Defensive Weapons.
Shields.
Of shields there are two kinds—the Mulga used for warding off blows given by the Kud-jee-run and Leon-ile, mostly in single combat, and the Gee-am for protection in a general fight against spears.
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| FIG. 113, | 114, | 115. | |
| (Scale: 1⁄10.) |
Figs. 113, 114, 115 show the form of the Mulga, and one kind of ornamentation, and Figs. 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, the usual modes of ornamentation of the front of the weapon. I have never seen a shield of this kind ornamented on the inner surfaces.
Of the several shields (Mulga) in my possession, none measures in length more than forty-one inches. The usual proportions are as follow:—Length, thirty -five inches; breadth, five inches; depth, about four inches; size of the aperture for the hand, from three to three and a half inches.
The wood preferred by the natives for making the Mulga is ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon), but box (E. leucoxylon) is that most commonly used. Gum, peppermint, or Figs. 113, 114, 115. indeed any hard wood, is taken if the necessity is great.
Garrong (wattle-tree, Acacia mollissima) is not seldom employed for shields and other weapons.
Shields having an angular face-length from thirty to forty inches, a breadth of two inches, and a depth of five and a half inches, and ornamented in a similar manner to those already mentioned, are used by some tribes in the same manner as the ordinary Mulga.
Figs. 126, 127, 128, and 129 exhibit the form of these shields. A portion of Fig. 129 is enlarged, to show the style of ornamentation, which is altogether unusual in Victoria. Weapons of this shape are named Drunmung in the Western district.
