“Turrwan” or Great Man”
Kundri
Spirit of Rainbow
A Turrwan’s Great Power
Sickness and Death
Burial Customs
Spirit of the Dead
Murderer’s Footprint
Bones of Dead
Discovering the Murderer
Revenge
Preparations for a Cannibal Feast
Flesh Divided Out
A Sacred Tree
Presented with a Piece of Skin
Cripples and Deformed People
Before going further, it is necessary for me to tell you something of a “turrwan” or ‘great man.” Well, a “turrwan” was one who was supposed to be able to do anything. He could fly, kill, cure, or dive into the ground, and come out again where and when he liked; he could bring or stop rain, and so on-all by means of the “kundri,” a small crystal stone, which he made the gins and others believe he carried about inside him, being able to bring it up at will by a string and swallow again! But my father has seen these stones, and they were really carried in small grass “dillys,” under the arm, and were attached with bees’ wax to a string made from opossum hair. These stones were generally obtained from deep pools, where they were dived for. The natives believed in a personality they called “Taggan” (inadvertently spelt “Targan” in Dr. Roth’s Bulletin, No. 5), who seemed to be the spirit of the rainbow, and he it was who was responsible for these stones or crystals. Wherever the end of the rainbow touched the water, there they said crystals would be found-they knew where to dive for them.
Several men possessing these stones belonged to every tribe; they were never young men, but those who had been through many fights, and had had experience. Each one was noted for something special. For instance, one was a man who could bring thunder, another could cure, and so on. Whenever there was a storm or a flood, the aborigines always blamed a “turrwan” of another tribe for sending it. Supposing the storm came from the north, it was a turrwan from a tribe in the north who was responsible, or if from the south they blamed a southern tribe.
When any one was ill, he was taken to a “turrwan” to be cured, and the latter would make believe that he sucked a stone from the sick person’s body, saying that was the cause of the mischief, another “turrwan” of another tribe having put it into him. For whenever any one was ill, no matter under what circumstances, a stranger “turrwan ” (or rather his spirit) had most surely seen the afflicted one, and thrown the “kundri” at him. And a spirit could fly, and thus do damage on a man miles away. If found out too late nothing could save him.
Aborigines do not believe they ever die a natural death; death is always caused through a “turrwan” of another tribe. When a man dies, they think that at some previous time he has been killed before without its being known to any one, even himself. Verily a strange belief. They think he was killed with the “kundri” and cut up into pieces, then put together again; afterwards dying by catching a cold, or, perhaps, being killed in a fight. The man who killed him then is never blamed for the deed; “he had to die, you see!” But they blame a man from another tribe for the real cause of death, and do their best to be revenged; this causes all their big fights. They manage to decide on the murderer-how I will tell you again.
If any one was ill in camp, and a falling star was seen, there would be a great crying and lamenting. To the natives it was a sign that the sick one was “doomed.” The star was the fire-stick of the turrwan, which he dropped as he flew away after doing the mischief.
Talking of how the aborigines regard death, brings us to their burial customs. Whenever the death of an aboriginal took place, all friends and relatives would gather together and cry, each man cutting his head with a tomahawk, or jobbing it with a spear, till the blood ran freely down his body, and the old women did the same thing with yamsticks, while the young gins cut their thighs with sharp pieces of flint stone till their legs were covered with blood. In the meantime a couple of men would get some sheets of tea-tree bark on which to place the body, and if the corpse was not to be eaten, it would be wrapped up in this bark and tied round and round with string made from the inside of wattle bark. The feet were always left exposed. Then two old men would carry the body, those mourning following behind continually crying all the time. You could hear their cry a long way off. They would go some distance till they came to a tree (generally in a gully out of sight) with a fork in the stem, six or eight feet from the ground. Here they would pause and seek about for two suitable forked sticks to match this tree, and these they fixed in the ground at a little distance from it, making the forks correspond in height with that of the tree. Next two sticks cut about seven feet long would be placed from the forked sticks to the tree fork, and from this three-cornered foundation a platform would be made with sticks put across and bound with the wattle- bark string. All being ready, the body would be lifted up on to this platform, which, without fail, would be made so that when the head was placed next the tree the feet would point always towards the west.
