FL661567

36,
Their so called Corroberries or Nat: dancing
present generally rather a wild tumultuous scene
Their movements can certainly not to be said to be elegant
or graceful. Though performed with [word crossed out] much regularity
[words crossed out] of time & harmony. Yet it is more of [indecipherable]
jumping or leaping. Only the men chiefly young
men perform the dance, the women are never seen
to dance. The [words crossed out] sit on the ground beating
time with their hands on the oppossum cloacks sing
a kind of screeching [indecipherable], whilst the elderly
men stand before them singing a rough bass [indecipherable]
beating time with [words crossed out] a wammara
in each hand. Guggi wagggirri!
I have often been inclined to think that these
dances , are a [indecipherable] of heathen worship.
Their songs generally are very short consisting
sometims scarcily of more than half a dozen [word crossed out]
words, it may be in honor of some distinguished
warrior or in derision of some tribe at enmity with
them. I do not now exactly remember one of their songs
indeed they did not much fancy to communicate them
to me, as they often contained some expressions they thought I
would not approve of. But I can give you a specimen, which
would come near the mark. The Dubbo tribe came, once
very angry, they said they would soon beat us & devour us
but no, we soon overcame them, some we have slain, [word crossed out]
the rest run away run fast like cowards, Oh! this
[margin] man has slain one two thru, that man slew many, very many,
[margin] So the daughters of Israel. Saul [word crossed out] has slain his thousands, David his tens of
thousands