Field notebook
Transcription - Page 39
point in the direction
and - point to the fire
or breath hard.
Heat of fire ['Heat of fire' underlined] - breath hard
very glad [underlined] - pat the breasts
with both hands
Hallo! [iunderlined] Tap on a tree +c
Water [underlined] look down
sideways
Where Water? [underlined] sign for
where - water? look
down to left side.
There! a long way off!
[next page]
raise hand and
point at 45ᵒ
"There - near" point
at 45ᵒ to horizon down
--------------------------------------------------------
A black fellow from
the other side of
Portland - between that
and the Glenelg told me
that his people when
the [sic] buried a poor fellow
put a hut round the
grave and put in
Billy of tea and some
bread there and
that the Mūrŭp came
and drank and eat it.
Document Details
Date
—
Letter From
—
Letter To
—
Author
Howitt, Mr Alfred William
Country
Australia
Colony/State
—
Holding Institution
Museums Victoria
Collection Name
Alfred W. Howitt Collection
Registration Number
XM 759
Medium
Notebook
Region
—
Locality
—
Summary
Belonging to A.W. Howitt. Anthropological notes, from front and back of notebook varied content including notes on language, social organisation and customs and legends. Discusses the Yarra Tribe and groups across eastern Victoria. Includes language notes and diagrams, kin terms, names of people along coast and Victorian group associations with localities. Notes on 'eaglehawk and bunjil'. Possibly information from Barak ''My name is Bairuk - grub of gum tree'. Illustrations of weapons and burial practices. Notes from Paterson's 'The History of New South Wales, from Its First Discovery to the Present Time.'
Physical Description
Notebook, black, hard-covered, entries in pencil. Condition: fragile; first section of pages weakly attached. No clasp.