Kylie
A large non-returning throwing stick of Australian Aboriginal peoples, which unlike a boomerang flies straight and could kill an animal or a person with its hooked shape.
Quick Facts
AustraliaAbout the weapon
The kylie is a flat, curved piece of wood, similar in appearance to a boomerang, with which Australian Aboriginal people hunted birds and game. Unlike a returning boomerang, the kylie flies straight. The word is one of the indigenous names for a hunting stick and may come from one of the Western Desert languages, for example from the Warlpiri karli. Kylies tend to be much larger than boomerangs and can fly very far; because of their size and hooked shape, they could maim or kill an animal or a human opponent. According to historical accounts, a non-returning boomerang weighing 2 kg could fatally wound a large animal at around 100 m. Medium-weight non-returning boomerangs were sometimes used in close combat, and the largest, up to two meters long, served as fighting sticks. According to Tony Butz, about 60% of Australia's Aboriginal peoples used both returning boomerangs and non-returning hunting sticks and had words for them, another 10% knew only non-returning sticks, and the remaining 30% used neither.