A kind of
spear thrower used by the
Arunia,
Luritja,
Urmatjera and
Kaitish tribes of
Australia. It consists of a broad
lanceolate blade of
mulga wood (
Acacia Aneura),
tapering off at both ends. It is almost always decidedly
concave, but sometimes nearly
flat.
At one
end it has a small wooden
point attached by means of a
lump of
resin firmly bound by
sinew. At the opposite end there is a still larger
mass of the same material which not only makes a
handle, but holds a flake of flint which forms the most useful
cutting implement of the tribes that use this form of
thrower.
The broad
surface makes it
inefficient as a
thrower, but, on the other hand it serves a
treble purpose. First as a thrower, second as a cutting
implement, and third as a
receptacle for certain things, such as
decorative materials and
blood, and is often used during
ceremonies.