NOMADS OF THE LONG BOW — HOLMBERG 



25 



nearby as one goes tlirough the forest. Upon 

 discovering them the hunter prepares his bow for 

 the kill, imitates their call, and shoots them as 

 they come within range, aiming for the heart or 

 the neck. 



White-lipped peccaries can be discovered a 

 great distance away, both by smell and sound. 

 Moreover, they are one of the few animals that the 

 Siriono spend days in tracking down and are also 

 one of the few that are sometimes hunted coop- 

 eratively. As band peccaries are accustomed to 

 follow a leader, and to root up almost everything 

 as they go along, to track them down is not a 

 difficult task. 



To originate a cooperative peccary hunt some 

 hunter must previously have sighted fresh tracks 

 relatively near camp, say within a half day's 

 distance on foot. On the day following the report, 

 the hunters set out, using the person who dis- 

 covered the trail as a guide. They take with 

 them only their bamboo-headed arrows (tdkwa), 

 as only these are effective in killing such a large 

 animal. Arriving at the trail, they follow it 

 until they can hear the noise of the peccaries, 

 which is not unlike the sound of distant thunder — 

 the reason perhaps that the Siriono have asso- 

 ciated thunder mth the faUing of peccaries to the 

 earth. 



After the band has been discovered, the hunting 

 party stops and lays plans for the kiU. If the 

 chief is present — he is always one of the best 

 hunters- — other members of the party usually 

 accept his method of attack. A band of peccaries 

 is always approached against the wind, so that the 

 hunters will not be discovered. If it is possible to 

 come up from behind the band, this is considered 

 the best strategy. In any case, an attempt is 

 always made to circle the band so as to kill as 

 many peccaries as possible. Some hunters ap- 

 proach from the rear ; others from either side. The 

 signal for the kill is given by the hunter first 

 getting in position to shoot : the arrows then begin 

 to fly from all directions. Each hunter usually 

 picks a fat peccary for his fu'st arrow. If possible, 

 the leader of the band is also killed, not only 

 because it is generally the biggest boar but be- 

 cause the band will thus have greater difficulty 

 re-forming and the other peccaries wiU be easier to 

 kill. 



On a chase of this kind a hunter usually uses up 

 all the arrows he has brought with him, but if 



there is stiU game around this does not deter him 

 from continuing the hunt. He may continue the 

 attack with a club picked up at random or cut in 

 the forest. I have even seen hunters catch young 

 peccaries with their hands and bash their heads 

 on the nearest tree or drown them in a water hole 

 that happened to be at the site of the kill. 



After the band has dispersed and the principal 

 Idll has been made, strays are run do^vn and slain. 

 It is only after no more animals are available that 

 the slaughter is stopped. The hunters then meet 

 at the place where the kill began, dragging all the 

 game to that spot. If the day is yet young, i. e., 

 before noon, if the kill is such that it can be carried 

 home, and if the camp is not far away, they may 

 set out for the house at once. Usually, however, 

 they decide to remain overnight in the forest and 

 roast the meat. If it is late in the day, they spend 

 most of the night preparing and roasting the game, 

 and on the following day, after an all night feed, 

 carry the roasted meat to the camp in rude 

 motacu palm baskets. In case raw game must 

 be left in the forest for a night, the viscera are 

 removed, and the carcasses, covered with palm 

 leaves, are tied in a tree to safeguard them from 

 ants and jaguars. On the following day the 

 women are sent to bring in the game. 



The Siriono who wander in those regions west 

 of the Rio Blanco, where there is open country, 

 frequently encounter the large pampa deer 

 {kiikwandusu) . Those who inhabit the forest 

 country east of the Rio Blanco most often meet a 

 smaller variety of forest deer (kiikwa). 



When in quest of the pampa deer, the hunter 

 tries to reach the pampa as early in the day as 

 possible. On arriving at the open country, he 

 may sight his quarry a great distance away. 

 Deer are relatively easy to stalk, as the tall grass 

 of the pampa (frequently liigher than one's head), 

 as well as the ant hills, provide an almost perfect 

 blind. The naked hunter must proceed cautiously, 

 however, else the knifelike blades of some of the 

 pampa grasses will cut his skin to ribbons. In 

 Icilling deer the hunter always aims for the heart. 



The tapir (eakwantui) is the largest animal in the 

 area, and since its carcass yields the greatest 

 amount of meat of any animal, it is considered 

 the greatest prize of the chase. Because of the 

 undeveloped hunting techniques of the Siriono, 

 and because the tapir does most of its feeding at 

 night, when the hunter is fast asleep, it is rarely 



