Blacks of the Manning River District, New South Wales, 1851-1912 - Page 81

1912 - I wish to add something to this account of the  

Blacks as I remember them, I have been reading a book

written by Mrs Gunn "The Little Black Princeß of the

Never-Never", Mrs Gunn writes about the ways of the  

Blacks in the far North, about the Roper River, and

I notice lots that is much the same as their customs here.

But I think she is making a mistake by calling the

Man making "a Corroboree". Now the Corroboree as we use the

word, and I think it is the same all over the Colony, is mearly

a danse = nothing is taught by the Old Men at it, it is nothing

but an amusement = the Cabra or Boora, is quite another affair.

One custom Mrs Gunn mentions I have never heard of

as practiced by these Blacks, that is that always when they meet anyone

nearly related to them  they must shut their eyes, & not look at them,

or speak to them, or listen to them = if they look "Debble Debble

will take away eye" if they speak, will take away tongue, if they listen

will take away ear" = I never heard of this before reading Mrs Gunn's

Book but all the rest is much the same as these Blacks here =  

but there are no old Blacks left and I can learn nothing

from the few that remain = but I cannot help feeling sorry  

sometimes that they are all gone even if they were no

good in the World - There is on thing I have forgoten to

mention = A Blackman could not  talk  to his Mother

in Law, I never heard anything about not looking at her.