Field notebook

Transcription - Page 105

Saturday morning

This morning rather late after yesterday. About
8am went up to young mens camp,
found all Kurnai there. Tutnurring
camped further away to be out of way of women.
Joe then complained that boys were out hunting and
with no one to mind them - great argument -
[??], eloquent, Billy Macleod [??] and [??]
I stood peace maker. Boys sought out. Generally
convinced - I speak – boys return [??] out Dick Cooper
I address them. Men go out for kangaroo
& game and I with King Charley, Dick Cooper,
Jimmy mind the boys. Boys are spoken to
impressively as to their duties. Men
camp to be out of way of women. Jimmy tells
me rules (see below) and says that when he heard
I had ordered Jeraeil he began to think about
what the old men had told him when he was
made young man and said to himself
“that was just like what the Minister says”.

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Rule of Conduct
(1) Food
(2) Left arm only used - right arm when told
in default "[?gournnill?]"
(3) Must not go near [?Wūrkŭk?] - or let [their- crossed out]
wurkuk shadow go over them, or get them + lazy
+ dozy - not to do this at any age
(4) Must not let women bake their bread
but if boy takes out the possum gut then
women may cook it
NB fat of Kangaroo, Porcupine, + old man
Emu, [?female?] possum, +c by being given a piece
by old men

May be quite old before the old men came
catch them with the fat - McKay never
caught yet.
(5) to give anything by hand to friends
(6) to listen to old people
(7) non in [??] man with [??] [??] tell
8) to keep of one among few a [??] in child
- would make boys being [?very?] good
for nothing.