Australian Aboriginal artifacts 5 – Boab nut | TimeOut

Australian Aboriginal artifacts 5 – Boab nut

The Boab tree (Adansonia gregorii), or bottle tree, is unique to the Kimberly region of northwest Australia (although there are similar Adansonia species in Africa). The trees are deciduous and can live for more than 1500 years.

This is a carved Boab nut from the Kimberly and usually has the motifs of the tribe or the artist. Dried nuts are picked from the trees usually in April or May before they fall in the wind and dry and crack on the ground. Sometimes the shape of the nut itself is used to create an animal or other design. And the colour, size and shapes of the nuts differ depending on the region; experienced locals can tell which area a particular nut originated from.

The boab tree, Adansonia gregorii

The seed inside the nut can be ground up to make a type of flour for baking. The seed contains high concentrations of vitamin C and was probably an important source of this vitamin for the Aboriginal people. The leaves are used as medicine and the roots of young plants are edible. Nothing is wasted in the desert.

Andrew

This is the fifth installment in my regularly irregular series of Australian Aboriginal art and artifacts. The previous post on the burial log can be found by clicking here.

It would be cool to watch someone do the carving...

By: DRMW : August 1st, 2013-13:26

I find it fascinating to watch a master craftsman doing engraving, it would be cool to see someone do the carving on a Boab. The depth and width of the carving is pretty consistent, wonder what kind of tool he used after they laid down the pattern? -MW

I suspect modern metal tools ...

By: AndrewD : August 29th, 2013-04:43

You really have to go back to early times, particularly before European contact, to find items carved with flints and other traditional tools. The Aboriginals used the best tools available to them so a pocket knife or broken bottle was perfectly suitable....

The trunk is highly unusual, Andrew . . .

By: Dr No : August 5th, 2013-15:29

. . . nothing quite like it here. Are the trees harvested for the wood?

The trunk is filled with ...

By: AndrewD : August 5th, 2013-16:45

... porous, soft, fibrous wood that stores water. In fact one tree can store tens of thousand of litres. The tree could be a valuable source of water in the dry season. And the sweet sap mixed with water made a pleasant drink. The trees were sometimes use...

Ah, probably not well suited . . .

By: Dr No : August 5th, 2013-17:48

. . . for cue sticks, then, even decoratively. Side note: do you recall the Kiseki Purpleheart phono cartridge, one of the celebrated renascent moving coils from the '80s? The same wood selected by Kiseki for consonance with vinyl LP reproduction, purpleh...

I suspected you had an ulterior motive for that question, Art.

By: AndrewD : August 6th, 2013-15:36

Thanks for the extra detail. I remember the cartridges as well as the evocative names very well. Thanks! Andrew