Sepik region club.

fspic · 16th February 2012, 03:30 PM

Ha! We should expect nothing less than an Englishman of all people to know his New Guinea cannibals! And there's no telling what loathsome disgusting things decorate his shelves and hang from the rafters of the Great Hall in his castle!

These illustrated paddles are more like poles with attached blades. Mine, while long, are in one piece. I should unbox the things to check length. They are not useable in a low level canoe but might work in something higher. They do have sailboats. On the other hand they also have seagoing coastal canoes and even rather slight designs which are capable of longer range calm seas ocean use. This latter type of canoe was used cannibals to unload a grounded and abandoned British trade vessel whose English crew took off in a cutter and left the Chinese crew to themselves. The cannibals happened upon the vessel and happily took the Chinese in groups of five or ten. The canoes, which looked small and shallow, were thought to be going only a short distance but that wasn't the case. No problem. They got to shore safely and the Chinese, who sang a happy traditional song of return, were welcomed into the village where they participated in the resulting feast. Literally. The Chinese song was heard so many times that the cannibals memorized some of it. This happened in the 1870's or a bit later and the words or melody survived in some form into modern times, meaning perhaps the time the book was written in the twenties. In fact, they likely survived until today as the tribe (if I have the right one in mind) recently apologized for eating the Chinamen. Of that crew only one survived being carried off. He was there when a British ship happened by. The man earned his share of fame. I forgot how many were eaten. The tribe apparently had a reputation for this interesting bit of converting a ship into a Burger King.

I'll measure the paddles as my curiosity is aroused. There has to be an optimum body size and position for their use. Likewise I'll have to consider their pointy shape as there may be a backup intention to use as a weapon.

Even so the spear was used as ship to ship or shore artillery with bows and arrows as convenient. This is noted in an account by Moncton of Giwi, a friendly coastal cannibal who did an analysis of the bad cannibals who sent a flotilla down the coast to raid his village. After doing an analysis he used advanced materials and techniques to come up with armaments and ambush tactics for defense. He wound up destroying the next raider group leaving only one canoe to escape. Moncton noted with some annoyance that chief Giwi told him he cooked someone's hands in the very pot - from which Moncton had cleaned grease using clean sand - and used as his own dinner plate or cookpot.

The issue in this battle was weight, speed, and range of all weapons used. Even in New Guinea a thoughtful cannibal chieftan would employ the equivalent of high tech materials to obtain the advantages of carbon fiber and long range weaponry.

David · 16th February 2012, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fspic

Ha! We should expect nothing less than an Englishman of all people to know his New Guinea cannibals! And there's no telling what loathsome disgusting things decorate his shelves and hang from the rafters of the Great Hall in his castle!

Really Fspic? Definitely not good forum form. You earned yourself a 10-day vacation.

fearn · 16th February 2012, 05:24 PM

Getting back to the issue of standing while paddling, I'm looking at Stand-up paddleboarding as a western analog. The major advantage seems to be that you're higher off the water, so you can see further. You can also see down into the water, which might be useful for things like spearfishing.

Because you're higher off the water, stand-up paddling also seems to be confined to relatively calm waters. There's an exhibit at the Field Museum where they show a number of Oceanic paddles, from standing paddles to deep-water paddles, with the statement that you can see the influence of the environment on paddle shape. Examples include having a flat tip on the paddle so that you can pole with it, having the long handle and small blade of a stand-up paddle (for calm waters), and so forth. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find a picture of that exhibit online.

Best,

F

VANDOO · 17th February 2012, 06:56 AM

THIS IS A VERY ATTRACTIVE CLUB AND WOULD FUNCTION AS CLUB, SWORD OR SHORT SPEAR, IT WOULD MAKE A VERY POOR PADDLE.

