FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145  
146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>  
front tooth, are elements of it. And this is as much as is known of it; except that from the time of initiation to the time of marriage, the young men are forbidden to speak to, or even approach a female. Surely, it is the common conditions of a hunter life which determine these probationary preparations for the hardships which accompany it in populations so remote as the Australian and the American of the prairie. I say of the prairie, because we shall find that in the proportion as the agricultural state replaces the erratic habits of the hunter, ceremonies of the sort in question decrease both in number and peculiarity of character. A third regulation forbids the use of the more enviable articles of diet, like fish, eggs, the emu, and the choicer sorts of opossum and kangaroo to the Australian youth. All that is known of the Australian religion is due to the researches of the United States Exploring Expedition. The most specific fact in this respect is the name _Wandong_ as applied to the evil spirit. I believe this to be truly a word belonging to the Oceanic Pantheon in general, and--as stated above--to be the same as _Vintana_ in Malagasi, and as the root _anit_ in many of the Polynesian languages. _The Tasmanians._--A few families, the remains of the aborigines of Van Dieman's Land, occupy Flinder's Island, whither they have been removed. I can give but little information concerning them. From the Australians they differ but slightly in mental capacity, and civilizational development. Perhaps their very low level in this respect is the lower of the two. The language seems to have fallen into not less than four mutually unintelligible forms of speech. Their _hair_ constituted their chief physical difference. This was curled, frizzy, or mopped. The _a priori_ view of their origin is that they crossed Torres Straits from Australia. I have, however, stated elsewhere that a case may be made out for either Timor or New Caledonia being their mother countries; in which case the stream of population has gone _round_ Australia rather than _across_ it. Certain peculiarities of the Tasmanian language give us the ground for thus demurring to the _prima facie_ view of their descent. The same help us to account for the differences in texture of the hair.[70] FOOTNOTES: [63] Malacca, Wellesley Province, Penang, and Sincapore. For excellent information about the ethnology of these parts see Newbold's "B
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145  
146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>  



Top keywords:
Australian
 

language

 

prairie

 

stated

 

respect

 
Australia
 
information
 

hunter

 
speech
 

unintelligible


Australians

 

mutually

 
constituted
 

curled

 
difference
 

physical

 
differ
 
civilizational
 

frizzy

 

Perhaps


removed

 

development

 

slightly

 

fallen

 

capacity

 

mental

 

differences

 

account

 

texture

 

FOOTNOTES


descent

 
ground
 

demurring

 

Malacca

 

ethnology

 
Newbold
 

excellent

 
Province
 

Wellesley

 
Penang

Sincapore
 

Tasmanian

 
peculiarities
 
origin
 

priori

 

crossed

 
Torres
 

Straits

 
Caledonia
 

Certain