Where "Coolamon" Comes From
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
"Coolamon" comes from gulaman / guliman, a word from the Kamilaroi and Wiradjuric languages of inland New South Wales, first recorded in English in the 1840s.
Coolamons were shaped from hardwood or bark, often decorated with etched designs, and used to carry water, fruit and nuts, to winnow seed, and to cradle babies. Women carried them on their heads using a ring pad.
“The elder cradled the sleeping infant gently inside a soft bark-lined coolamon.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
Highly respected as a versatile piece of Indigenous Australian design and daily technology.
Coolamons are also linked with some smoking ceremonies and carry decorated designs; practices vary between communities.
ð Sources & Further Reading
- Borrowings from Aboriginal Languages â Australian National Dictionary Centre, ANU
- List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin — Wikipedia
- Coolamon (vessel) - Wikipedia
- coolamon - Dictionary.com
Part of our Aboriginal Loanwords collection →
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