Bow hunting by indigenous peoples

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Trace of a prehistoric rock painting of bow hunters hunting deer in the Cova dels Cavalls ( Cave of Horses ), Spain
Hadza men on the hunt
Hadza men at archery training
Asian bow rider hunting deer

The bow hunting indigenous peoples describes the design of the bow hunting to obtain food ( subsistence -Jagd) by indigenous peoples . This form of bow hunting is still an essential part of hunting worldwide. Due to the proliferation of firearms , but also due to the massive decline in habitat, bowhunting by indigenous peoples is on the decline. In contrast, modern bow hunting is increasing rapidly. Bowhunting by primitive peoples who still hunt today, with its hunting strategies and the technology of the hunting equipment, is in many respects comparable to bowhunting of ancient people.

General

The characteristic elements of bowhunting are very similar both in primitive peoples and in the modern variant and differ essentially in the efficiency of the technology used.

There are similarities in

  • Bow and arrow as hunting equipment;
  • Proximity to game;
  • The necessary knowledge of the hunting environment and game behavior;
  • Reading stalking signs and effective camouflage;
  • Continuous training and experience in handling the hunting device.

Depending on the environment in which the bow hunt is carried out, the hunting equipment as well as the hunting tactics and hunting strategy can of course be different.

The San hunters in Africa, for example, have a keen eye when it comes to tracking. Even in loose desert sand they can make out traces of smaller living things. Basically, these people still live today like the hunters and gatherers of the Stone Age. In order to survive, they are dependent on interpreting the behavior of the animals in good time when they go hunting. These hunters are excellent trackers and trackers. That is why a hunter perceives his surroundings very closely. He can “read” a lot from broken branches, traces of the ground and other things. But it's not just the art of looking for clues: an experienced hunter can interpret a lot from the sounds of other animals. In contrast to the predators, it lacks a keen sense of smell, sensitive hearing and sharp eyesight. In order to still be successful on the hunt, imagination and judgment are among the most important qualities of a hunter. In order to survive, hunters and gatherers must demonstrate a high level of knowledge and skill in order to be successful.

The Indians of North America and the Mongolian horsemen are among the most famous hunters with bow and arrow . Hunting among these peoples has gradually changed with the influence of the technology introduced by, for example, the European conquerors. Bowhunting in its original form as one of the main types of hunting for food is practically non-existent there. Hunting for supplementary food production is practiced almost without exception with firearms among the horsemen today. Bows and arrows are mainly used for cultural purposes or as sports equipment.

In summary, it can be said that the ancient form of bow hunting of today's still hunting indigenous peoples and also their weapon technology around bows and arrows have been preserved to this day. An intermediate stage of development with better bows or arrows, as was the case with the horsemen of Asia or the Indians of North America in the past, is not recognizable there. Only the use of metals in the broadheads testifies to a simple technological leap. This is particularly evident among the indigenous peoples on the African continent.

Bow and arrow technique of indigenous peoples

Papuan longbow with arrow

The construction of bows and arrows are subject to the same principles of physics for the primitive bows, as are the modern versions. Their basic functional principles are thus comparable to today's bows, but special design features such as recurve tips, backings and aiming devices of modern bows are missing. Simple, natural materials are used. What is essential here is the availability of materials such as wood and tendons with sufficient strength, rigidity and lightness. Suitable materials, the traditional knowledge of manufacturing methods and use have a decisive influence on the construction of bows and arrows.

arc

Avar composite recurve horsebow

The indigenous peoples of the rainforest who still hunt today and the hunters of the savannah of Africa use mainly the variants of the longbow . The bows of the hunters in the savannah, such as the San or the Hadza, have a very simple longbow construction. These bows are therefore quite limited in their range and penetration power of the arrows.

A successful hunt is possible with this technique at about 15 m, even if the maximum flight distance of the arrow is further. However, it is not to be assumed that modern bows will have a permanently repeatable shot, only that the game will be hit by the arrow. With its often poisoned, sharp hunting head, it is still dangerous beyond this distance and effective due to the poison dart.

