Rediscovering Indigenous Languages

the ceremony of being made young men. After a few days the old men name the [crossed out: young men] boys who are to obey this mysterious call, the whole camp moves off to the Burborg some times several neighboring tribes join in the ceremony. It usually takes place in a certain spot. A circle is formed by clearing the grass or shrub away. The women & children are kept at a distance . After various preliminary movements when all is arranged & the boys placed in the middle of the circle, the elders now surrounding them a mysterious huge looking being masked with branches makes his appearance, then the ceremony commences. The particulars of it are generally kept a profound secret among the Blacks, no European is admitted to witness the proceedings. But the [crossed out: young men] boys passing through this ordeal are kept nearly all night standing, have to pass through various gestures & movements, have with great threat sustain rules & customs [crossed out: inculcated] enforced on them and further brought under a kind of military submission to the old men, have for a few weeks to remain by themselves in a retired place and are prohibited certain kinds of food most of the best [crossed out: kinds] sorts of food especially eggs. [Margin: In some tribes a first tooth is knocked out as part of the ceremony imposed on the young men but that is not general, it was not done in the Wellington tribe. The young men are thus

fish (- The richest & most delicate [crossed out: kind of] food is always alloted to the the elderly men. -) Above all are the newly made young men forbidden to come into the presence of a woman, they dare not ever speak to their own mothers or sisters. This has often caused us much inconvenience, when we wished to instruct them together or assemble them at Divine Service or address them at the camp. I might be standing at the front of my house, conversing with some women, a few men might come in sight, wanting to see me, but they were bound to make a detour some 2 or 300 yards off and I had either to follow them, or else first warn the women off before they could speak to me. Theses rules have no doubt a well [crossed out: intended] considered origin aiming at a moral tendency, and serve in general to uphold the authority of the elderly men as rulers. I believe that they are generally strictly observed, though I caught now & then some of the young men peeping at the women, [crossed out: when themselves] through the slabs when in their huts. These rules are very gradually relaxed, some regarding certains kinds of food are binding till the men reach the middle age. Many of you would be doubtful or curious to know, who this mysterious Bubu might be, I will

add a little anecdote which will illustrate the subject. On one occasion we had two young lads under our instruction who were to attend this ceremony, one of whom was most promising and I was lothe to loose him even for a time. [original text was crossed out] However defensible, this ceremony and its tendency might be in their savage state I knew it proved an obstacle to our influence and instruction. I therefore tried with the one [original text was crossed out] who was the most promising or most spirited [crossed out: to act idependently] to dissaude him from attending the ceremony. The Blacks had much difficulty to gain over him & at length he yielded to go. This roused my indignation & I began to lecture them and expose their imposition [inserted in margin: and their various manouvers to impede any effort we might make for their im-provement, [indecipherable]. Who is therfore Babu? I [crossed out: called I asked said in their own language], why it is only one of you old men that makes that strange noise at night [crossed out: a little off the camp] to call the young men. And that strange looking [crossed out: being] fellow appearing at the Burbong is again one of you elderly men. Thats the way you impose on these boys. This gave great offence & one of the men told me afterwards, very gravely that very wrong of you Mr Gunther to say what you did. Why I said, I only told the truth. "May be truth, he replied, but you ought not have told it before all the women & children."

Tongay, Cassilis & as far as the Namoi The Wellington dialect [original text crossed out: is spoken] called Wirradurri is spoken as far as about 60 miles below Wellington on the McQuarie and on the upper Castlereigh, Jarrajarra which varies but slightly is spoken from here to Dabu & Capertee. The Bathurst district again had a different dialect. Certain natural boundaries or barriers such as ranges of mountains & rivers must have caused this variation. Still however different some of these dialects are, as for certain the Wirradurri & Gammiloroi they share a resemblance in words & grammatical construction & point to a common origin, although some may differ as widely as for instance the English & German or the German & Dutch & Danish & Swedish languages. That the Aboriginal language is soft [original text crossed out] and agreeably sonorous is shown by the various names of places especially when correctly pronounced. The vowels a or ā & i or ī predominate & some dipthongs such as ai & oi are often heard. The harsh liquid r is often when preceding another consonant changed into l, to give softness & emphasis to the pronounciation - jarra - jalmambolei. Let me here give you a few

