"When one of the ... Wiim-baio tribe died ... the relations used to lie with their heads on the body, and even stretched at length on the corpse."[837] In the same tribe after a man's death "his immediate relations cut off their hair and applied to their heads a paste."[838] [837] _Ibid._ [838] _Ibid._, p. 452. In the Chepara tribe "the relations of a dead person for several months after wore emu feathers, dyed red." "The mother of the deceased had her nose and all her body painted with stripes of white pipeclay, and wore red feathers over the whole of her head. A sister had also her head covered with red feathers, but was not painted white. After a few weeks the painting was changed to red, and then was worn by father, mother and sisters for a long time."[839] [839] _Ibid._, p. 469. At Port Stephens "an old couple had an only daughter of whom they were very fond. She died, and her parents built their hut over her grave close to the shore of the harbour, and lived there many months, crying for her every evening at sunset."[840] [840] _Ibid._, p. 465. In the description of mourning ceremonies given by Spencer and Gillen it appears plainly that the rôle of the individual mother was quite singular and the most important. "The actual mother of the deceased was painted deeply all over with pipeclay."[841] "On the way to the grave the actual mother often threw herself heavily on the ground and attempted to cut her head with a digging stick."[842] [841] Spencer and Gillen, _Nat. Tr._, p. 508. [842] _Ibid._, p. 509. Also the blood brother plays, apparently, a part different from that of the tribal ones. "After going a short distance they were met by a man who was a blood brother of the dead woman, and was accompanied by a number of his tribal brothers."[843] [843] _Ibid._, p. 508. All this evidence, although relatively scanty, shows clearly that the individual relations between parents and children continued to be strong and intimate. This fact also throws light on the character of these relations during early childhood. In this period the bonds were formed, and they must have been formed in a very strong and thorough manner indeed if they lasted so long. This conclusion is of such a general and fundamental character, and the evidence is so scanty, that it would be futile to attempt tracing any geographical distinctions between the different tribes. Like the other general conclusions arrived at in this chapter, it has features common to all the aboriginal tribes of Australia.