cases where such acts were said to have been done by a medicine-man, and the wound closed magically and invisibly, and the man died in the belief that his fat had been taken, we may feel assured that the origin of the belief was a dream, as in this particular case.
Among the Kamilaroi the taking of the fat was called Krammergorai, or stealing fat.[1]
The Yuin believed that their Gommeras could make a man go to sleep, and then take his fat, closing up the wound so as not to leave a mark, and then sending him home. He wakes up there, feels very ill, and dies. This they call Buggiin. When a spear was rubbed over with such fat, it became, as the Yuin say, "poisoned," that is, infected with evil magic.
The blacks living about Dungog believed that when a person became ill and wasted away, the medicine-man (Kroji) of some hostile tribe had stolen his fat.[2]
The Bunjil-Barn of the Kurnai
Death is attributed by the Kurnai not only to the action of evil magic, but also to the combination of evil magic and violence. Such is the magical proceeding called Barn, a practice much affected by the Kurnai, who called those who carried it out Bunjil-barn.
Here is an instance which took place in 1874. Some Brabralung Kurnai, among whom were Tankowillin and Turlburn, had a grudge against Bundawal, and they determined to catch him with Barn. They chose a young He-oak tree,[3] lopped the branches and pointed the stem, then drawing the outline (Yamboginni) of a man as if the tree-stump grew out of his chest, they also cleared the ground for a space round the tree, making a sort of magical circle. Then they stripped themselves naked, rubbed themselves over with charcoal and grease, a common garb of magic, and danced and chanted the Barn song. They told me afterwards that they did this for several days, but that,
