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Clapsticks

Wood carving has always been part of Aboriginal culture. Men carved wood for many purposes – tools for hunting or gathering food, axes and knives for building shelters, spears and clubs for protection of their lives and territory, objects for ceremony and to mark sacred sites.

Artists source the timber on country, walking from tree to tree to find the right piece for the desired functional outcome. Once found, it is cut and then brought back to camp to be worked, shaped, sanded and finally finished.

Clapsticks are used in traditional ceremony and dance as a percussion instrument to accompany Mako (didjeridu). Denser woods such as Ironwood or Kerosene wood are preferred due to their crisper clap sound. Clapsticks can be left raw or painted and decorated. Straight timber from younger trees is preferred as it requires less work to make functional.