Artwork and artefacts are how Aboriginal people pass on their knowledge and culture. One of those is the Aboriginal artefact Coolamon. The Coolamon is a multi-purpose shallow bowl. Which looks similar to a curved wooden tray. Traditionaly Indiginous women mostly used the Coolamon. And it has many uses. Including carrying water, fruits, seeds as well as to carry/cradle babies. They use it as a dish to hold food. Or as a water carrier. Suprisingly it can even be a rocker for putting babies to sleep. With such varied uses its no suprise that this artefact has stood the test of time. Each Coolamon is handmade. This type of craftmanship is tought by ancestors. Resulting in this craft passing down from one generation to the next. Continue reading to see how Aboriginal artists make the Coolamon from scratch.

How The Coolamon Is Made

The material used to make a coolamon is wood. Specifically sections of the box tree. Alternatively artists can also use sections of a gidgee tree, white gum, mulga, river red gum or more commonly from bean-wood etc. Simply an artist scoops out an oval cut-out from tree trunks or bark. This forms the initial shape of the Coolamon. From here each artist uses a unique style to create their particular artefact. The designs on a Coolamon depicts the bush foods that the women would collect traditionally with this type of bowl.

In summary the Aboriginal artefact coolamon is one of many traditional indigenous artefacts. Explore the range of Aboriginal artefacts available in the gallery please click here to see all artefacts. Similarly there are many articles to give more information on other artefacts available in the gallery. Especially to explain the importance of each artefact to the Australian indigenous people.