Summary

Made from Moe-yang (Blackwood) or Ironbark, the lil-lil is a very flat curved weapon, with a straight body and a wide flat head that projects on the concave side.
The lil-lil is a type of club which was made and used only in south-eastern Australia. It was a dangerous weapon when used in battle. The lil-lil could be used to strike at and cut an enemy protected by a mulga (heavy wooden shield). It could also be thrown in a manner similar to a boomerang, but much skill was required to use the weapon effectively in this way. When forcibly and skilfully used, the lil-lil could cause great damage, such as breaking a leg, fracturing ribs or even penetrating the skull.
During hunting or in battle, the lil-lil could also be thrown to distract the prey or opponent before a fighting boomerang was used.

Local Name

Lil-lil

Physical Description

Wooden club with a straight body and a wide flat head that projects on the concave side.

Significance

The provenance of this weapon is unknown but it is known the lil-lil was made and used only in south-eastern Australia, through New South Wales and the directly adjacent parts of Victoria and Queensland. Lil-lil clubs are significant items in telling the largely untold story of south-eastern Australian Aboriginal material culture because of their regional specificity but also because, as early as the 1870s, it has been noted that these items are very rare.

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