Author Topic: Bows and arrows of the San people?  (Read 1900 times)

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Offline Mesophilic

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Bows and arrows of the San people?
« on: December 21, 2019, 11:04:55 am »
Anyone have info on the bows and arrows used by rhe San people of the Kalahari?

I watched a neat documentary on the San men hunting and it was very interesting.  The bows look like something I'd make for my daughter.  The arrows, likewise looked like youth arrows with little itty bitty broadheads.  They used a poison made from the skin of a beetle larva.  It appeared that the arrows were designed to break at a certain point leaving the broken foreahaft with the poison in the animal.  It was mentioned that on large game it can sometimes take days for the poison to effectively drop large animals.

The arrows were all unfletched, but didn't look like they shot them more than 10 to 20 yards.  They were meticulous in finding all arrows from missed shots,  which made me wonder how hard it was to find suitable shafting and/or their construction methods.

Anyway, I thought it was pretty interesting and wondering if anyone knows more info, like draw weights,  construction,  wood tyoes...etc

« Last Edit: December 21, 2019, 11:08:26 am by Mesophilic »
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Offline PaSteve

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Re: Bows and arrows of the San people?
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2019, 11:51:28 am »
I really can't comment on their bows or arrows but I can tell you they are some of the most amazing trackers in the world. If an animal is hit and dead....they will find it. I bowhunted in Namibia about 20 years ago and their tracking skills were light years ahead of anything I've ever seen.
"It seems so much more obvious with bows than with other matters, that we are the guardians of the prize we seek." Dean Torges

Offline Mesophilic

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Re: Bows and arrows of the San people?
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2019, 04:32:14 pm »
I really can't comment on their bows or arrows but I can tell you they are some of the most amazing trackers in the world. If an animal is hit and dead....they will find it. I bowhunted in Namibia about 20 years ago and their tracking skills were light years ahead of anything I've ever seen.

No doubt.  In the show, they were tracking a small antlered critter, telling its life story as they went.  Then came upon a spot where a leopard had killed the critter.  So much information on the ground to them, but when the camera man zoomed in it just looked to me the critter just stopped to bed down for a bit.
Trying is the first step to failure
-Homer Simpson-

Offline DC

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Re: Bows and arrows of the San people?
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2019, 07:03:16 pm »
I remember seeing or reading somewhere that their bows are very light draw weight. Something to do with just wanting to get the poison just under the skin I think but don't quote me. The tiny tips were part of that. It didn't take much force to get the tip though the skin. Seems to me they can leave them braced because they're so light. Sorry I can't give a source. I watch/read everything I can about them ever since "The Gods Must Be Crazy". Fascinating people.