It is like drinking dirt, and makes the drinker dream dreams and see visions, in which he is taken down to the underground spirit-world of the Marahgoo, where anything he wishes for appears at once.

The entrance to this world is said to be near a never-drying waterhole, in a huge scrub, near Pilliga.

If a man drinks the draught, unless he is made Marahgoo, he dies.
Each totem is warned by its bird sub-totems of the coming of Marahgoo, and after such a warning tribes take care, if wise, to stay in camp; or should a man go out, he will smear his face with black, and put rings of black round his wrists and ankles, and probably have a little charm song sung over him.
Birrahmulgerhyerh are blacks with devils in them, who, armed with bags full of poison-sticks, or bones--called gooweera--are invisible to all but wirreenuns or wizards.

Others are warned of their coming by hearing the rattle of the gooweeras knocking together.

When the Birrahmulgerhyerh are about, all are warned not to carry firesticks, which at other times after dark they are never without in order to scare off spirits, but now such a light would show the Birrahmulgerhyerh where to point their gooweeras.