This clip shows four senior Warlpiri and Anmatyerr men from Australia’s central desert region. Teddy Egan Jangala introduces the Elders and describes their relationships with each other in the context of their country. The men then set out to find a tree from which to make a 'number seven’ or 'killer’ boomerang. Two of the men use axes and a crowbar to remove wood and soil from the lower trunk and root of a small tree. The men speak in Warlpiri and Anmatyerr languages accompanied by English subtitles.

Educational value points

• Making a number seven boomerang is a complex task and the clip shows the beginning of the four days’ work required to make one boomerang. These types of boomerang are made from the trunk and roots of the dogwood (Acacia coriacea) or the mulga (Acacia aneura) tree. These hardy evergreen trees grow in the arid inland areas of Australia, and are also used to make spearheads and digging sticks.
• The number seven boomerang is shaped like a figure 7 and is also called 'killer’ or 'hooked’ boomerang. It is a non-returning boomerang and like all killer boomerangs is a formidable weapon. Non-returning boomerangs are much heavier and larger than returning boomerangs and have a far less pronounced curve. When thrown parallel to the ground with both arms for maximum power they fly with great velocity and spin. They can easily bring down a kangaroo.
• The men use storytelling and the repetition of information as effective teaching methods to pass on traditional knowledge and skills in the same way that generations of Elders have done before them.
• The men in the clip refer to themselves and others by their skin names. The Warlpiri and Anmatyerr people use a kinship system that determines relationships, with associated roles and obligations. This system divides people into eight categories and refers to skin groups, from which skin names are derived.
• Karli Jalangu is part of a documentary series produced by Central Australia Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) Productions. The program is recorded in local languages, focuses on local Aboriginal cultural life and aims to preserve traditional Aboriginal knowledge. It is broadcast by Imparja Television across central Australia.

The making of a number seven boomerang, like many Indigenous artefacts, is a time-consuming process, often shared amongst the many people involved. We are on location in the area in which the senior tribesmen will select the right material from which to carve a number seven boomerang.

Karli Jalangu: Boomerang Today Synopsis

An observational-style documentary about the making of a number seven boomerang by four senior traditional men from Central Australia.

Karli Jalangu – Boomerang Today is part of the Nganampa Anwernekenhe series produced by Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) Productions. Nganampa Anwernekenhe means 'ours’ in the Pitjantjatjara and Arrernte lanuages, and the series aims to contribute to the preservation of Indigenous languages and cultures.

Curator's Notes

Karli Jalangu – Boomerang Today is an important documentary that is intended to pass on the traditional skill of making a number seven boomerang. The selection of the perfect tree, the harvesting and the carving of it to roughly shape the tree root into the number seven boomerang, is filmed at an observational pace. Choosing to film the senior men who carefully and slowly make their decisions during the process of producing the number seven boomerang allows the audience to get a feel for the energy, skill and collaboration on the creation of the weapon. It is a time-consuming process, and by the documentary’s end, we have no doubt of this.

Notes by Romaine Moreton