All Topics  
Coolamon (vessel)

 
Coolamon (vessel)

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Coolamon (vessel)
 
 
  Topics Coolamon (vessel) Topic Home

A coolamon is an Indigenous Australian carrying vessel.

It is a multi-purpose shallow vessel, or dish
Dishware

Dishware is the general term for the dishes used in serving, and eating food, including plate s and bowls. Dinnerware is a synonym, especially meaning a set of dishes, including serving pieces....
 with curved sides, ranging in length from 30–70cm, and similar in shape to a canoe.

Coolamons were traditionally used by Aboriginal women to carry water, fruits, nuts, as well as to cradle babies.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Coolamon (vessel)'
Start a new discussion about 'Coolamon (vessel)'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Aboriginal Craft Made From Weaving Grass
A coolamon is an Indigenous Australian carrying vessel.

It is a multi-purpose shallow vessel, or dish
Dishware

Dishware is the general term for the dishes used in serving, and eating food, including plate s and bowls. Dinnerware is a synonym, especially meaning a set of dishes, including serving pieces....
 with curved sides, ranging in length from 30–70cm, and similar in shape to a canoe.

Coolamons were traditionally used by Aboriginal women to carry water, fruits, nuts, as well as to cradle babies. Today when women gather bush tucker, they usually use a billy can, bucket or flour tin. Coolamons were carried on the head when travelling any distance, or under the arm if used as a cradle. If carried on the head, a ring pad (akartne in Arrernte) was placed on the head, made out of possum and/or human hair string, twisted grass, or feathers.This helped to cushion and support the carriage of the coolamon; the same purpose as those used by women in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 and Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
 to carry vessels on their heads. The Pintupi
Pintupi

Pintupi refers to an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose homeland is in the area west of Lake MacDonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia....
 of the Western Desert would attach a double strand of plaited rope (ngalyibi) made of hair or plant fibre to sling the coolamon over their shoulders. They also wore smaller coolamons as hats, with the twine around the chin.

Coolamons were used for winnowing grains in the traditional bread
Bush bread

Bush bread, or seedcakes, refers to the bread made by Australian Aborigines for many thousands of years. The bread was high in protein and carbohydrate, and helped form part of a balanced traditional diet ....
-making process, as well as a general heating and cooking vessel. They could even be used as an umbrella
Umbrella

An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against precipitation or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun, and umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain....
.

Construction

Aboriginalscarredtree(parramatta,nsw)
Coolamons are generally made by the men. They are usually made from a hardwood
Hardwood

The term hardwood is used to describe wood from non-monocot flowering plant trees and for those trees themselves. These are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen....
 such as mallee
Mallee

Mallee may refer to:* Mallee , the habit of woody plants that grow with multiple stems from underground lignotubers* Mallee , a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia...
. In Central Australia, the bean tree
Erythrina vespertilio

Erythrina vespertilio is a tree native to north and north-east Australia. Its common names are Grey Corkwood, Bat's Wing Coral Tree, and the more ambiguous "bean tree"....
 was often used. A piece of the outer bark of the tree is removed, then moulded over the fire to give it its distinctive curved sides. Deep ridges were made using a quartz stone knife. It needed to stand for a number of days, with a stick of wood holding it open to prevent it losing its shape. It may also be made of a knot, or excrescence (“wirree”), from a tree.

Coolamons were often ornately decorated on their exterior with various etchings – depicting tribal insignia
Insignia

Insignia is a symbol or token of personal power , status or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction. Insignia are especially used as an emblem of a specific or general authority....
 and totemic designs. They were also used in ceremonies, such as for aromatic smoking, which was believed to have purifying effects. They were rubbed regularly with fat, such as emu
Emu

The Emu , Dromaius novaehollandiae, is the largest bird native to Australia and the only Extant taxon member of the genus Dromaius. It is also the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich....
 fat to keep the wood in good condition.

Some names in other Aboriginal languages
Australian Aboriginal languages

The Indigenous Australians languages comprise several Language families and languages and language isolates native to Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding Tasmania....


Coolamon is a word from the east coast of Australia, used by Murri, or Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
 Aborigines, as well as by the Dharug, or Eora
Eora

The traditional owners of the inner Sydney City region of Australia are the Cadigal people, one of the peoples who belong to the Eora language group....
 people from the Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
 area. Some other names, and their respective languages, include:

Names
Wordlanguage
piti
  • Pitjantjatjara
    Pitjantjatjara

    Pitjantjatjara is the name of both an indigenous Australians people of the Central Australian desert, and their language . They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara language and Ngaanyatjarra language, they are also related to the Ghyeisyriieue and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible ....
  • Martu
    Martu (Indigenous Australian)

    Martu are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Western Desert . Their lands include the Percival Lakes and Pilbara regions in Western Australia....
     Wangka
  • pitchi
  • bindgie
  • bingie
    		• Ualarai
    binguieWollaroi
  • dondee (small)
  • kittee (big)
    		• Kutthung
    Worimi language

    Worimi or Gadjang is an language death Australian Aboriginal language. It was the traditional language of the Worimi people, whose descendants now speak English language....
    oorlardaBardi
    Bardi language

    Bardi is a moribund language Australian Aboriginal language. Currently there are approximately 25 fluent speakers of language, mostly of the eastern dialect, however up to a thousand people identify as Bardi....
    tarnuk 
    urtneArrernte
    yandandakkoPintupi
    Pintupi language

    Pintupi is an Australian Aboriginal languages. It is one of the Wati languages of the large South-West Pama-Nyungan languages branch of the Pama-Nyungan languages....
    yokoKaurna
    Kaurna

    The Kaurna people are a group of Indigenous Australians whose traditional lands lie in and around the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. Kaurna language is the spoken language of the Kaurna people....


    See also

    • Scarred trees
      Scarred trees

      Scarred trees are trees which have had bark removed by indigenous Australians for the creation of canoes, shelters, shields and containers, such as Coolamon ....
    • Bush bread
      Bush bread

      Bush bread, or seedcakes, refers to the bread made by Australian Aborigines for many thousands of years. The bread was high in protein and carbohydrate, and helped form part of a balanced traditional diet ....


    External links

    • nb 08.0927 - Website not available