Vide [Fig. 17].
PLATE XLII