Woomera (spear-thrower)
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A woomera is an Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device usually used for larger prey or when there is a greater distance to be overcome. It has been described as "the most efficient spear-throwing device ever"[1]. Similar to an atlatl, it enables a spear to travel much further than by arm strength alone. It is very much like an extension of the arm, enabling the spear to travel at a greater speed and force than what would normaly be attainable unaided. It is still used today in some remote areas of Australia.
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[edit] Etymology
The name woomera comes from the Eora people who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney area. It has a similar function to the atlatl but uses different construction methods and materials.
In the Arrernte language the device is called a Amirre.
[edit] Use
As with spears and boomerangs, woomera were traditionally only used by men. Some woomeras, especially those used in the Central and Western Australian deserts, were multi-purpose tools. Often shaped like long narrow bowls, they could be used for carrying water-soaked vegetable matter (which could later be sucked for its moisture, but wouldn't spill) as well as small food items such as little lizards or seeds. Many woomeras had a sharp stone cutting edge attached to the end of the handle with black gum from the spinifex plant. This sharp tool had many uses – and was commonly used for cutting up game or other food, cutting wood, and so on.
The woomera could be used as a shield for protection against spears and boomerangs. Some boomerangs were deliberately made with a hook at one end designed to catch onto the edge of a woomera or shield, which then caused the boomerang to swivel around and hit the enemy.
The woomera was traditionally decorated with incised or painted designs which gave a good indication of the owner's tribal or clan group, giving one their sense of identity or "being".
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Aboriginal technology
- A drawing of a woomera, from the book Boy Scouts Beyond the Seas: "My World Tour" by Sir Robert Baden-Powell, 1913
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