WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS 



87 



Academt or Sciences] 

 No. 11 



are applied according to the fancy of the wearer. Other decorations of beads, cotton tassels, 

 and strips of a yellow parasitic plant, are not at all infrequent. 



The girdle, which is nearly always of braided abakd fiber, frequently multicolored, and which 

 holds the weapon to the left side of the wearer, passes through a hole on the outer side of the 

 sheath. This hole is made through 

 the central embossed part of the 

 outer piece of the sheath. 



A noteworthy feature of the 

 sheath is that it is so made that by 

 pushing the handle to the lower side 

 of the aperture of the sheath, the 

 weapon remains locked and can not 

 fall out or be withdrawn until the 

 handle is pushed back to the upper 

 side of the aperture. 



A MAGIC TEST FOR THE EFFICIENCY 

 OF A BOLO 



It is very interesting to observe 

 the method pursued in determining 

 the value of the bolo. A piece of 

 rattan the length of the weapon is 

 cut into small pieces, each one, ex- 

 cepting perhaps the last, exactly as 

 long as the maximum width of the q, 



bolo. These pieces are then placed 

 in the following positions and in the 

 order indicated by the number. (See 

 fig. 1.) It is obvious that, as a rule, 

 there is one piece of rattan that is 

 not as long as the others. This piece 

 is always set down last, and its posi- 

 tion is the determining factor of the 

 test. 



In Figure 1 a all the pieces of 

 rattan happen to be equal, there be- 

 ing no short piece. Moreover, there 

 are enough pieces to complete the 

 figure. This combination is not in- 

 auspicious in so far as it does not 

 augur evil, but it is thought to be a 

 sure indication of a failure to kill. 13 



In Figure 1 b all the pieces are 

 of equal length, but there are not 

 enough to complete the figure as in 



figure 1 a. This is a doubtful con- dL 



figuration. On the one hand the 



FlOUEE 1 



weapon may or may not kill, on the other it will prove efficient to the owner in matters not 

 connected with fighting. 



In Figure 1 c we have only four pieces of rattan, three of which are equal to the maximum 

 width of the bolo and one of which is short. This is a good combination. It indicates that in a 

 fight the enemy will suffer loss. 1 * 



11 This combination is called U-mut. 



" This formation Is called ia-kab. 



