PRIMITIVE WEAPONS AND AKMOE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 59 



attachment, if any; mouthpiece; vent piece; outer casing, to<^ether 

 with ornamental decoration, if any; lining; winding; wrapping; 

 plating; and cement. The varieties that are produced in the Philip- 

 pines may be classed as either simple, having but one casing or tube, 

 and compound ; either of these types may be constructed of wood or 

 of several joints or nodes of bamboo. 



^Methods of manufacture vary. Some of the following are known 

 in the Philippines: Knocking out septum of the jointed bamboo; 

 boring; burning; halving of wood into sections and excaA^ating or 

 hollowing; boring of tube out of the solid. 



'With regard to function, points that must be considered may be 

 grouped under the headings of use in hunting and in war; range; 

 accuracy; speed of projectile; force of breath employed; use as a 

 .spear; distance penetration. 



The blowgun, "sumpitan" (Malay), is a remarkable weapon in 

 many respects, and especially because it is one of the few inventions 

 of uncivilized peoples utilizing the force of compressed air; others 

 being the popgun, the fire piston, and the piston bellows. It ap- 

 ]iears that these inventions are coterminous in range and are products 

 of Malav inventiveness. The blowgun originated in a zone where 

 canes and bamboo flourishesd, consequently of necessity in the 

 Tropics. Its use was formerly rather extensive in southeastern 

 Asia, eastern and tropical America, but was not diffused in Poly- 

 necia, Melanesia, or Micronesia, although some aboriginal bliick 

 pygmy tribes in Malaysia use it occasionally. 



rATAT.OGUB OF TYPE SrECIMENS 



Blowgun^ " Sunipit,''^ Batak, near Punta Tiniatia, central Pala- 

 ivan. — The tube consists of an outer casing of bamboo, tapered 

 slightly toward the muzzle, finely decorated with etchings burned 

 into the surface. The decorative design consists of a broad spiral 

 band; intervening spaces between the spirals are filled in with short 

 horizontal lines. The, tube is lined with a straight, even-bore tube 

 of cane. The mouthpiece or muzzle is bound with three neatly 

 braided bands of rattan, each band 1 centimeter wide. The forward 

 end is coated thickly with beeswax in which is set a graduated strip 

 of bamboo, giving the elevations for sighting the blowgun. While 

 sights are commonly employed on blowguns, this type of elevation 

 sight is peculiar to the Batak. 



Length of bloAvgun, 158. G centimeters (Gl inches) ; diameter of 

 bore, 1 centimeter (0.4 inch). (PI. 2, No. 5.) Cat. No. 232298, 

 U.S.N.M. Collected by Gov. E. Y. Miller. 



Quiver and hlowgun darts, Batak, Palavmn. — The quiver is a joint 

 of bamboo, with a cap or lid of the same material; the quiver is an 

 old one, and is highly polished from use and age. Around the base 



;:}()21— 26 5 



