Boomerangs have traditionally been used by Australia's indigenous people as a hunting weapon.

 

But they are more than that, explains aboriginal artist Bibi Barba. They carry significant cultural attachments, are used to pass culture and tradition from one generation to the next. 

 

"They are a cultural symbol for us," she tells the BBC. "A lot [of] indigenous artists do artwork on them and this artwork is different in different parts of the country, it holds different meaning."

 

But it's not just the artwork on the boomerangs that carries cultural signifiers and tradition - even things like the selection process for the wood is of crucial importance.

 

Boomerangs are still made by artists in the indigenous community and are popular tourist souvenirs in the country. But most of the boomerangs that tourists carry back home are not made by local communities but mass produced - in many cases not even in Australia.

 

The Indigenous Arts Code launched a campaign earlier this year to ban imported fake artefacts.

 

The whole point, Ms Sullivan explains, is that "mass-production is taking away the potential for aboriginal people and artists to sell authentic products."

 

The lack of cultural sensitivity combined with the hefty price tag is a perfect set-up for cynicism and ridicule.

 

中文翻譯如下：

自古以來，澳大利亞土著人就將回旋鏢當(dāng)作狩獵的武器。

但土著藝術(shù)家比比•巴爾巴解釋道，回旋鏢不僅僅是一種武器。它們承載了重要的文化信仰，并將土著文化和傳統(tǒng)一代代傳承下去。

巴爾巴告訴BBC：“對我們來說，這是一種文化象征。許多土著藝術(shù)家對它們進(jìn)行藝術(shù)加工，而澳大利亞每個(gè)地區(qū)的藝術(shù)加工不盡相同，包含著不同的意義。”

不僅是這種藝術(shù)加工承載了文化符號(hào)和傳統(tǒng)，甚至連木材的選擇過程也至關(guān)重要。

土著部落的藝術(shù)家們?nèi)匀辉谥谱骰匦S，在澳大利亞，這是一種非常受歡迎的旅游紀(jì)念品。但是大多數(shù)游客帶回家的回旋鏢都不是當(dāng)?shù)夭柯渲谱鞯模桥可a(chǎn)的，甚至很多并非產(chǎn)自澳大利亞。

今年早些時(shí)候，“澳洲土著藝術(shù)規(guī)范”組織發(fā)起了一項(xiàng)禁止進(jìn)口假冒手工藝品的活動(dòng)。

沙利文解釋說，“批量生產(chǎn)的回旋鏢搶走了土著人和藝術(shù)家制作的正宗回旋鏢的市場。”

缺乏文化敏感性再加上高昂的價(jià)格，這簡直是招來冷嘲熱諷的標(biāo)配。