After this, a space in the ground underneath the body about four feet square would be cleared bare of grass, and at one side of it a small fire would be built. This was that the spirit of the dead man might come down in the night and warm himself at the fire, or cook his food. If the body was that of a man, a spear or waddy would be placed ready, so that the spirit might go hunting in the night; if a woman then a yamstick took the place of the other weapon, and her spirit could also hunt, or dig for roots. These weapons were left that the spirits might obtain food; it was not sup- posed that they would ever fight.
After finishing these preparations, the blacks would go away lamenting, and the body was left in peace. Then the day after burial-if it could be called burial-an old “turr- wan” would go without the knowledge of the others, back to where this platform stood erect with its burden, and stealthily he would print on the cleared ground beneath a .mark like a footprint with the palm of his hand. After his departure, two women-old women (near relatives of the deceased, a mother and her sister if alive)-would appear on the scene. They, of course, would see this mark, and at once would imagine that the murderer had been there and left his footprint behind him. Strange to say, too, they would recognise to whom the footprint belonged! So back they went to the others, and told them all who was the murderer-it was generally some one they had a spite against in another tribe-and there would be no question or doubt.
After that no one went near the body till the flesh had dropped off, when two old women, relatives, again went, and, taking it down, they would proceed to separate the bones from each other. Certain of these were always religiously put aside and kept they were the skull, leg, arm, and hip bones-while those of the ribs and back, etc., were burnt. The bones kept were put in a dilly, and so carried to the camp, and this dilly, with its sacred contents, accompanied the old woman relative on all her wanderings for months after- wards. In the meantime, however, the following happened :-
At the camp a fire would be made some fifty or one hundred yards from the huts, and all hands were called to come and witness the performance. The bones were cleaned and rubbed with charcoal, and one of the old gins who discovered the murderer’s footmark would sit in the middle, the rest surrounding her, and she would take the hip bones, and, with a stone tomahawk, would chop them, accompanying each chop with the name of some black of another tribe sung in a chanting fashion. Now and again the bone would crack, and each time it did this the woman happened to call the name of the man she had told them of, who had left his footprint behind on the cleared ground, and the rest would exchange glances, saying he must be the guilty party.
Father has been present on these occasions, and the blacks would always draw his attention to the unquestionableness of the conclusion arrived at. Nothing could persuade them that it was not fair, and should they come across the poor unfortunate singled out his death was a certainty. Perhaps some night he would be curled up asleep in the dark, when suddenly he was pounced upon and put out of existence; or perhaps he would be innocently engaged at some occupation when a dark form, sneaking up behind him, would send a spear through his skull, or otherwise do the deed. A death always roused great desire for revenge, and the friends of the deceased would watch and plan in every way till at last their end was accomplished. And even when revenged like this, many a big fight took place over a death. For the tribe to which the dead man had belonged would send a challenge to the tribe of the man held responsible for the deed, by two messengers, carrying a stick marked with notches cut in it. This stick served to show that there were a great number of blacks, and that they were in earnest. The messengers suggested a place of meeting for the fight, and after staying perhaps a week would return to their friends, who would look forward to the affray.
I have spoken of the blacks as cannibals, mentioning that it was only ordinary men and women of no condition who were buried. Here is how a cannibal feast would be proceeded with: First, the body was carried about a mile away from the camp, and there placed on sheets of tea-tree bark near a fire. I may mention that it was a practice with the aboriginal to keep his body (minus the head) free from hair, by singeing himself with a torch. It was similar to the habit of shaving. Should an aboriginal be unsinged he was unkempt, as a white man is who has not shaved. He could do his own arms and hands, etc., but would ask the assistance of others for the back. The singeing over, he rubbed his body with charcoal and grease, feeling then beautifully clean and nice. So perhaps it was this habit which made the aborigines singe their dead for the last time before devouring them.
A “turrwan” would take a piece of dry sapwood from an old tree, and lighting it well by the fire would keep knocking off the red ashes till it burnt with a flame like a candle. With this he would give the body an extra good singeing all over, excepting the head, until the skin turned from black to a light brown colour. Then the body would be rubbed free of any singed particles, and turned face downwards, and three or four men, who had been solemnly standing at some distance from the others, would slowly advance, one by one, singing a certain tune, to the body. Each of these men held a shell or stone knife in his hand, and the first would start by slitting the skin open from the head down the neck, then retiring; his place would be taken by the second man, who would carry the opening on down the body, the third man down the legs, and so on till the skin was opened right to the heels, and would peel off in one whole piece.