In the jungle of the rainforest, the hunting distance is essential not only horizontally but also vertically. In order to be able to steal prey in the trees, a bow and arrow must provide a suitable range, because the treetops, in which game can be found, are often over 20 m high. The primitive peoples in the Amazon region such as the Waika use very large longbows of up to 3.2 m in length, which sufficiently extend the range of the arrows. Long-fiber woods such as limbum wood, seje palm wood or pijiguao palm are used for the arches . These withstand the high bending loads to which a long arch is subjected when tensioned, better than short-grained woods.

The bows are all without aiming device and are shot "blank". The accuracy of the hunter, the correct hunting strategy and tactics are decisive for the success of the hunt.

There is no knowledge about the use of more modern bow types by today's indigenous peoples, such as the composite bow or recurve bow , as they were used by the Indians of the western North American tribes or the equestrian peoples of Asia in the past. The equestrian peoples had to face the new challenge when building bows in order to be able to shoot from the horse. The bow must be small enough and powerful, but still be able to be used without problems while riding.

Hunting arrow

Waika hunter with long arrows and longbow
Arrows for hunting with different broadheads made of metal

The main tool in bow hunting is the hunting arrow. There are countless variants and basic shapes that adapt to the game to be hunted and also reflect hunting tactics and strategy. The choice of materials and manufacturing techniques are also broad and range from stone tips to wood and metal, but also from full shafts made of simple woods to woods with a hollow cross-section such as bamboo.

Arrow shaft

Manufacture of an arrow shaft by a San hunter

As with modern bows, the arrow shafts are adapted to the bow types and properties. These can therefore be very different in length, diameter and the materials used. The heavy and particularly long arrow shafts are particularly noticeable in the rainforest. The lengths are between 1.5 and 2.1 m. The reasons for this are the high draw weights of the bows there, to achieve greater firing ranges and the higher rigidity (spine) of the arrow shaft required for this. However, heavier and longer arrows can also be deflected less from their trajectory when they come into contact with parts of the canopy vegetation, such as leaves and small branches, and are more accurate in this case.

A special feature of the arrow shafts from the rainforest is to use attached arrow tubes. Pipes are the same buckling strength ( Spine ) is lighter than solid rods. With stiffer arrows you can also use higher draw weights when bowing, on the one hand you can continue shooting and because of the weight of the arrows you can still effectively penetrate the game at greater heights.

The arrow shafts of the hunters in the savannah or grass steppe , however, are relatively small in diameter and length (approx. 60 cm). These are also adapted to the bow and the materials available for building bows and arrows.

Broadheads

Bow and arrow of the Highland Papuans with different broadheads

There is a wide variety of broadheads. Depending on the game, the hunting head and arrow shaft are selected appropriately. So-called “blunts” or “tipped tips” are also used by indigenous peoples to hunt birds. Another special feature are howling arrows, these have a hunting tip with a pipe body (hollow nutshell), which cause the game to briefly startle and pause when the arrow is fired. With this, the hunter tries to keep the game in place by frightening it until the arrow has reached it.

The simple extraction of metals, such as iron or copper alloys, in particular for the manufacture of tools, has long been known on the African continent. These include knife blades, simple farming tools or broadheads . This is less known by peoples from the rainforest. The Korowai are an example . In rainforest areas one finds more the use of hardwood, bone, horn and stone as tool materials. Of course, in modern times, through contacts with the modern ethnic groups of these areas, via simple trade, metal tools have also penetrated into the deepest rainforest. However, this does not mean that they had a traditional application there or that resources and knowledge are available for independent production.

Not in all cases the bows and arrows of these primitive peoples have so great an effect that the game is completely penetrated by the arrow. One relies more on the effects of poisoned broadheads and barbs. Such broadheads ensure the weakening of the bombarded animal through continuous blood flow. There are broadheads that anchor the entire arrow in the body of the game, but also multiple points that have predetermined breaking points or separation points and ensure that the poisoned part of the broadhead remains in the body of the game for as long as possible.

