Series 2, 4 - The Adventures of Ngilgian. Typescript draft with ms. corrections (published in Australia, 1923)

Abstract

The Adventures of Ngilgian- another version of Ngilgi’s story pub.1923 (including a page of manuscript) In every group, north, south, east, west, the women were always an asset at group gatherings being negotiated temporarily with the visiting groups who paid in bartered goods. The Bibbulmun groups were probably so called because they always had “many women” in the group. Ordinarily, every woman had to take her stick (digging) when hunting with her own sex and if she were seen without it by any man, that man could use her, without having to barter with her man. A certain Kinning (corroboree) called Wanna wa had gone round the coast once every 25 years. It took 25 years to do the full oval round of Australia and returning to its starting point. I heard of the name and the traveling [?] dance from some old native women and men among the Bibbulmun. They called it the Wanna wa (women’s stick “where”, “gone away” etc. and at Eucla in 1913 it arrived while I was camped there via Boundary Dam area, W.A. It ended there especially as it requires a big mob, especially of men. One very old man, in Eucla at the time, has seen it as a young man in the Musgrave and Everard Range area!! He suddenly remembered some of the various ‘acts’ performed.