FIRE CEREMONY OF THE WARRAMUNGA TRIBE

One of the most grotesque and at the same time picturesque ceremonies that we witnessed was an extraordinary performance, or rather a series of ceremonies, carried out by the Warramunga tribe, the climax of which consisted in a kind of ordeal by fire. It was quite different from the one associated with the Engwura in the Arunta tribe, which forms part of the initiation ceremonies through which every man must pass; indeed, in certain respects, it seemed to take very much the form of a primitive kind of saturnalia.

In the Warramunga tribe the two moieties, called respectively Uluuru and Kingilli, each of which comprises approximately half of the tribe, are very clearly defined, and the fact of the existence of these two moieties is very distinctly seen during the performance of any important ceremony. As we have described, in the case of the sacred ceremonies the Kingilli men take charge of the performance of the Uluuru ceremonies, and, on the other hand, the Uluuru take charge of those of the Kingilli men.

One evening, just after the conclusion of the bonebreaking ceremony in connection with the burial rites described later, we heard sounds of laughing, singing, and shouting going on at a spot not far away from the main camp by the side of the creek.