Aborigines Put Black Curse on Prime Minister
Tue Apr 20,10:17 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Aborigines invoked an ancient curse on Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Tuesday by "pointing the bone" at the conservative politician to protest against his decision to scrap a top aboriginal body.
Aborigines believe that to point a kangaroo bone at someone is to bring that person ill fortune, and the black magic is strong enough to cause death.
An aboriginal woman dressed in possum skin and traditional tribal makeup confronted Howard on Tuesday after he made a speech in a rural town and pointed a one-inch bone at the politician to place a silent curse on him.
The aboriginal woman, known only as Moopor, was not permitted to speak with the media, in line with aboriginal culture, but the head of the axed aboriginal body said the curse was a message to Howard to heed black Australians.
"This curse could go two ways, it could enlighten him and lift a mental block that Mr. Howard has about indigenous Australians," Aborigine Geoff Clark told reporters.
"Mr. Howard can refuse to ignore the message at his own peril and be put under a curse up until the next federal election."
Howard, who is expected to call an election later this year, dismissed the curse, saying, "I will deal with the matter calmly."
Howard axed the peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) last week, saying the experiment in an elected black body to administer aboriginal affairs had failed.
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