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Origin of the Duci'ne

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Zuma:
Please pass the pipe and popcorn
Zuma

AncientTech:
LOL!  It is a myth, people.  It is not meant to be an instructional on how to use skeletal hands to chip stone.  It is also not an instructional on how to shoot other people's dogs.  It is a myth that explains the presence of flintknapping products found around Mt. Edziza.  Duci'ne is a mythical character.  Also, the myth shows how "primitive archery" was viewed by the Tahltan tribe, even during the early 1900's, when the myth was recorded by Teit.  LOL!! 

caveman2533:
Why do you need a myth to explain fact?  Come on Ben your motives are as clear as glass.

magick.crow:
I have been learning TCM (acupuncture) for a really long time and one thing that I have learned is that these stories are true but just not in modern language or perhaps I should say thought. It is a tongue of the heart and stomach not of math.

IMOHO!! It means this:


--- Quote from: AncientTech on August 11, 2015, 09:44:17 am ---"The Duci'ne originated from a boy of evil disposition who killed people. His mother was an Indian woman, and his father unknown.  When just a tiny boy, he made arrows. As he grew up, he made the arrows larger and put stone heads on them. He shot first at marks, and then at small animals, such as mice. Later he shot larger animals, and finally a dog. His mother thrashed him for this. After this he made stronger arrows. One day he was playing a shooting-game with other boys, and shot one of them.

--- End quote ---

As boys grow up they don't understand weapons and shoot the wrong things as they play. They also become macho and what to use weapons on someone just because they are bad ass.  I remember to this day the time I shot a small song bird with my wrist rocked. Before for that I had never hit what I was shooting at. After that I NEVER shot at anything I did not need to eat! Even then, I still feel quite bad for the life I have taken and honor the spirit as best I can. I feel this even for plants but not as strongly.

I was a MA teacher and young and have to admit putting myself in places I should not have been to see if my stuff worked as well as I thought (knew) it would or just because I wanted to try it out or some thoughts equally stupid, young and dangerous. We are talking walking downtown Atlanta at night on the side streets in the late 80s. I was lucky; I live.

Warning strong language:
My marine roommate used to call it young, dumb and full of cum. I hope that is not to far into the R ratings for this board but that is how marines often talk.
Safe now.


--- Quote from: AncientTech on August 11, 2015, 09:44:17 am ---The people were angry, and blamed the mother for not correcting him and for allowing him to behave badly. The boy ran away, and his mother followed him.  She held out her breasts to him, and entreated him to come back, saying, "Come, here are your breasts! " He shot her through the breasts. He became completely wild now, and never returned to the people.

--- End quote ---
He was unlucky and others saw is poor and young stupidity. His mother wanted to forgive him but he could not forgive himself so he ran off. Perhaps this is a warning not to be so stupid because we all go through this sort of thing.


--- Quote from: AncientTech on August 11, 2015, 09:44:17 am ---He went to the mountains where obsidian is abundant, and made many arrow-heads. Whenever he made one which did not suit him, he threw it away. He spent all his spare time making arrow and spear heads. All the unfinished arrow and spear heads found here and
there scattered over the country were made by him. They are the "heads" he discarded in his travels around the country and when hunting. He used no flakers of any kind. He flaked the arrow-heads with the palms of his hands, which were of bone."

(THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE, VOL. 34.--OCTOBER-DECEMBER, 1921.--No. 134. 'TAHLTAN TALES.'  BY JAMES A. TEIT.)

--- End quote ---

And now that we have your interest because we created sympathy for the main character just as all good stories do at the start we will teach you some very important stuff.

Obsidian is found in the mountains and it makes good arrowheads but it takes lots of practice.

There are arrowheads all over the place (I for one still wonder about this. How often do you find a quarter on the streets? How can it be that we go out and find 12 arrowheads in a day of looking and everyone of them is made in a different way? What is up with this? How can there possibly be so many and so varied??)

He used no flakers of any kind? Is that a modern addition? I don't know this story so I could be making a real fool of myself. :-) I really don't get this line. Perhaps his techniques were so good that he did not need one? Any ideas anyone? what does flaker mean in this context? Is not bone used to flake and rock for the big work?

Flint is best knapped with bone. Would they include antler as bone?

mullet:
And Ben has answered more questions in this new "myth" then he has in all of his earlier Post.

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