Before we proceed to the North Queensland tribes, there may be mentioned some customs of the _couvade_ type, referring to the Central tribes. These customs, as has been said above, express an intimate connection of a mystic character between father and child. They also involve a considerable amount of paternal affection and care for the welfare of the offspring, as they expose the father to various inconveniences, privations and hardships for the benefit of the child. Thus we read that among the Central tribes the father has to observe certain taboos and restrictions during the pregnancy of his wife, otherwise she would have a difficult confinement.[626] This only shows a connection between the behaviour of the man and the act of birth. But we read in another place that the non-observance of certain hunting taboos by the man during the pregnancy of his wife would have baleful consequences for the offspring.[627] We are informed, also, of a few functions of parental kin expressed in different customs which accentuate the intimacy of this relation. Thus the mother plays some part in the initiation ceremonies,[628] as well as in mourning and funerals. Concerning the important social functions of the father, I may quote what Mr. R. H. Mathews writes about the Central tribes: "The privilege of working incantations, making rain, performing initiatory ceremonies, and other important functions, descends from the men of the tribe to the sons."[629] Moreover all the ceremonies in common with totems "are likewise handed down through the men."[630] We see from this that many important social functions descend from father to son. Messrs. Spencer and Gillen report that the position of the Alatunja is hereditary amongst the Arunta.[631] And similarly the position of the headman is hereditary amongst the Northern tribes.[632] All these facts serve on the one hand socially to define individual kinship, and on the other to show that there exist certain ideas of a mystic bond between father and child. How far these ideas, as expressed in the customs of the _couvade_ type, harmonize with the ideas dealt with above, it is quite impossible to know. It may be said that in both respects we have hints showing the existence of ideas on kinship, but that we can by no means go beyond mere supposition when we try to reconstruct these ideas and to find some mutual connection. Let us now pass to the other tribes. [626] _Nat. Tr._, pp. 466, 467. [627] _Nor. Tr._, pp. 344, 607. [628] _Nat. Tr._, p. 250. [629] _Trans. R.S.N.S.W._ (1907), p. 75. [630] _Ibid._, p. 77. [631] _Nat. Tr._, p. 10. [632] _Nor. Tr._, p. 23.