Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

4.3 Hunting and Trapping of wild animals
4.3.1 Hunting Technology
The overwhelming majority of hunting employs bow and arrows. Guns are considered
more effective (cf. Hames 1979; Hill and Hawkes 1983: 163), but the extent of their
use is limited by logistical and economic constraints. Firearm licenses are very difficult
to obtain, which according to some, is the consequence of a persistent unease in
central government over the status of the Rupununi region that dates back to the
Rupununi uprising. While the requirement for a license can not be strictly enforced in
such a remote area, a license is essential for the purchase of cartridges and powder.
The cash outlay involved is also prohibitive for the majority of people.
Bows and arrows are locally made and employ a combination of natural and
manufactured components. The techniques of manufacture entirely from local
materials are still known, but more effective materials such as metal points and nylon
fishing line (to attach the heads of drop-point arrows) have superseded these in
normal circumstances. Bows up to around 2m in length are carved from long pieces of
the hardwood takuba (Swartzia dipetala). Trees of this species are felled specifically
for this purpose, and pieces of wood trimmed from them as required, often over a
period of several years. The bow string is usually woven from the cultivated plant
crawa. Arrows are built on shafts made from the dried stalks of arrow cane,
cultivated in a small number of more or less permanent fields. This species seems
strongly to resist the intrusion of gap colonisers and its fields do not readily succumb
to the usual process of succession. Arrowheads of a variety of designs are made from
scraps of metal salvaged from old cutlasses or whatever other source might be
available. The most commonly used of these is the chiparari, which has a large point
suitable for use on white-lipped peccaries and other species of large game. Flights are
made from laterally bisected feathers of the powis (Crax alector). Paste is made from
a combination of the latexes of two trees - kaziman (Couma sp.) and min - mixed
and boiled until they form a thick glue.
Dogs are ubiquitous hunting partners, without whom the capture of many game
species would be vastly more difficult, if not impossible. Most regular hunters own
several dogs, often specialised for the pursuit of particular species thanks to training
by their owner. Pursuit of some species involves complex techniques, whose learning
requires extended periods of training completed by only a small number of dogs.
Others may acquire their skills via less thorough instruction, sometimes by practice