boomerangs used in vanuatu

[ausjulius]

Originally Posted by Ian

Indentured labor from Vanuatu and other southern Pacific islands was a common practice in 19th C Australia, especially in Queensland. Workers would sometimes come seasonally and then return home, others would stay year round. The presence of boomerangs in Vanuatu likely resulted from those who came to Australia to work and then returned to Vanuatu. Northern Australian indigenous groups did trade with seafaring islanders, and it is possible that such trade may have accounted for finding boomerangs in Vanuatu. However, I have recently been looking into the weapons of Vanuatu and can find no mention of boomerangs recorded there by early European visitors.

The examples shown in the picture do not resemble Australian boomerangs very closely, particularly the squared ends, and they do not appear to be carved for good aerodynamic performance. Returning boomerangs have one side flat, the other slightly convex, and the edges are thin. When thrown right-handed, a returning boomerang will soar as well as fly in a circle anti-clockwise. In the hand, it is held with the flat side down and the concave edge forward, and launched overhand at about a 45º angle to get optimum flight.

The examples shown by ausjulius are also called throwing sticks.

hi, there is nothing to indicate any boomerangs came to Vanuatu from Australia at any point in history, modern or neolithic..

they are native to the islands of Vanuatu, they are non returning and used for hunting.
boomerangs are quite common in many cultures.. india,, parts of mongolia, the arctic.... north and central america.. and even the middle east and europe till the medieval period.
there is also several polynesian throwing wepaons that are similar to the principal of a boomerang but not bent but having an aerodynamic shape.

boomerangs are used by multiple ethnic groups on the islands of vanuatu and are found in the north central portion of the nation on a number of islands there.
they are used to hunt and have probably existed there since ancient times.

i would not call the aerodynamic bladed weapon a throwing stick, a throwing stick is a stick used for throwing that is not areodynamic in its form .
the ancient greeks for example had both the nonreturing boomerang and the throwing stick and had distinct terms for the two items

in Australia in the south and south east both the boomerang- returining and nonreturining, the throw stick and the bladed aerodynamic throwing club all existed in one region.
a throwing stick is a stick typically slightly curved or s shamed with a round or slightly flattened cross-section it has a curved ballistic trajectory. unlike a nonreturing boomerang which will fly far and straight. in australia throwing sticks can have pointed or bulbed ends or can be more like a slightly curved baton.
both throwing sticks returning and nonreturing boomerangs were once quite common among celtic peoples , but vanished over time , probably but the decline of the roman empire. as they did in egypt and mesopotamia too.
celtic boomerangs of the nonreturning type with shod with iron. throwing sticks with iron or lead,
throwing sticks quickly vanish from stoneage cultures whereas boomerangs and aerodynamic bladed clubs seems to persist longer .
i woudl guess throwing sticks were once much more common.
some aboriginal throwing sticks are quite sophisticated with a slight curve and pointed small heads at either end and a central portion to grip the stick to parry with it as a weapon.. while others re just a slightly curved heavy hard stick.

these are not throwing sticks in the image but nonreturing boomerangs.

as to the shape they do indeed resemble some nonreturing boomerangs used in south western australia. robust squared off tips and a thicker wider centre it does help the boomerang survive imapcts into the ground and trees better than a pointed one or one with a narrow centre.