. Across Australia . X CEREMONIES OF THE ARUNTA TRIBE 281 themselves with boughs and sticks. Then, at a signalfrom the leader, the young men stood up, and wewondered what was going to happen, because we knewnothing more than the young men did and had to watchcarefully so as not to miss anything. All the young mentook fire sticks and went in a body towards the river, theold men issuing instructions. On the bank they brokeup, ran across the sandy bed and then up the oppositeside, dividing into three parties—one in front of, oneto the left, and one to the right of the women. Whenabout twenty yard
. Across Australia . X CEREMONIES OF THE ARUNTA TRIBE 281 themselves with boughs and sticks. Then, at a signalfrom the leader, the young men stood up, and wewondered what was going to happen, because we knewnothing more than the young men did and had to watchcarefully so as not to miss anything. All the young mentook fire sticks and went in a body towards the river, theold men issuing instructions. On the bank they brokeup, ran across the sandy bed and then up the oppositeside, dividing into three parties—one in front of, oneto the left, and one to the right of the women. Whenabout twenty yards away from the line of women andchildren, who under the orders of the old men werewaiting to receive them, they hurled their fire-sticks inrapid succession over the womens heads. Hundreds ofthem whizzed like rockets through the darkness, eachwith its trail of fiery sparks. The younger women andthe children screamed with terror ; the men were yellingat the top of their voices and of course the camp dogsadded their
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectethnolo, bookyear1912
