35 



spear being flat, the opposite slightly convex. The peg that, 

 in throwing, fits into the pit at the end of the spear is pear- 

 shaped, and made of hard wood, being attached to the blade 

 with vegetable string and beeswax. The handle is thick, circu- 

 lar in transverse section, tapers, and is covered with resin 

 or wax, applied while warm. It is ornamented with rows 

 of small holes pricked out with a fish-bone or small stick, 

 as shown in fig. 32. Experienced men only use this type of 

 "thrower." ^ 



«B0 



Fig. 32. 



The next form is used exclusively for throwing the small 

 reed spears of type 11. It is known as hilUloa ( Larrekiija), 

 dun fWof/aif), or jun (Berringin). It consists of a rod of 

 hard wood, four feet in length, tapering slightly at either 

 end. At one end a lump of resin is attached, and, while 

 warm and soft, it is worked by hand into a blunt point, which 

 fits into the hole at the end of the spear. At about five 

 inches from the handle end a rim of resin is fixed, and from 

 it towards the adjacent extremity a decreasing thickness of 

 similar material. See fig. 33. 



When throwing a spear, the hand is placed above the 

 resin rim in the position indicated in fig. 34, the shaft in 

 this case being held by the thumb upon the outer surface of 

 the middle fingers, without the aid of the index finger. The 

 handle end is frequently used to produce fire by the usual 

 rotation process. 



The type of spear-thrower described* by Spencer and 



* The Northern Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 670 and 

 671. fio;. 224. 

 b2 



