The skulls and jawbones of deceased relatives [says Brown] are preserved for a long time, and are worn round the neck either in front or behind. The photograph in Plate XVIII shows a woman wearing the skull of her deceased sister. Like all their other possessions these relics are lent or exchanged, passing from one person to another, until sometimes a skull may be found in the possession of a man who does not know to whom it belonged. . . . The other bones are made into strings, such bones as those of the hand and foot being used as they are, while ribs and vertebrae are broken up into pieces of convenient size. The bones or pieces of bone are attached to a length of rope by means of thread and the string thus produced is often ornamented with the dried yellow skin of the Dendrobium and with shells. The whole is covered with red paint. These strings of bone are worn as cures for and preventives of illness. If a man has a headache, for instance, he will attach one of the strings round his head. They are in almost constant use in every camp and every man and woman is sure to possess one or two. The bones are made into strings by the female relatives of the deceased and are then given away as presents.¹

¹Radcliffe-Brown, A.R.n/an/an/an/a, , 112–113 (Cambridge University Press. By permission).