sentences as specimens: Ngannalla main ginsenaldair marong birramalli, That man (a native) is a good guide in the bush, Maldan kalliageri dallan ngalgu, The young man will soon ascend the tree, Ngaddu yalnambilli ngiudi muin dullubasgu, I want to teach the native people concerning their soul. In abstract terms, as we must expect the language is extremely poor, in fact there is hardly a word of an abstract signification, words like vice, virtue, justice, righteousness, generosity or even love & goodness are unknown though they may express the ideas by circumlocation by verbs & adjectives, in concrete terms they are not wording, for every visible object or action, they [original text crossed out] can find an expression. Every variety of wood tree stones shrubs different herbs & grains have their own proper name. They have their declensions for nouns & form a greater variety of cases than most European languages. As a great pecularity they have two nominatives. The simple & the active. Thus, if I ask who is this, suppose it is a boy, they say burai, if I ask who has done this, they say not burai, but buradie. I will here give repeat to you, the declension of

some nouns from the grammar I have written _ [words crossed out] (Mr Gunther here quoted from a grammar of the - Aboriginal language compiled by himself Let me now give you the various tenses of the verb, for they abound in different forms more than any language I have heard of. - Read some conjugations: _ But the greatest peculiarity consists in certain modifications of the verb: as they are very defective in adverbs then modifications make up for them. There are about 20 [word crossed out] such modifications which often serve [word crossed out] form a compound verb: I will just pass one verb through its various modifications that one may better comprehend the peculiarity & use of them. [Margin:] [In numbers they are exceedingly poor, they have in the W. dial. only two, in no dialect have Iheard of more than three. Though if they want to say three] The system or construction of words & sentences may be said is not so much regulated by fixed [word crossed out] rules, but by the stress & emphasis intended by the speaker, so that the words of a given sentence may be variously transferred.

12, [words crossed out] It is astonishing what a quantity of meat they will eat at once I do not exaggerate when I say from 6 to 8 pounds they will eat at once I will illustrate this by a particular instance. A young cow of an established pack one day [word crossed out] met with some accident from which [words crossed out] was not likely to recover. The Blacks came & asked me whether they might kill & eat her. I gave them permission so to do. There were in all old & young women & children not more than about 80 present, who were to partake of the feast. The next morning some of the women came to me complaining that the cow was all eaten & they got nothing. Allowing the cow weighed at least [indecipherable] 4 to 500 there ought to [indecipherable] from about 8 [indecipherable] But whilst they eat an enormous quantity at once they can [word crossed out] fast for several days, scarcely tasting anything worth naming. If they want to prepare warm water they fill one of their

& ate but they all became very sick. An experiment I once made proved that the nut tasting very sweet has the effect of an emetic the oppossum & kangeroo [indecipherable : reek fresh?] on them. The weapon of the Blacks consist of a long spear, often from 10 to 12 feet, a Wamara or burrong lance chiefly for throwing [words crossed out] [words crossed out} another instrument somewhat similarly shaped has a sort of ax or hatchet at the end. This may be used when they come to close fight, or thrown into the air after birds. Their shield is a long piece of [word crossed out] wood [pointed at both ends [crossed out]] thick in the middle pointed at the end with a place cut out in the middle for the hand. It appears, at first sight, to afford no protection, but they throw

about [words crossed out] 6 feet deep, narrowed towards the bottom, where it was scarcely 4 feet long. Toward the top it was made much wider, so as to form a kind of ledge or shelve. When the time of the interment drew nigh, the widow of the deceased & several of her female companions, came forward, to pay their homage, once more to the mortal remains of the departed. I observed one of the women cutting her head with a sharply pointed stick so that the blood, which she spilt upon the corpse, ran profusely. The widow & others had cut themselves previously in the same manner. All threw their faces upon the corpse and burst into a most melancholy cry, dropping many a tear on the deceased. The weeping and lamentations were so affecting that I at last could not refrain from shedding a few tears & sending up a prayer on high on behalf of these benighted Aboriginees. Several of the man also were deeply affected and burst into tears. One of them, a very wild looking warrior, more particularily attracted my attention: he laid himself on the corpse

and wept most bitterly for nearly a quarter of an hour. Others imitated him, especially young I.... the son of the deceased. The scene was a little interrupted by the distressed widow falling into a fainting fit but one of the men - a ngugagir, (or professed doctor) soon caused her to revive by blowing into her nostrils mouth & hands. The funeral, or interment, at length recommenced. The Aboriginees particularly endeavoured to prepare a soft couch for their lamented friend. First they strawed some old grass & then green leaves: upon these an old piece of blanket was spread and a bag made of skins, such as the Aboriginal females carry on their backs, was filled with rags belonging to the deceased and put as a pillow for his head. Now the corpse was put in, it was exactly the length of the grave. Two sheep-skins which the old man had used for his bed were laid immediately upon him; some green leaves & then a quantity of old grass followed which together with boughs was continued up to the ledge or shelve. Here a number of thick pieces