In addition, countless shapes have developed for broadheads, which vary greatly in their design depending on the type of hunting , game , fashion and material.

Fletching

Many of the arrow types, especially among rainforest peoples, have large feathers to stabilize arrow flight. Special features are the so-called Flu-Flu fletching, which slow down the arrows after a short flight time. The feathers are not smoothed, but frayed and thus increase the air resistance after the launch. This limits the flight range of the hunting arrows and it is then easier for the hunter to find the valuable arrows in the immediate vicinity. In the Waika, for example, the feathers of the Pajui (Crax alector) are used. In the hunters of the steppe or savannah, the fletching is rather short and relatively low, so that with the lower arrow weights they do not have such great air resistance and can fly further.

Nock and sockets

The sockets are the reinforced ends of the hunting arrows on which the broadheads are inserted. These are often the desired breaking point or, in the case of harpoons, the intended separation point between the arrow shaft and the hunting tip. The frames of the hunting arrows are usually wrapped with fibers or reinforced with resin and tie the hunting tip into the arrow shaft.

The nock is the arrow posture at the end of the arrow in which the string is inserted. It is used to effectively accelerate the arrow through the string. Usually this area is reinforced with windings made of fibers, resin or inserts made of hardwood. Nocks are exposed to particularly high loads when shooting. Nocks are notched to prevent the tendon from slipping.

quiver

Quiver of the San in Namibia

Especially with poisoned arrows, the quiver is an essential part of the bow-hunting equipment of primitive peoples. It is used to safely carry arrows or arrowheads when hunting. The arrows should not only be secured against loss, they should also help avoid the risk of poisoning the hunter through injury with the sharp and sometimes poisoned broadheads. Quivers are made from natural materials such as horn , leather , bark , bamboo or wrapped leaves. As a rule, the quivers are easy to close and are worn close to the body with a strap.

Hunting strategies and tactics for bow hunting by indigenous peoples

The hunting strategy of primitive peoples is, of course, as in the past, predetermined by their surroundings and the game. A well-known strategy from the savannah is to combine stalking with chase . Often very long stretches of day have to be covered in order to get hunted prey in the right environment. The very simple bows have comparatively little range and significantly less penetration than modern bows. From a western point of view, an ethically clean hit, which leads to death in a few seconds, cannot be asserted securely even with light game, such as gazelles, from a greater distance. Because of these circumstances, the indigenous peoples have developed strategies and tactics for hunting with the bow, which they still use today.

Bow hunting in the savannah

Drawing: Bird hunting with a bow and arrow (South America)

While the hunters of some indigenous groups in the savannah , such as the Hadza, like to hunt alone, there are other peoples whose tactic is to hunt in small groups. This improves the probability of success, because when shooting several hunting arrows at a piece of game, the chances of hit also improve accordingly. In addition, you can also kill larger prey together and bring it back to the settlement.

A widespread hunting tactic among indigenous peoples of Africa, especially with hoofed game , which has strong escape reactions, is to shoot arrows, which are attached to the hunting head with poison, e.g. B. the innards of Diamphidia nigroornata and roasted seeds of Bobgunnia madagascariensis (= Swartzia m. ) Are prepared. Such an arrow with a poisoned broadhead kills differently than modern hunting arrows. He mainly relies on the toxic effects of the poison. Broadheads with barbed hooks are mostly used here to prevent them from falling out after the hit. This shape of the broadheads also ensures that sweat continuously escapes from the wound of the game being shot at. The sweat that escapes creates a sweat trail ( stalking sign ). This not only makes it easier to hunt down the game , but it is also increasingly weakened by the loss of blood due to the constantly moving hunting tip. The longer the poisoned hunting tip remains in the body, the more naturally the amount of poison introduced into the body also increases. However, depending on the strength and quantity of the poison introduced, based on body weight, it can take a very long time before the game becomes immobilized and ultimately dies.

