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Hippi smoked himself in this smoke. The women came back with arms full of small branches of the sacred Dheal tree, these they laid beside the grave, then sat down and broke them into small twigs; the old women had twigs put through the bored hole in their noses. The men came back with some pine saplings; two of these they laid at the bottom of the grave, which was about five feet deep.
On the top of these leaves, which were piled about two feet high, logs were placed; this fire was round a Dheal tree. When the thick smoke was seen curling up in a column, the Boorahbayyi were brought out of the scrub by the Munthdeegun, while in the distance sounded the whizzing voice of the Boorah spirit. As it ceased, when the women's chanting rose above it, the painted boys came into the open.
The seeds of Noongah a sterculia and Dheal, were ground on their flat dayoorl-stones and made into cakes, which they baked, first on pieces of bark beside the fire to harden them, then in the ashes. These dayoorl, or grinding-stones, are handed down from generation to generation, being kept each in the family to whom it had first belonged.
Sometimes a body was kept so that relations from a distance might come and see for themselves the death was not the result of foul play. After the body was filled up with Dheal leaves it was put into its bark coffin and smoke fires made round it. As each relation arrived he was blindfolded and led up to the corpse, which was held up standing by some of the men.
Both men and women are often addressed by these names when spoken to. A PROPOS of names, a child is never called at night by the same name as in the daytime, lest the 'devils' hear it and entice him away. Names are made for the newly born according to circumstances; a girl born under a Dheal tree, for example, was called Dheala.
Then they would rub the outside black skin off, make an opening in the side of the body, take out the internal parts, fill it up with Dheal leaves. They would place the rubbed-off skin and internals in bark and put it in hollow trees. They would then bury the body, which they said would come up white.
He explained that the service was not as it would have been some years ago. That I knew, because when I first went to the station I had seen them going to funerals all decorated as if for corroborees. Round their waists, wrists, knees and ankles had been twigs of Dheal, the sacred tree, and the rest of their bodies had been painted.
On these pines they spread strips of bark, then a thick bed of Dheal twigs; then a woman handed a bag containing the belongings of the dead woman boogurr they were called to the oldest male relative, who was standing in the grave; he placed it as a pillow at one end.
Round her arms she bound goomils opossum hair armlets into which she placed more sprays of flowers, matching those in the girl's hair. To show that the occasion was a sacred one a sprig of Dheal tree was placed through the hole in the septum of the nose. The toilet of a wirreebeeun was now complete. The old woman gave her a bunch of smoking Budtha leaves to carry, and told her what to do.
The spirit from the grave carried with him the twigs of the sacred Dheal tree which were placed over and under his body; he follows his spirit relations, dropping these twigs as he goes along, leaving thus a trail that those who follow may see.
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