t we might almost despair of arriving
at the truth, were it not that we possess a clue to guide us on the dark
and slippery way. That clue is action. While it is generally very
difficult to ascertain what any man thinks, it is comparatively easy to
ascertain what he does; and what a man does, not what he says, is the
surest touchstone to his real belief. Hence when we attempt to study the
religion of backward races, the ritual which they practise is generally
a safer indication of their actual creed than the loudest profession of
faith. In regard to the state of the human soul after death the beliefs
of the Australian aborigines are clearly reflected in many of the
customs which they observe at the death and burial of their friends and
enemies, and it is accordingly with an account of some of these customs
that I propose to conclude this part of my subject.

[Sidenote: Burial customs of the Australian aborigines as evidence of
their beliefs concerning the state of the soul after death. Food placed
on the grave for the use of the ghost and fires kindled to warm him.]

Now some of the burial customs observed by the Australian savages reveal
in the clearest manner their belief that the human soul survives the
death of the body, that in its disembodied state it retains
consciousness and feeling, and can do a mischief to the living; in
short, they shew that in the opinion of these people the departed live
in the form of dangerous ghosts. Thus, for example, when the deceased is
a person of importance, the Dieri place food for many days on the grave,
and in winter they kindle a fire in order that the ghost may warm
himself at it. If the food remains untouched on the grave, they think
that the dead is not hungry.[193] The Blanch-water section of that tribe
fear the spirits of the dead and accordingly take steps to prevent their
resurrection. For that purpose they tie the toes of the corpse together
and the thumbs behind the back, which must obviously make it difficult
for the dead man to arise in his might and pursue them. Moreover, for a
month after the death they sweep a clear space round the grave at dusk
every evening, and inspect it every morning. If they find any tracks on
it, they assume that they have been made by the restless ghost in his
nocturnal peregrinations, and accordingly they dig up his mouldering
remains and bury them in some other place, where they hope he will sleep
sounder.[194] The Kukata tribe think that