The western tribes of Victoria, Australia, believe that if an enemy can get hold of so much as a bone from the meat one has eaten, that he can bring illness upon you. Should anything belonging to an unfriendly tribe be found, it is given to the chief, who preserves it as a means of injuring the enemy. It is loaned to any one of the tribe who wishes to vent his spite against any of the unfriendly tribe. When used as a charm, it is rubbed over with emu-fat mixed with clay, and tied to the point of a spear. This is stuck upright in the ground before the camp fire. The company sit watching it, but at such a distance that their shadows cannot fall on it. They keep chanting imprecations on the enemy till the spear thrower turns around and falls in his direction. Any of these people believe that by getting a bone or other refuse of an enemy, he has the power of life and death over him, be it man, woman, or child. He can kill his enemy by sticking the bone firmly by the fire. No matter how distant, the person will waste away. This same belief is found among the American Indians.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 15:58:31 +0000