Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

After some deaths inquests were held, usually by a native doctor, who claimed that, by divination or other means, he can determine the person or persons responsible. Some deaths were followed by an inquest, and some, but not all, inquests were followed by retaliation.

One of the methods of determining a person responsible for a death among the people of the Lower River Murray was for a relative to sleep with his head on the corpse. By this means he hoped to dream the person responsible, the 'murderer' (Taplin, in Woods, 1879). The following day the corpse is carried on a bier, while the man who slept with his head on it and others surround it, suggesting likely names. If the men carrying the bier feel a movement of the corpse towards a person who calls one of these names, that is accepted as confirmation.

The Jupagalk believe that after a man dies, the spirit of the murderer can be found in the bush near by. (Howitt, 1904). If no native doctor is available, the Wurunjerri sweep the top of the grave clean, look for a small hole, and insert a stick, The direction in which the stick slopes indicates where they should look for the murderer's spirit.

Another method was used at Port Stephens. Here 2 men held the corpse on their shoulders while a 3rd man strikes it with a green bough, all the time calling the suspects' names. If the correct name is called, the corpse shakes, on which the bearers also shake.

Among the Chepara, it is the native doctor who sees the murderer in a dream.

In some tribes, such as the Bigambul, the corpse is asked the person who caused its death.

Other tribes, such as the Turrbal,  the native doctor makes a track on the cleared ground under the mortuary platform and interprets the identity of the murderer.

The Wakelbura loosen the earth immediately below the platform to make the slightest mark visible, examining the site internittently.

In the eastern and northern Kimberleys stones are arranged beneath the mortuary platform or tree. The direction the sorcery came from is determined by which stone the liquid from the decay of the body falls upon. (Basedow, 1925, Kaberry, 1939).

The Bad and Ungarinjin (Elkin, 1954) establish the guilt then older relatives of the dead person paint the skull and some of the bones with red ochre and blood and bury it in an ant heap with fire. By singing over it they hope the murderer will sicken and die.

A method that was sometimes used to narrow down the range of responsibility for a death among the people of the Western Desert was carried out when the people from an area came together after an interval when a number of people died. Usually on a dark, still night, a small firestick was prepared for each person that died. As the names of the dead are taboo, each stick is identified by marks representing the section and subsection and local affiliation. Each stick, in its turn, is held up, if the sparks are carried up and move a long distance, it means that the responsible person is from another country in the direction in which the spark has moved. If sparks travel only a short distance and extinguish quickly the guilty person is nearby. Also in the Western Desert, the bones may be exhumed several months after burial and examined, divination being used to determine the killer.

The people of north-eastern Arnhem Land say the spirit of the murderer hovers near the corpse, where it can be identified by a native doctor. (Warner, 1937/58). They use the liquid from the mortuary platform for divination, or the native doctor placed an arm band belonging to the dead person, or some of his hair on a stick that he watches, then suddenly hits it with a 'spirit bag' to catch, or at least identify the spirit of the murderer as it jumps from the stick.

According to Warner, (1937/58) and Spencer and Gillen, (1938) a man may whisper the name of his killer as to the native doctor as he is dying, though the killer can also be determined by examining the grave.

A Laverton, a corpse could be examined for signs of magical choking, and the native doctor determines from the smell, roughly where the murderer can be found. (Elkin, 1954). Elkin has discussed some of them.

When revenge is being considered, inquest is the first step, and it can be simple or elaborate, immediately after death or delayed. An explanation of events is given, the people most closely related to the dead person must then weigh up the situation and decide if they want to proceed to the next stage, revenge.

The procedures for settling differences or identifying sorcerers tend to be fairly formalised or conventionalised. But leading up to them, or at the same time during the proceedings there was often a lot of informal discussion, both men and women loudly voicing their opinions in the main camp. Just after an offence has been committed, when feeling is still running high, the arguments could lead to fighting. Arguments and discussions could continue for weeks, or even longer. In the end it is the older men and women who have a final say.

In north-east and north-central Arnhem Land, these strong grudges often lead to a lot of dramatic gestures. A man with such a grudge, after painting himself with ochres, and carrying a bundle of spears, one of which is fitted into his spear thrower, displaying that he is ready to back up his claims with force if necessary. His supporters may also be armed. The defendant and his supporters may also be armed. They may in engage in long verbal battles for many nights. These arguments may include long monologues loaded with mythical allusions. This situation could continue until a settlement was reached by compromise or bloodshed, though it often faded away after some time, only to be resumed later. If a man is so enraged that he wants to do more than just talk, the conventional outlet for him may be to try to frighten or startle his opponent. This was called the maragaridj or mari (anger or angry). The aggressor would work himself up to a near-trance-like state with threats and boasting about what he is going to do. Eventually he grabs his weapons and with a spear in the thrower held above his head ready to throw, he charged across the open ground toward his opponent, shouting and cursing him. Part of the show was a old woman, a close female relative, possibly a father's sister, who made a show of trying to restrain him. The best places for such a show was a wide open space where there would be no distraction from the drama of the charge. Men seen to do this had eyes that appeared glazed but they didn't always intend to spear the opponent, often aiming their spears to just miss the target. Things didn't always go to plan. Sometimes there the woman who was supposed to try to restrain him would be unprepared when he charged or the victim could completely ignore him. Such a situation was seen to occur when Old Wonggu was singing and clapping his sticks at a mortuary rites. A Groote Eylandt man ran at him with his shovel-nosed spears but Old Wonggu carried on his singing and clapping as though nothing had happened.

Sources & Further reading

R.M. & C.H. Berndt, The World of the First Australians, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1964