Aboriginal Weapons: Art, Warfare and Cultural Identity
Aboriginal weapons are among the most striking and historically important forms of traditional Australian art and material culture. Across the continent, Aboriginal people developed an extraordinary range of spears, clubs, shields, boomerangs, and spear throwers adapted to different environments, hunting practices, and forms of warfare. Many of these weapons combined practical function with remarkable artistic design, incorporating engraved clan motifs, ceremonial imagery, and highly refined sculptural forms.
Today, old Aboriginal weapons are highly collectible. Rare shields, engraved spear throwers, fighting boomerangs, and early clubs can be worth substantial sums depending on age, rarity, provenance, condition, and aesthetic quality. The finest examples are now held in museums and major private collections around the world.
This guide explores the major types of Aboriginal weapons, their regional differences, cultural significance, and collector value. It also explains how to identify authentic old tribal weapons and distinguish them from later tourist-made pieces.
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What are aboriginal Weapons
There is a vast variation in the size, form, decoration, and function of Australian Aboriginal weapons. This diversity reflects the many different environments, cultures, and traditions of Aboriginal Australia, where more than 200 distinct languages were once spoken.
Different regions developed their own preferred weapon types. In some areas, large fighting boomerangs were favoured, while in others clubs, spears, and parrying shields were more common. Many Aboriginal weapons were multifunctional tools. A shield, for example, could also be used for starting fire, while a boomerang might be used for digging up yams or small game. Many objects additionally served ceremonial or symbolic purposes alongside hunting and defence.
Aboriginal weapons were carefully designed for specific practical uses and were often highly sculptural in form. Today they are recognised not only as functional objects, but also as important works of Aboriginal material culture and art.
Aboriginal Weapon Types
Shields
Aboriginal shields are the most collectible of all the aboriginal weapons. This is because they are often covered in intricate designs and show the highest levels of workmanship.
There are seven main types of Aboriginal shield. There is two main category of shield types. They were either designed to block projectile weapons like spears or boomerangs or to parry a blow from a club.
Design workmanship and rarity greatly affect the value of a shield. Some shields made as tourist items tend not to be very valuable.
Shields vary in size from 40 cm to over 120 cm.
Aboriginal clubs and nulla nulla
Three main categories of Aboriginal Clubs are for warfare. Throwing Clubs were lethal projectiles and made specifically to throw. Sword clubs are flat in profile and bludgeoning clubs. There is a large variety of Aboriginal clubs .
These are in a separate article and from different regions. Aboriginal clubs vary from not very collectible sticks with a crudely cut hand grip to intricately carved weapons with wonderful forms.
Aboriginal Clubs are often referred to as Nulla Nulla. The word Nulla Nulla is from the Dharuk word ŋa-la-ŋa-la
Larger aboriginal clubs are often called waddy.
Spear throwers and woomera
The aboriginal spear thrower is an ingenious device. It allows a spear to propelled far further than it could by hand alone. There were six main types of spear thrower in Aboriginal Australia. Details of Spearthrower types are in my article Aboriginal spear throwers.
Many spear throwers were are for hunting bigger game animals. They were also used in tribal fighting. Some spear throwers were even used to deflect incoming spears. Incised spear throwers are more valuable than plain ones.
Spearthrowers are often carved with lovely traditional motifs. They are collectible as a form of aboriginal art.
Aboriginal spear throwers are often called Woomera. The word “woomera” comes from the Dharug language of the Eora people near Sydney.
Spears
Boomerangs
Many boomerangs were predominantly for hunting game. Some boomerangs were specifically for Warfare. Most noteworthy is the number 7 or killer boomerang from Central Australia. The design is to hook onto opponents parrying shield and swing in behind it.
The Lake Eyre fighting boomerangs can be up to 2 meters long are for close quarters combat.
In the Kimberley of Western Australia, the boomerang was the predominant projectile weapon.
There are 12 main categories of the Aboriginal boomerang. These are covered more in a separate article.
