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[Page 34]
at the "Boora or "Crabra" as we call it, that is
was part of the "Man making" = a kind of human
sacrafice = it is all rot = if it had been carried on
at such time we should have missed some of the
Darkies at those times, and we never did = Now
they are not so particular in talking about it
and it would have come out by this time; At the
death of any relation the Women used to take a
tomahawk and gash their heads about giving
themselves some awful gashes, When Gangat Jackey's
boy died his Mother, Maria made some big cuts
on her head, and talk about howling, they did
howl, No Man was supposed to die a natural
death = he was always bewitched by some other
Black, and this Black had to be killed. = Before
I tell you how this was found out = that is who did
it, I must try and explain one of their customs, = it
is hard to do so without using the word "Totem"
Each Family had a particular "Totem"
one would have Native Cat for its "Totem", another
Native Dog, = another Native Bear, = another Wombat, and
so on = now when a man died, at night, one of his
near relatives laid down with his head on the
body, and the first animal he heard make a
noise it was one of that "Totem" that killed
the Man, and one of that Totem had to be killed
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