(2.) CAVE WITH NATIVE DRAWINGS.
(See [page 780].)
The Nauo tribe preserve a tradition which involves this metempsychosis. Once upon a time, a certain great warrior, named Willoo, fought their tribe, and carried off all the women, and killed all the men except two. The survivors climbed up a great tree, followed by Willoo. They, however, broke off the branch on which he was climbing, so that he fell to the ground, and was seized by a dingo below, when he immediately died, and was changed into an eagle hawk, which has ever afterward been called by the name of Willoo.
The same tribe think that a small lizard was the originator of the sexes, and in consequence call it by different names; the men using the term ibirri, and the women waka. Following up the idea, the men kill every male lizard that they can find, while the women do the same by the females.
Connected with this subject is their idea of creation. Of a single Creator of all things they have not the least notion, but they possess some traditions as to the origin of men or natural objects. The Kowrárega tribe say that the first created man was a huge giant named Adi. One day, while he was fishing off Hammond Island, he was caught by the tide and drowned, a great rock starting up to mark the spot. This is now called Hammond’s Rock. His wives saw his fate, committed suicide by flinging themselves into the sea, and were immediately changed into a series of dry rocks on a neighboring reef. These rocks are still called by the natives Ipīle, i. e. the Wives.
The natives of the Lower Murray have a curious tradition respecting the origin of the river, and the Alexandrina and Albert Lakes. The river was made by Oomudoo, the “big black-fella spirit,” already mentioned. He came down from the sky in his canoe, and ordered the water to rise and form the river, which he then clothed with bulrushes and populated with fish. He brought two wives with him, but they unfortunately proved intractable, and ran away from him, whereupon Oomudoo made the two lakes in question, one of which drowned each wife.
CHAPTER LXXVII.
AUSTRALIA—Concluded.
ARCHITECTURE AND BOAT-BUILDING.
PARALLEL BETWEEN THE BOSJESMAN AND THE AUSTRALIAN — MODES OF BUILDING HUTS — A SUMMER ENCAMPMENT — RUDE NATURE OF THE HUTS — RETREATS OF THE WOMEN — BONE HUTS OF ENCOUNTER BAY — WINTER HOUSES — HUTS NEAR THE COORUNG — FIRE-MAKING — BIRD-SNARING — A SELF-ACTING SNARE — BOAT-BUILDING — USES OF THE STRINGY BARK — A FRAIL VESSEL — CANOE FOR GENERAL USE — THE REED CANOE — GRADUAL EXTINCTION OF NATIVE TRIBES.
In many points the Australian savage bears a curious resemblance to the Bosjesman of Southern Africa, of whom a full account has already been given at 242-268 page.
So similar, indeed, are they, that the colonists use the word Bushman to designate the native savage, just as they call the spotted dasyure by the name of cat, and the wombat by that of badger. Much confusion has consequently arisen; and there is now before me a book descriptive of savage life, in which the author has mixed up the Bosjesman of Africa and the Bushman of Australia in the most amusing manner, actually transplanting a quotation from a book of African travels into the account of Australia.