Three wooden clubs, similar but different.

[colin henshaw]

Hi

I thought these would be of interest to forum members who are wooden club enthusiasts. They are similar in size and weight, but of different forms.

From the top -

Australian aboriginal club "waddy", probably from Victoria region.
Sudan throwing stick/club "trombash".
East African, maybe Kikuyu or Kamba club "rungu".

Comments are most welcome.

[Tim Simmons]

Really nice, interesting how similar the wood is. They look lovely to run through your hands.

[colin henshaw]

Thanks Tim, glad there is someone else who likes wooden clubs.

It seems that native peoples often took their inspiration from the natural world around them, when making such objects eg :-

The aboriginal club...one end may be phallic in origin, whilst the other end is of a pine-cone appearance.

The Sudanese throwing club...the curved end is perhaps derived from the papyrus stalk head. In fact the whole club is very similar to throwing clubs in Ancient Egypt.

The East African club...the head is very close in form to the baobab fruit.

Further comments most welcome.

[Lew]

Colin

I really like that Sudanese club. Very nice group you have there.

Lew

[fearn]

It is a nice group. I'm contemplating the fact that there aren't native pines in Australia, and wondering whether, if they were modeling the club on a natural object, what they were thinking of.

Waddies were definitely multi-purpose tools, and I wonder whether there was a specific function or functions for that scalloped end. If it's a newer club, the specific function could be increasing sales, but regardless, it's a neat artifact.

Similarly, I'm wondering whether the Sudanese club is modeled on a rib bone, the curve of a branch, or whether it was designed to be a functional throwing stick, which would fit the region.

Best,

F

[colin henshaw]

Hi and thanks for the input on the clubs.

Here are some pieces of relevant research I have gathered :-

Image of two similar old aboriginal clubs in the Ulster Museum. The top one was collected by Von Stieglitz in the 1830s.

A picture of a Sudanese man (1920s ?) with a similar throwing stick/club. Although the curved end is not so flared as my example.

Picture of a baobab fruit.

More comments are welcome...