Jim’s Australiana Spot – 2UE - May 8, 2011

 FURPHIES ... No 1 - How Aussie is the BOOMERANG?

Questions

Non returning boomerangs were used as weapons by Ancient Egyptians, Native Americans and Indians. Most Aboriginal tribes used non returning boomerangs and some used returning boomerangs also . it seems they were used as decoy birds of prey, thrown above long grass in order to frighten birds into flight and into waiting nets. Perhaps they were also used for games or sport.

Not ALL Aboriginal tribes used boomerangs.
• Orange area shows where both returning AND non returning boomerangs where used
• brown area - no boomerangs used
• yellow - non returning boomerangs only -

The other unique Australian artifacts are the didgeridoo and Woomera. 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 didgeridoo has been used for at least 1,500 years, based on the dating of paintings on cave walls and shelters from this period A termite-bored didgeridoo has an irregular shape that, overall, usually increases in diameter towards the lower end. This shape means that its resonances occur at frequencies that are not harmonically spaced in frequency. Didgeridoo was men's business and has many taboos associated in places where is was part of the culture.

The woomera or didgeridoo 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".

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