A waddy, nulla-nulla, leangle or boondi is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

hardwood club or hunting stick for use as a weapon or as a throwing stick for hunting animals. ''Waddy'' comes from the

Darug people The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

.Peters, Pam, ''The Cambridge Australian English Style Guide'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1995, ''Boondi'' is the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

word for this implement. Leangle is a

Djadjawurrung The Djadjawurrung or Dja Dja Wurrung, also known as the Djaara or Jajowrong people and Loddon River tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people who are the traditional owners of lands including the water catchment areas of the Loddon and Avoca ...

word for a club with a hooked striking head.

Description and use

A waddy is a heavy pointed club constructed of carved hardwood

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

; it was a traditional weapon developed by Aboriginal people in Australia. Waddies were used in

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...

and were capable of splitting a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

. They could also kill or stun a prey. They could be used as projectiles or to make fire and make

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...

. The waddies were sometimes used to punish those who broke Aboriginal law.

Construction

The waddy was made by both men and women and could be painted or left unpainted. Its construction varied from tribe to tribe, but it was generally about one metre in length and sometimes had a stone head attached with

spinifex resin Spinifex resin is a gum coating of some species of spinifex grasses. This sticky resin was traditionally used as an adhesive in tool making by Aboriginal Australians. Many species of spinifex are extremely resinous, to the extent that resin may ...

and at least one string. It was made from where a branch met the tree or from a young tree that was pulled up with its roots from the ground.

Alternative spellings

''Waddy'' has also been spelled as ''wadi'', ''wady'', and ''waddie''. The spelling stabilised around the mid-nineteenth century, partly to help distinguish it from the Arabic - Lebanese word ', a dry water course. ''Nulla-nulla'' has been recorded with the following variations: ''nullah-nullah'', ''nilla-nilla'' and ''nolla-nolla''.

Gallery

File:Waddy Oc1986,02.55.jpg File:Leangle Oc1921,1014.71.jpg File:Boondi Oc.7692.jpg File:Aboriginal man carrying a shield and waddy, South Australia, ca. 1875.jpg, File:Aboriginal man carrying a shield, waddy and boomerang, South Australia, ca. 1875.jpg, File:Aboriginal couple wearing kangaroo cloaks. The man is posed with a shield and a spear, while the woman is holding a sword club (ca. 1880).jpg, File:Aboriginal man carrying a spear and waddy, South Australia, ca. 1875.jpg, File:Aboriginal man carrying shield, spear, woomera (spear-thrower) and waddy, South Australia, ca. 1890.jpg,

References

External links

Nullah nullah
{{Indigenous Australians Australian Aboriginal bushcraft Australian Aboriginal words and phrases Australian inventions Clubs (weapon) Weapons of Australia