When a native wishes to partake of the honey, he grips one of the ants by the head, and, placing the swollen abdomen between his lips, he squeezes the contents into his mouth and swallows them.
In regard to the taste, the first sensation the palate receives is a distinct prick of formic acid, which is no doubt due to a secretion produced by the ant in self-defence. But this is both slight and momentary; and the instant the membrane bursts, it is followed by a delicious and rich flavour of pure honey.
The Aluridja and Wongapitcha call this wonderful ant “winudtharra,” whilst to the Arunndta it is known as “yerumba.”
In many parts of central Australia the leaves of the red gums (Eucalyptus rostrata), growing along the river-beds, are covered with lerp manna—white, conical structures, about the size of a small lentil, which are secreted by the larvæ of an insect known as Psylla. On account of their sweetish taste, large quantities of the cones are collected and eaten. The Arunndta refer to manna as “prelja.”
CHAPTER XV
VEGETABLE DIET
Women collect vegetable products—“Yelka”—“Munyeroo”—“Nardoo”—Water lily tubers—Native truffle—The “Kaula” or Native Pear—Gall-nuts of the mulga and bloodwood.
Whatever contributes towards the vegetable diet of a tribe is procured essentially by the women. Daily excursions are made by the women, young and old, collectively or in small groups, to lay in a stock for the family meal, which is prepared when the sire returns to camp. The articles which are collected are almost unlimited in variety, the time of the year usually determining which kind in particular is made the object of the day’s outing.
The children accompany their mother, and although they help in the general collecting, as decided by the mother, they find many little “luxuries,” like the seeds of the mistletoe and the nectar contained in the calyx of a flower, which they partake of as opportunity affords.
Throughout the central and west-central regions, one of the commonest vegetables, which is eaten in very large quantities, both raw and roasted, is the tunicated corm of the Cyperus rotundus, which grows in the sandy banks of practically all the river-courses in the area mentioned. These little bulbs grow not very deep below the surface, and, being covered by a comparatively loose sand or sandy loam, are easily obtained. The gins use “wanna” or yam-sticks which they mostly hold in the fist of one hand and apply the chisel-point to the ground like a pick, whilst the other hand scoops or scratches the sand out of the hole. As the bulbs come up, they are placed into the bark carrier ([Plate XXI]). The best time to dig for the bulbs is when the grass-like blades of the plant have dried off. When a tribe has been camped for a while near a favourable collecting ground, many acres of soil are turned over, giving one quite the impression of a cultivated field. The Arunndta call this bulb “yelka” or “irriakutta,” the Aluridja “dunnmördta.” The bulb is about the size of a field-pea. To eat it, all that is required to be done is to rub it between the palms of the two hands and then blow away the light shell, which peels off during the process. The natives usually take up five or six at a time and treat them thus, when they are to be eaten raw; children are especially fond of them raw. The bulbs have a sweetish, nutty flavour.