In the remarks on Australian religion, it is argued that chiefs in Australia are, at most, very inconspicuous, and that a dead chief cannot have thriven into a Supreme Being. Attention should be called, however, to Mr. Howitt’s remarks on Australian ‘Head-men,’ in his tract on ‘The Organisation of Australian Tribes’ (pp. 103–113).
He attaches more of the idea of power to ‘Head-men’ than does Mr. Curr in his work, ‘The Australian Race.’ The Head-men, as a rule, arrive at such influence as they possess by seniority, if accompanied by courage, wisdom, and, in some cases, by magical acquirements. There are traces of a tendency to keep the office (if it may be called one) in the same kinship. ............