May 1839 - August 1839

Growing familiarity with the Kaurna language,
their culture and their view of the world

( 075 ) May 11th, 1839.
I wrote my first letter from South Australia to my dear brother Adam. The content was mainly a description of my external situation and my relationship with Br. Teichelmann.

( 076 ) May 30th, 1839.
Today I moved into a new house, although the floor in one room had not yet been done.

May 31st, 1839.
The two natives, Bakkabarti Jarraitya, who was accused and convicted of the deliberate murder of W. Duffel(82), and Parudiya Wang utya, who was convicted of the same crime against a certain Thompson(83), were executed with a rope. All of the natives, but mainly the relatives and fellow tribesmen of the two unfortunates, were deeply moved and cried profusely; Many evenings and mornings after this [event] one could still hear their touching condolences.

June 3rd, 1839.
I found a newborn child among the natives; In addition, a woman had given birth to an unripe, dead fruit(84). When I asked what they had done with the dead child, they told me that they had left it lying there, which they always did if the child was not well formed, even if it was alive, regardless of whether it was male or female.

( 077 ) June 5th, 1839.
At dusk I visited the natives in their houses and asked the Wauwitpinna, among other things, the names of some constellations. On the occasion he told me that a great star or something else in the sky was the great Paitya(85), called Yura(86), which must undoubtedly be a fabulous animal, because he described it to me as very vicious, living in the water and devouring the black people if they did not hide themselves. Because there must be an abundance of water at the appearance of this mighty beast, the natives, as Wauwitpinna expressed it, blame the heaven and the earth, e.g. like this: Kara wirkoworri, jerta wirkoworri etc. etc. and in other ways, so that the earth becomes dry and hard and the sea dries up.

The women and the untattooed children are not allowed to know this scolding and much of what follows, which is why Wauwitpinna found it advisable to go home with me, where he told me in secret and with the promise not to tell any of the natives again several things that amazed me and which seemed to be extremely important. I have long known that the natives believe in magic that kills people,