Some boomerangs are far more collectible than others. Rare forms of the boomerang and those with great designs are most sort after.
Sorcery as a Weapon
In Western society, sorcery is not usually thought of as a weapon. In Aboriginal Australia, however, spiritual power could be regarded as both dangerous and deadly. There were many different cultural practices associated with sorcery, most of which were secret or sacred and are therefore not discussed here.
Two of the best-known objects associated with sorcery are the pointing bone and Kadaicha shoes. The pointing bone was believed to cause sickness and death when ritually directed at a person by a powerful sorcerer. Fear of being “boned” was itself often overwhelming and could have devastating psychological effects.
Another object associated with sorcery is the Kadaicha shoe, traditionally linked to stealth and secrecy. These feather-covered shoes were believed to allow a Kadaicha man, sometimes called a “feather foot,” to move without leaving footprints. In traditional belief, such figures could enter a sleeping camp, carry out ritual punishment, and disappear without a trace.
Aboriginal Axe
Aboriginal Axes were not made as weapons but could be used as one if the situation demanded. Axes were predominantly used for cutting bark for canoes and roots for making rafts.
Aboriginal axes have a stone head and a bent cane shaft. The stone head is held in place with fired resin.
Aboriginal Weapons as art
Old aboriginal weapons are often engraved with totemic and clan designs. This makes them a highly collectible form of traditional aboriginal art.
Aboriginal artists in the 1970’s also used shields as a canvass. Some of these shields painted by famous artists are collectible.
Aboriginal weapons references
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Frequently Asked Questions About Aboriginal Weapons
What are traditional Aboriginal weapons?
Traditional Aboriginal weapons include spears, boomerangs, clubs, shields, spear throwers (woomera), stone axes, and fighting sticks. Different regions of Australia developed different weapon types depending on local materials, hunting practices, and cultural traditions.
What is a woomera?
A woomera is an Aboriginal spear thrower designed to increase the speed, force, and distance of a spear. Some woomeras were multifunctional tools and could also be used as cutting surfaces, fire-making tools, or ceremonial objects.
Were Aboriginal weapons only used for warfare?
No. Many Aboriginal weapons were primarily designed for hunting animals such as kangaroos, emus, fish, and birds. Some objects also had ceremonial, spiritual, or symbolic purposes in addition to practical use.
What is a nulla nulla?
A nulla nulla is a type of Aboriginal club used throughout many parts of Australia. They vary greatly in form and can range from simple fighting clubs to finely carved ceremonial objects.
Are all boomerangs designed to return?
No. Most Aboriginal boomerangs were non-returning hunting or fighting weapons. Returning boomerangs were generally lighter and designed for specialised purposes such as hunting birds or recreation.
What woods were Aboriginal weapons made from?
Aboriginal weapons were made from a variety of hardwoods depending on the region. Common timbers include mulga, beanwood, ironwood, mangrove, black palm, and acacia species chosen for their strength and durability.
Did Aboriginal weapons have ceremonial uses?
Yes. Many Aboriginal weapons and shields were also used in ceremony and dance. Some were painted or engraved with sacred clan designs and ancestral imagery connected to Dreaming stories and spiritual law.
What is a pointing bone?
A pointing bone is an object associated with Aboriginal sorcery traditions. In some communities it was believed that a powerful sorcerer could use the bone to cause sickness or death through ritual means.
How can you identify an old Aboriginal weapon?
Old Aboriginal weapons often show signs of genuine age and use, including surface patina, wear from handling, smoke darkening, old repairs, and damage consistent with practical use. Provenance and regional style are also important factors in identification.
Are Aboriginal weapons collectible?
Yes. Old Aboriginal weapons are highly collectible and are valued both as historical artefacts and sculptural artworks. Rare shields, early boomerangs, engraved clubs, and ceremonial objects can achieve significant prices depending on rarity, age, provenance, condition, and aesthetic quality.