Aboriginal men and boys taking part in an intitiation ritual, Australia, 1798

Aboriginal men and boys taking part in an intitiation ritual, Australia, 1798. Engraving by Neagle showing a group of men and boys who are singing. The 'pat-ta-go-rang' or kangaroo made of grass held by the man in the centre was deposited at the feet of the boys - 'by the offering of the dead kangaroo was meant the power that was now given them of killing the animal'. From 'An account of the English colony in New South Wales: with remarks on the dispositions, customs, manners, &c, of the native inhabitants of that country' by David Collins (1756-1810), published in London, 1798-1802. Collins was Judge Advocate and Governor's Secretary under Arthur Phillip at the British colony at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, Australia, 1787-1796, and colonial governor of Tasmania, 1804-1810. ©SSPL/Science Museum