Identifier: nativesofaustral00thomuoft (find matches)
Title: Natives of Australia
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Thomas, Northcote Whitridge, 1868-
Subjects: Ethnology -- Australia Australia -- Social conditions Australia -- Description and travel
Publisher: London : A. Constable
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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a glance on others which hepassed. When he got there he sat down at the fire;his wives, if any accompanied him, crouching behind,keeping their eyes fixed on the ground. In about tenminutes the nearest blood relation of any one who haddied during the wanderers absence advanced andseated himself cross-legged on his thighs, pressing hisbreast to that of the newcomer. After a few minuteshe retires, having kept perfect silence the whole time ;then the nearest female relative approached and threwherself on her knees before him ; she embraced hisknees with her left arm, and with her right handscratched her cheek till blood came ; this she repeatedwith his wife, and they both cried and wailed. Thisdone, the returned wanderer was at liberty to speak,and one of the men in camp related to him the eventswhich had happened since he left. In other cases there was less formality ; but strangerswere required to sit down outside until they wererequested to come nearer. Probably many Europeans PlaIE 15
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Throwing thk Boomerang (p. 77) BOOMERANG 77 met their death in the early days from neglecting toobserve native rules of politeness. The friendly reception by visitors naturally leads upto the question of war and weapons. If the generalreader with some knowledge of Australia were askedto say what the most important weapon of the nativesis, he would probably name the boomerang; but thereturn boomerang is not a weapon, and the non-returnform, though in skilful hands it can be made to describeone or more circles, is not what is commonly meant bythe term boomerang. None the less there is a certainamount of truth in the prominence thus given in mostminds to the boomerang as representative of Australianculture; for though implements of similar shape wereor are in use in ancient Egypt, America, and SouthIndia, it is open to question whether they were reallyof the return kind. If they were not, then Australiais the only area in which the boomerang proper exists. The essential points of the boo

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