Aborigines of Van Diemen's Land, 1830-1840 - Page 261
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[Page 261]
#BB
If any proof was should be wanting to show the futility of Mr Evans's assertion that the Aborigines possessed some notions of a supreme benevolent Being presiding over the day, it will be found by consulting the vocabularies of the Blacks in some future former pages. All of them, in their various languages, have a name for a malevolent being, which is in English translated "Devil". Now when the Colonists instructed them in the belief of a God, they Abo would naturally apply the name of which they would give to the Lord of the day, but they do not do so, they had no name for it, they are obliged to adopt our word "God", and according to their manner of speaking they add "na or nah" - that is Godna. I think this is conclusive against Mr Evans's professions assertion.
E. E.