Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Aboriginal Lore/Answer Key"

Revision as of 05:47, 4 April 2007

For the town and rocket launch site, see Woomera, South Australia.

For the Immigration Centre see Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre.

The woomera in this picture is the wooden object at left

A woomera is an Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device. It has been described as "the most efficient spear-throwing device ever"^&. Similar to an atlatl, it enables a spear to travel much further than arm strength alone. It is still used today in some remote areas of Australia. The name woomera comes from the Eora people who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney area. It has a similar function to the Native American atlatl but uses different construction methods and materials.

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. They were often shaped like long narrow bowls and 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.

In the Arrernte language the device is called a Amirre.

Template:Unreferenced

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

Template:Australia-stub Template:Weapon-stub

de:Woomera (Waffe)

↑ http://[Graham Pearcey, on ABC Radio National 7 June 1988 www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s11117.htm]

[1] ttp://[Graham Pearcey, on ABC Radio National 7 June 1988 www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s11117.htm]

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-[[Image:Bull_roarers.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Bullroarers from Africa, in the [[Pitt Rivers Museum]]]]
+:''For the town and rocket launch site, see [[Woomera, South Australia]].''
+:''For the Immigration Centre see [[Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre]].''
-A '''bullroarer''' or '''turndun''' is an ancient ritual musical instrument and means of communicating over extended distances. Along with the [[didgeridoo]], it is prominent technology attributed to [[Australian Aborigine]]s, though was not exclusively developed by them.
+[[Image:Aboriginal craft.jpg|thumb|250px|The '''woomera''' in this picture is the wooden object at left]]
+A '''woomera''' is an [[Australian]] [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] [[spear]]-throwing device. It has been described as "the most efficient spear-throwing device ever"<ref>http://[Graham Pearcey, on ABC Radio National 7 June 1988 www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s11117.htm]</ref>. Similar to an [[atlatl]], it enables a spear to travel much further than arm strength alone. It is still used today in some remote areas of Australia. The name ''woomera'' comes from the [[Eora]] people who were the original inhabitants of the [[Sydney]] area. It has a similar function to the Native American [[atlatl]] but uses different construction methods and materials.
-The bullroarer is sometimes used as a means of demonstrating the [[Doppler effect]], by using sound. As the instrument travels round, its sound goes up or down according to its speed, and distance from the hearer.
+As with spears and [[boomerangs]], woomera were traditionally only used by men. Some woomeras, especially those used in the Central and Western [[Australia]]n [[desert]]s, were multi-purpose tools. They were often shaped like long narrow bowls and 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.
-==Design, use, and sound==
+The woomera was traditionally decorated with incised or painted designs which gave a good indication of the owner's tribal or clan group.
-It consists of a weighted [[aerofoil]], a rectangular slat of [[wood]] about 15 cm (6 in) to 60 cm (24 in) long and about 1.25 cm (0.5 in) to 5 cm (2 in) wide, attached to a long [[rope|cord]].
-{{Wikisource1911Enc|Bullroarer}}
+In the [[Arrernte (linguistics)|Arrernte]] language the device is called a ''Amirre''.
-The cord is given a slight initial twist, and the roarer is then waved in a large circle in a horizontal plane. The [[aerodynamics]] of the roarer will keep it spinning about its axis even after the initial twist has unwound. The cord winds fully first in one direction and then the other.
-It makes a characteristic roaring [[vibrato]] [[sound]] with notable modification from both [[Doppler effect]] and the changing speed of the roarer at different parts of its circuit.
+{{unreferenced|date=October 2006}}
+== External links ==
-By modifying the expansiveness of its circuit and the speed given it, the modulation of the sound can be controlled, making the coding of information possible. The low frequency component of the sound travels extremely long distances, especially on the wind.
+* [http://www.questacon.edu.au/html/aboriginal_technology.html Aboriginal technology]
+* [http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-beyond-anz-203-woomera.jpg A drawing of a woomera], from the book ''Boy Scouts Beyond the Seas: "My World Tour"'' by Sir [[Robert Baden-Powell]], 1913
-==In culture==
+{{australia-stub}}
-This instrument has been used by numerous early and traditional cultures in both the [[Northern Hemisphere|northern]] and [[southern hemisphere]]s but in the popular consciousness it is perhaps best known for its use by [[Australian Aborigine]]s (it is from one of their languages that the name ''turndun'' comes).
+{{weapon-stub}}
-===Australian Aboriginal culture===
+[[Category:Throwing weapons]]
-Bullroarers have accompanied the didgeridoos in [[initiation ceremony|initiation ceremonies]] and in [[burial]]s to ward off evil spirits, bad tidings, and even women and children.
-Bullroarers are considered [[secret men's business]] by some Aboriginal tribal groups, and hence [[taboo]] for women, children, non-initiated men and/or outsiders to even hear{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. They are used in men's initiation ceremonies and the sound they produced is considered by some Indigenous cultures to represent the sound of the [[Rainbow Serpent]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. In the cultures of South-East Australia, the sound of the bullroarer is the voice of [[Daramulan]], and a successful bullroarer can only be made if it has been cut from a tree containing his spirit.
-In [[1987]], [[Midnight Oil]] included a recording of a bullroarer on their album [[Diesel and Dust]] (at the beginning of the song, ''Bullroarer'') inadvertently causing offence{{Fact|date=February 2007}} to the Aboriginal people of [[Central Australia]] from whom the recording was taken.
-The bullroarer can also be used as a tool in [[Aboriginal art]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
-Bullroarers have sometimes been referred to as "wife-callers" by Australian Aborigines{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
-[[Category:Whirling aerophones]]
-[[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture]]
 [[Category:Australian Aboriginal bushcraft]]
 [[Category:Australian Aboriginal words and phrases]]
-[[Category:Australian culture]]
-[[Category:Australian Aboriginal music]]
-[[de:Schwirrholz]]
+[[de:Woomera (Waffe)]]
-[[fr:Rhombe (instrument)]]
-[[nl:Snorrebot]]