|
As we walked back to the longhouse, Chabok, who was
ahead of me, suddenly stopped and raised his blowpipe.
He quickly inserted a dart, packing the end with a small
tuft of raw cotton. High on a branch about twelve meters
away, a squirrel was running. I wanted to watch Chabok
hit it, yet I also felt an urge to shout and scare the
tiny animal away.
Chabok aimed carefully. I held my breath as he blew.
Thip! The dart flew so fast I couldn’t see it. The
squirrel stayed still, so I thought he had missed.
“You’ve missed it!” I called. But Chabok ran forward
shouting, “I haven’t, Master! I haven’t!” Suddenly the
squirrel dropped like a rag doll. A poisoned dart had
pierced its neck, leaving it alive but completely
paralyzed. It died a few minutes later.
On the way back, Chabok sang happily for the first time
since we left the River Yai. That evening, everyone ate
a little squirrel meat. My small piece, just a mouthful,
tasted like tough rabbit.
The Temiar blowpipe is about two meters long, made from
one piece of bamboo with a thin inner tube that keeps it
straight. The darts are wooden splinters about twenty to
twenty-five centimeters long, with a pith cone at one
end and a poisoned tip at the other. Most aborigines can
hit targets accurately within nine to ten meters, and
oddly they shoot better at targets moving up and down
than side to side. I have seen cigarettes pinned upright
to a tree, but when laid sideways they are usually
missed.
The poison comes from the saps of jungle trees and
vines. The sap is tapped, collected in bamboo cups,
mixed and boiled. Darts are dipped in the mixture and
dried in the sun. Extra poison is cooled and stored for
up to two years. When reused, it must be reboiled in
fresh water; old bamboo water won’t work. Poison
strength varies by tree:
Red sap from a mature tree is the deadliest,
killing in 6–7 minutes.
Black sap from an old tree works in about 30
minutes.
White sap from a young tree takes an hour or more
to act.
Questions and Answers
1. Q: What animal did Chabok shoot with his blowpipe?
A: He shot a squirrel.
2. Q: How did the narrator feel when Chabok aimed at the
squirrel?
A: Curious to see the shot but also tempted to scare the
animal away.
3. Q: What is the usual length of a Temiar blowpipe?
A: About two meters long.
4. Q: Why must fresh water be used when reboiling stored
poison?
A: Because water that has stood for days in bamboo loses the
needed effect.
5. Q: Which poison color acts the fastest and how
quickly?
A: Red poison from a mature tree; it is fatal in about six to
seven minutes.
|
