FL661476

The Aboriginal dances or corrobories are perhaps too
well known as that I need enlarge upon the same, but
I will briefly describe them. According to our ideas
of dancing the amusement can hardly be called a
dance, but would probably, by those conversant
with theatrical performance, be [crossed out: called] compared
to some tragical dramatic performance or some farcical
representation. The movement has certainly
nothing graceful or gentle in it, but consists
more of muscular action & contortions & jumping
arms & legs being most fantastically flung about.
Add to this the appearance of the young men - no
female ever joins in the dance, - painted with
white lines of pipe-clay on their arms, legs
faces & across the ribs, looking like [indecipherable] exhibiting before
a huge fire & now & then disappearing in
the shade of the trees or suddenly turning their backs without the white paint and the effect produced
is very strange. To gentle minds & delicate
frames rather disagreeable sensation. But all is
done with some regularity & according to time
beaten by the middleaged & elderly men who stand in front with
their bomerangs. To this they sing a hollow kind
of bass whilst the women sit behind & join
with a screeching sort of sound & beat the time
with their hands on the inside of an oppossum
cloak. Sometimes a mimicking performance is
added to the scene & at other times there are some
grave & more solemn movements whilst certain pieces of bark,
stuck up have curious marks cut on them