Terms for the Atlatl

Daryl Hrdlicka
Jeffers Petroglyphs Historic Site
February 2, 2004


      The atlatl, or spearthrower, is a device that was used across the world over tens of thousands of years. Throughout its history it has had many forms, but it has had even more names.
      This list is by no means comprehensive. Far too many of the peoples who used the atlatl are gone, with no record of their language remaining. The terms we do know come from cultures who still use it (woomera : Australia), cultures who left a written record (atlatl : Aztec), or are simply modern terms that describe what it does (spearthrower).
      In English, some of the terms for the atlatl are spearthrower, whip-sling, throwing board, throwing stick, throwing-whip, dart thrower, throw-stick, harpoon-thrower, harpoon-board, spear-sling, and becket. The problem with these terms is that they are not confined to the atlatl -- a throwing stick from Greenland (norsaq) is not the same thing as an Australian throwing stick (boomerang) or a Maasai throwing stick (throwing club). We've tried to weed out words that do not describe a device used to throw spears but may have missed some. Please keep that in mind while reading through this list.
      To the best of our knowledge, the spearthrower was never used in either Africa or mainland Asia, but there are terms for it.

Europe
  • propulseur, baton de commandment, doigtier - French
  • vipukeihäs, sinko (thrower) - Finland
  • speerschleuder (spear slinger), wurfholz (throwing stick), stock mit haken (stick with hook) - Germany
  • propulsore - Italy
  • estólica, lanzadardo, tiradera (sling) - Spain
  • speerwerper - Dutch
Asia
  • Атлатль (атль-атль) (atlatl (atl-atl)), копьеметалка (spearthrower), Дживелот (French spearthrower) - Russian
Central/South America
  • atlatl - Nahuatl dialect, Aztec
  • hulChe - Mayan
  • queske, quisque, ckechke - Muisca Indians, Colombia

Arctic Regions
  • hasxux, haasux - Unangax (Aleut)
  • norsaq - Greenland
  • nordaq, nuiyak - Inuit
  • nuqaq - Kodiak Island/Lower Yukon
  • nugsaq - Dorset/Thule cultures (Alaska)
  • asxun - St. George Island (Alaska)

Oceania
  • wonpela samting throway sipir - Papuan-Iatmul, Papua New Guinea
  • spia (tok pisin language), gopaslong (pidgin english) - Sepik, Papua New Guinea
  • kotaha (whip-sling) - Murri-iwi, early Australian/New Zealand aborigine (poss. Maori)
  • ga oi (throwing stick) - Rotuma (Fiji)

Australia: An entire paper could be written on the names for the spearthrower used in Australia. These are the ones we've been able to track down.
  • woomera, wommera, wumera, womerah, miru, merra, amera, pikirri, nga–waonk, mangal, murrugu, "thol,i", murru, wamara, midla, midlah, odhaw, othab, ujnyjimb, agalaw, akalab, thuule, ngolpon, pinyi

Ancient Cultures
  • illuru, ilar - Sumerian "spear thrower", "throwing stick"
  • amaAw, amaA.t, Hww, miA.t - Egypt "throw-stick"
  • Is.va_sa - Sanskrit "arrow-thrower"

Aliens
  • chetvI' - Klingon (Star Trek)
  • atlatl - Gungans (Star Wars)
  • throwing board - Gorean (Gor series)