ywah. It was a
belt, about six inches wide, made of twisted sinews and hair, with four
tufts about eighteen inches long hanging back and front and at each
side from it, made of narrow strips of kangaroo or paddy melon skins.

For warmth in winter they would wrap themselves in their opossum-skin
rugs. Sometimes both sexes adorned themselves with strings of kangaroo
teeth fixed into gum, in which a little hole was made, round their
heads and necks--yumbean they called them; or forehead bands with
hanging kangaroo teeth, which were called gnooloogail.

Pine gum they rolled into small egg-shaped balls, warmed them and stuck
them in dozens all over their heads, where they would be left until
they wore off, hairdressings being only an occasional duty. The gum
they used for sticking the kangaroo's teeth was that of the Mubboo, or
beefwood tree.

Sometimes wongins were worn; they consisted of cords round the neck and
under the arms, crossing the chest with a shell pendant at the centre
of the cross. A shell is still a most prized ornament.

The corroboree dress is one of paint; the feature of it being its
design, a man can gain quite a tribal reputation for being an
originator of decorative designs.

Their original paint colourings were white, red, and yellow;
occasionally they said they got some sort of blue by barter, but very
occasionally, as it came from very far. White was from Gidya ash, or
gypsum; red and yellow, ochre clay; but they also got both red and
yellow from burning at a certain stage certain trees, gooroolay for
red; the charcoal, instead of being black, having red and yellow
tinges. But since the white people came the blue bag has put yellow out
of fashion, and raddle is used for the red.

Their opossum rugs used to have designs scratched on the skin sides and
also painted patterns, some say tribal marks, others just to look
pretty and distinguish each their own.

Feathers tied into little bunches and fastened on to small wooden
skewers were stuck upright in the hair at corroborees, also swansdown
fluffed in puff balls over the heads.

The Gooumoorh, or corroboree, is a sort of black fellow's opera; as to
the musical part, rather, as some one found an oratorio, a thing of
high notes and vain repetition.

The stage effects of corroborees are sometimes huge sheets of bark
fastened on to poles; these sheets of bark are painted in different
designs and colours, something like Moorish embroideries. Somet