OF ARROW-RELEASE. 



163 



There are doubtless other forms of release, but those 

 already given probably comprise the principal and most 

 efficient ones. 



At Singapore I was enabled to secure, through the kind- 

 ness of D. F. A. Hervey, Esq., of Malacca, a Malay release 

 of the Temiang tribe, originally from Sumatra. The bow 

 was held in an horizontal position (a hole being made in 

 the centre of the bow through which the arrow passed), 

 the three fingers bent over the string, and the arrow held 

 between the first and second fingers, the thumb straight- 



Fig. 19. Temiang release. 



ened, and the little finger partially straightened and bear- 

 ing against the string as in the figure (Fig. 19). This was 

 a weak release, and was used only in the shooting of small 

 game and fish. An entirely different form of release is 

 used by this people in shooting fire at the spirit of sick- 

 ness. The bow is perforated as in the bow above men- 

 tioned ; the arrow has a shoulder near the distal end which 

 prevents it passing through the hole, and the nock is fas- 

 tened to the string. A ball of inflammable material is 

 loosely placed on the end of the arrow, and when the arrow 

 is released it is suddenly checked by its shoulder striking 



