Spencer & Gillen

A journey through Aboriginal Australia

Letter from F.J. Gillen to an unknown recipient

Physical Description

One single sheet and two pages of hand writing.

Primary Comments

Letter from F.J. Gillen to an unknown recipient. One sheet, two pages, front and back.

Transcript

Page 1

To Strehlow 26/08/1896. With reference to the Engwura kindly ascertain if the exchange of lubras after the ceremony was confined to men & women who were Noa to each other or if men & women who were 'ipminna' or who were 'Unkulla' to each other had intercourse this is most important. You may find that there was almost promiscuous intercourse as there is in other parts of Australia. Do the mother of the newly made Erleara occupy any special position at the ceremony or do they merely assist in the same manners as other women. Before the white men came into the country was there any special ceremony attached to the 'breaking' in 'Arilthakuma' of young women or were they merely taken into the bush & operated upon as they arrived at marriageable age without any attendant ceremony. Can you possibly find out from your blacks how the Luritcha people arrange their marriage system as they have no class system one would suppose that it was done through the totems yet cannot find any evidence that it is so. Kindly enquire if there is any restriction amongst them as to marriage between men & women of the same totem. Can a kangaroo man for instance marry a kangaroo woman and could an Arunta man take as wife any woman of the Luritcha tribe and confer upon her a class name corresponding to the class name his wife should bear. Did your people in their natural state use the fingers or toes in counting. How do they calculate time, by moons? If so had they any means or methods of keeping count. Were they in the habit of making notched on sticks or weapons to remind them of how many moons had gone bye. Is it or was it clearly recognised the widow descended to the younger brother of the deceased [?] and why could she not go to his elder brother. I am quite anxious to find out how the Luritcha people arrange their...

Rights: Barr Smith Library

Document Details

Date Made
26/08/1896
Creator
Region
Central Australia
State
Northern Territory

Document Details

Letter To
Strehlow, Carl Friedrich Theodor
Number of Pages
1

Subjects

Language Groups
People
Places

Institution

Institution
Barr Smith Library
Registration
unnumbered doc1