39

31

extend far round the East coast for I find
that the 'women's sister" was known at Port Stephens (1)
and I have lately heard of it near Brisbane (2)

Proceeding westward from Gippsland totems of
this kind are found to have existed among the
Woiworung. In this tribe these totems were double
there being the [crossed out: Superb warbler] Emu wren and the Bat
[crossed out: B] for the men and the Superb warbler and a
small Nightjar (3) for the women. Probably the same
totems obtained among all the tribes of which the Woiworung
are representative. The Wotjoballuk of the Wimmera River
also had these totems and this shows which were
the beliefs of tribes over a vast area covered by the
class divisions. Krokitch and Gamutch. In this tribe
the mens brother was the Bat and the womens sister
was a small nightjar.

With these people these were real totems although of a peculiar kind. They were called "yaur" (flesh) or
ngirabul [underlined] or mir [underlined] just as were the [crossed out: true] totems proper.
The only difference was that the Bat was the brother of all
the men while away one totem was the brother only of the
men who bore it as their totem. The [crossed out: bat] Wotjo
said that the Bat was the man "brother" and that
the "nightjar was his wife".

The curious custom of fighting about these totems
seems to have prevailed wherever they were found.
I have spoken [inserted above: narrated] elsewhere [crossed out: where] the Kurnai [crossed out: and]
their fights about them (1), the Wotjoballuk

[Line across page]

(1) Dawson
(2) Mr James Petrie, Pine River, Brisbane
(1) K&K p.

31

extend far round the East coast for I find
that the 'women's sister" was known at Port Stephens (1)
and I have lately heard of it near Brisbane (2)

Proceeding westward from Gippsland totems of
this kind are found to have existed among the
Woiworung. In this tribe these totems were double
there being the [crossed out: Superb warbler] Emu wren and the Bat
[crossed out: B] for the men and the Superb warbler and a
small Nightjar (3) for the women. Probably the same
totems obtained among all the tribes of which the Woiworung
are representative. The Wotjoballuk of the Wimmera River
also had these totems and this shows which were
the beliefs of tribes over a vast area covered by the
class divisions. Krokitch and Gamutch. In this tribe
the mens brother was the Bat and the womens sister
was a small nightjar.

With these people these were real totems although of a peculiar kind. They were called "yaur" (flesh) or
ngirabul [underlined] or mir [underlined] just as were the [crossed out: true] totems proper.
The only difference was that the Bat was the brother of all
the men while away one totem was the brother only of the
men who bore it as their totem. The [crossed out: bat] Wotjo
said that the Bat was the man "brother" and that
the "nightjar was his wife".

The curious custom of fighting about these totems
seems to have prevailed wherever they were found.
I have spoken [inserted above: narrated] elsewhere [crossed out: where] the Kurnai [crossed out: and]
their fights about them (1), the Wotjoballuk

[Line across page]

(1) Dawson
(2) Mr James Petrie, Pine River, Brisbane
(1) K&K p.