Sheddings

The Aboriginal Bora Ring at Tucki Tucki, a few miles south of Lismore, is typical of sites in South East Australia. Bora is the name given both to an initiation ceremony and to the site where it is performed. It is a rite of passage which often involves circumcision and scarification, and may also involve the removal of a tooth or part of a finger.

This site was last used in the nineteenth century. In 1891 Tucki Tucki was dedicated as a cemetery, and is still used as one today - there were fresh graves when I visited. So where the blackfellows once shed minor body parts, white folk began shedding entire bodies.

The gum tree meanwhile, just sheds its bark. Apparently this encourages fire, which it likes.