During all this performance never a joke nor a laugh was heard, but everything was carried out with the utmost quietude and solemnity. The body would be cut up when skinned, and the whole tribe, sitting round in groups in a circle, each group possessing a fire, would watch expectantly for their share of the dainty. One can imagine how they would look forward to the feast as time advanced, and doubt- less they watched with hungry eyes as the old men divided out the flesh in pieces to each lot. Immediately on grabbing their portion, each group would roast and devour it, and in no time “all was over and done.” The heart and waste parts would be buried in a hole dug alongside the fire, and this interesting hole was marked by three sticks driven into the ground, standing about a foot high, and bound round with grass rope. The hair, ears, nose, and the toes and fingers, without the bones, would be left on the skin, which was hung on two spears before a fire to dry. Sometimes it would take some time to dry, and would have to be spread out each day; then, when ready, it would be blackened with charcoal and grease. After that the skin was folded up and put into a “dilly,” and so carried everywhere by a relative with the certain bones that were kept.
These remains were always carried by a woman relative, who kept them for six months or so, when she tired of the burden, or there was a fresh one ready to carry; and so a hollow tree or a cave in a rock was used as a depository. When my father came to North Pine there was a hollow gum tree near where he settled, full of skins and bones of the dead. This tree was burnt by bush fires, so, though part of it may still be seen, there is, of course, no trace of anything exciting in the way of remains. A tree used in this way was considered sacred, or “dimmanggali,” and no one dare trifle with its contents. The remains were not just thrown into the hollow, but must be carefully left in dillies, and thus hung on forked sticks in the tree. A hollow tree was looked for with a hole in the trunk several feet from the ground (it must not open right down), or else a hollow one with no opening would be cut out as desired. The idea was to place the forked sticks in the earth, so that they stood upright, with the bags hanging on them.
When my father was quite a boy he was sent once to look for some strayed cows to York’s Hollow (the present Brisbane Exhibition Ground), which was all wild bush, and was a great fighting ground for the blacks. At the time of which I speak the blacks were all camped there, and when young “Tom” arrived on the scene he came across an old gin crying, and going up to her asked what was the matter. The woman replied that her “narring” (son) had been killed and pulling an opossum-skin covering from her dilly, dis- played his skin. It made the boy start to see the hair of the head and beard, the fingers, etc., all on the skin, and going home he told Grandfather about it. The latter offered flour, tea, sugar, tobacco, a tomahawk, anything for the skin; but the old woman would not part with it. Her husband, man-like, was more willing, however, and after some weeks turned up with a nice little new “dilly,” containing four pieces of his son’s skin, two from the breast, and two from the back, and this he presented to “Tom” for his father. The scars or markings could be seen on these pieces, which were as thick almost as a bullock’s hide.
The old blackfellow took pride in giving this present, and after so honouring “Tom,” called him his son, and all the tribe looked upon the boy as such, and from that time forth he was considered a great man or “turrwan,” no one saying him nay, but doing anything for him and letting him know all their secrets. It got to be known all over the place from tribe to tribe that he had been presented with portions of Yabba’s son’s skin, and so he was received everywhere with open arms as it were, for Yabba was well known and respected.
Women relatives of a dead person, possessing a skin, might give small portions from the back or breast to their friends of other tribes, when meeting them. The receivers would lament again over the skin when in their own camp, but having been given this, they felt quite safe about their men relations visiting the tribe of the deceased, for this giving of skin meant that the recipient was not connected in any way with suspicion.
The bodies of children were never skinned, they were placed up on trees unless in extra good condition, when they would be eaten. Very young children or babies were roasted whole, and women generally ate them. In some instances babies were killed at birth, and then eaten by the old women -for instance, if the mother died, for they blamed the child. Cripples or deformed people were met with often enough among the aborigines, some with withered limbs, and these. were invariably treated kindly, as indeed were also all old people. Aborigines would live to be seventy or eighty years of age, and if at any time they were unable to fend for themselves, their relatives took them in hand, treating them with great respect and veneration. However, at death the bodies of cripples were just shoved anyhow into hollow logs.
An aboriginal camp was always shifted immediately whenever a death took place, and the trees round about where a native had died, or where he had been eaten, would be nicked as a sign of what had taken place.