In  hard  summers  the  new-born  child¬ ren  seem  to  be  all  eaten  in  the  Kaura  tribe  —  A.  W.  Howitt infered  this  from  remarkable  gaps  that  appeared  in  the  ages  of the  children.3 4 * 6 7  It  even  came  to  that,  as  in  the  Birria  tribe  during the  years  1876 — ’77,  in  the  drought,  not  only  were  all  the  infants devoured,  but  even  the  younger  grown  children.1  However,  in  some tribes  this  practice  appeared,  even  in  a  normal  period,  not  to  be so  very  rare.  At  least,  if  the  gossip  that  circulated  among  the  tribes were  to  be  believed,  cannibalism  was  even  more  extensive  than we  suppose.  For  instance,  one  tribe  relates  of  another  that  it  marks at  birth  those  infants  which  are  to  be  eaten  later  on;'1  again,  the children  of  some  women  were  always  killed  and  eaten  as  soon  as  they got  fat  enough.3  According  to  Machattie,  a  tribe  numbering  250 souls  when  the  Europeans  came,  during  six  years  ate  seven  children, i.e., about  5%  of  its  whole  population.'  Sometimes  the  eating  of children  was  the  result  of  superstition  —  a  mother  restored  her health  with  the  blood  or  flesh  of  her  own  child.  It  is  perhaps  from such  a  reason  that  the  practices  of  the  Polish  peasants  in  the  dis¬ trict  of  Tykocin  originate:  if  the  woman’s  pains  in  her  confine¬ ment  do  not  cease,  she  is  given  “navel-drink,”  i.  e.,  a  glass  of  vodka, with  which  is  mingled  a  thimbleful  of  blood  from  the  navel  and to  which  some  salt  is  also  added.1

Historical accounts are not lies

Brian Ross wrote on Dec 1^st, 2022 at 2:00pm:



Especially the kind you make.

Brian Ross wrote on Dec 1^st, 2022 at 3:07pm:


You lead the field in posting bs Bwian.

Brian Ross wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2022 at 12:10pm:


Just re-read any of your posts in this thread.

Gnads wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2022 at 7:11am:


As predicted, "you'll obfuscate and insult,"  Gnads.  Tsk, tsk, tsk...   

Brian Ross wrote on Dec 1^st, 2022 at 2:00pm:


Brandenstein's field work lasted some three decades, beginning in the 1960s. He initially concentrated on the languages of Aboriginal groups in the Pilbara area of Western Australia, and then gathered recordings and made analyses of southern tribal languages such as Ngadjumaya and Noongar.

Documented Cannibalism from the 60s to the 90s

the late Dr C.G. von Brandenstein, who learnt at least four Pilbara languages, told me once that in hard times, dead infants would routinely go ‘into the pot’.


Is Dr C.G. von Brandenstein a liar?

Boris wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2022 at 9:49pm:

Possibly not a deliberate liar, but misinformed?

One of his most startling ideas was his claim that he had isolated and identified
some sixty Portuguese language loanwords in several indigenous languages of
Australia's far north.

Australian linguists have generally dismissed these conclusions, except perhaps
for the word tartaruga. Nick Thieberger, a Melbourne University linguist, argues
that Brandenstein's approach was still strongly influenced by an outdated
nineteenth-century linguistic thinking.

—Thieberger, Nick (2008). "Language is like a carpet. Carl Georg von Brandenstein
   and Australian languages". In McGregor, William (ed.). Encountering Aboriginal
   languages: Studies in the history of Australian linguistics.