In order to accelerate the process of perishing described, the hunting method of baiting is often used after the successful shot with the hunting arrow . This increases the cardiological reactions of the body of the wounded game enormously and also accelerates its death. In open, little-cropped terrain, the hunters follow the trail of the game until they either chased it to exhaustion or found the dead piece.

The hunt itself is probably the oldest method of hunting the people in the form of endurance hunting (Engl. Persistence hunting ). This is based on the endurance of humans when running, which is superior to almost all mammals. The hunters of the Khoisan in southern Africa still kill fast ungulates such as zebras or ibexes without weapons by running after them until they collapse exhausted.

Papuan hunters with ritual painting and bow and arrow

Bow hunting in the rainforest

Poison dart frog yellow-banded poison dart ( Dendrobates leucomelas )

For hunters of the indigenous peoples of the tropical rainforest , such as the Waika , the challenge is the very dense vegetation. The prey often sits on trees and high up in the tree, and partly covered by dense branches and leaves. Game that is on the ground is often only visible at close range due to the limited visibility. The hunter often has to act quickly and surprisingly in order to take advantage of the very short hunting distance.

For example, primates such as woolly monkeys , peccaries , tapirs , puma , armadillos , sloths , chickens and fish are hunted there . In the rainforest in particular, the effects of poison arrows obtained from plants or animals ( curare , poison dart frog ) are used.

In the rainforest with strong undergrowth, however, it is much more difficult to follow the wound trail of a piece of game that has been shot at. It is even more difficult to track prey shot at in the rainforest canopy. Depending on the equipment and case, in addition to the bow and arrow, blowguns with poisoned arrows or spears on the ground are also used.

The use of heavy, long arrows and strong bows is striking. This is necessary on the one hand because of the large firing ranges of over 20 m vertically into the canopy of leaves in the jungle, but also because of the possible deflection of the arrow by leaves and branches. Heavy arrows are not as easily disrupted from their trajectory as light arrows when they come into contact with leaves and small branches.

The use of bow and arrow for bow fishing is also widespread . Hunting is done with harpoon-like broadheads or fan- shaped tips with barbs attached to long arrow shafts. Bow fishing is still a distinctive type of hunting that is widely used in tropical areas near the equator such as the Amazon.

Buffalo hunting scene with bow and arrow Kane-Assiniboine. George Catlin

Bow hunting in steppe and prairie

Bowhunting as an essential method of obtaining food is practically no longer practiced by the nomads and equestrian peoples of the prairie and steppe , Central Asia or North and South America. Hunting with modern weapons is primarily the method of choice here today. The large herds of animals, such as the buffalo , are also no longer available to hunt in the traditional way. However, some hunting strategies and tactics are still known, such as stampede hunting and buffalo hunting with a bow and arrow from the horse. The bow and arrow were essential hunting weapons here . Even that was stalking with bows and arrows using camouflage successfully practiced. A special feature here is to use the protective reflex of the herd of animals to face the avoidable enemy, such as the wolf pack . It is also known to camouflage the appearance of the game in order to prevent frightening and jumping off, for example, of white tailed , dam , sika or elk . The aim is, of course, to get close to the prey at a shooting range and to strike a hit with the hunting arrow at the right moment. This moment occurs, for example, when the game lowers its head to feed and cannot easily see the hunter when the bow is being drawn. This hunting tactic requires enormous skill, patience and can drag on for days.

Even bow hunting for flying game such as geese , ducks and turkey is a tried and tested hunting method of the indigenous peoples.

Web links

Commons : Bowhunting  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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  19. ↑ a b Peter Vohryzka: The arrow and its bow. (PDF) In: https://www.grossklein.gv.at/ . Peter Vohryzka, 2012, accessed January 14, 2020 .
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