I SUSPECT FROM THE CARVING ON THE CLUB BUTT IT WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR FIGHTING WITH BOTH ENDS AS SOME ARE BUT HAS A DISTINCT GRIP AND STRIKING AREA. MOSTLY USED FOR CEREMONIES OR DANCEING STORIES THESE DAYS AS FIGHTING IS LESS COMMON. BUT IT WAS NOT VERY LONG AGO WHEN THESE WERE STILL USED FREQUENTLY. I LIKE THE DESIGN YOU HAVE BEEN GETTING SOME GOOD ITEMS LATELY. HMMM!! THE FORCE IS STRONG IN THIS ONE

THE GREAT WHITE IS THE ONLY SHARK KNOWN TO STICK ITS HEAD OUT OF THE WATER TO ATTACK. THIS BEHAVIOR EVOLVED THRU THEM HUNTING SEALS, WALRUS, ELEPHANT SEALS ,ECT. I GUESS THEY OCCASIONALY WOULD LOOK ON THE ROCKS AND PERHAPS SNATCH ONE COMING OR GOING OR TOO NEAR THE WATER?? THE GREAT WHITE COMES FROM BELOW FAST AND TAKES A BIG BITE AND LETS GO AND THEN USUALLY WAITS FOR ITS VICTUM TO BLEED TO DEATH AND THEN COMES IN TO FINISH DINNER. IT HAS LESS CHANCE OF GETTING HURT THAT WAY, IF SOMEONE IS NOT THERE TO RESCUE A WOUNDED HUMAN THEY JUST DISSAPEAR I DOUBT IF THE WAY WE TASTE HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS.
I UNDERSTAND THE ENTHUSIASM OF OUR MEMBER FOR A GOOD ADVENTURE STORY AS I ENJOY A GOOD ADVENTURE STORY EVEN IF THE FACTS ARE FAR FETCHED IN ORDER TO MAKE A GOOD STORY.

BUT WE CAN'T TELL THE TALE HERE AS THEN WE WOULD WANDER TOO FAR FROM THE DISCUSSION AT HAND WHICH IS ON A CLUB NOT ON PADDELING OR MAN EATING SHARKS, CROCS AND GATORS.

I HOPE HE IS NOT DISCOURAGED BY THE TIME OUT AND DOES RETURN AND I HOPE I DON'T JOIN HIS TIME OUT FOR GETTING FAR OFF TOPIC AS WELL

David · 18th February 2012, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fearn

Getting back to the issue of standing while paddling, I'm looking at Stand-up paddleboarding as a western analog. The major advantage seems to be that you're higher off the water, so you can see further. You can also see down into the water, which might be useful for things like spearfishing.

Because you're higher off the water, stand-up paddling also seems to be confined to relatively calm waters. There's an exhibit at the Field Museum where they show a number of Oceanic paddles, from standing paddles to deep-water paddles, with the statement that you can see the influence of the environment on paddle shape. Examples include having a flat tip on the paddle so that you can pole with it, having the long handle and small blade of a stand-up paddle (for calm waters), and so forth. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find a picture of that exhibit online.

Best,

F

Fearn, i think you are on to the real reason for the standing positions with this. I also did a bit of on-line reading that talks about the extra rowing power that you get from this position. These boats must move rather quickly through the water with all these standing rowers applying all that extra upper body strengths that can be applied from this position over a seated one.

tribalarms · 18th February 2012, 04:06 PM

Paddling standing up in Congo up allows for better sight, which is essential for survival (driftwood, hippos, etc) and also allows a less wide canoe (better speed, less weight than the big dugouts used for transportation of goods).

It also makes it easier to navigate thru dense vegetation and swamps by occasional poling.

For Sepik, I don't know - how is their waters?

16th February 2012, 03:30 PM	#1
fspic Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 27	Ha! We should expect nothing less than an Englishman of all people to know his New Guinea cannibals! And there's no telling what loathsome disgusting things decorate his shelves and hang from the rafters of the Great Hall in his castle! These illustrated paddles are more like poles with attached blades. Mine, while long, are in one piece. I should unbox the things to check length. They are not useable in a low level canoe but might work in something higher. They do have sailboats. On the other hand they also have seagoing coastal canoes and even rather slight designs which are capable of longer range calm seas ocean use. This latter type of canoe was used cannibals to unload a grounded and abandoned British trade vessel whose English crew took off in a cutter and left the Chinese crew to themselves. The cannibals happened upon the vessel and happily took the Chinese in groups of five or ten. The canoes, which looked small and shallow, were thought to be going only a short distance but that wasn't the case. No problem. They got to shore safely and the Chinese, who sang a happy traditional song of return, were welcomed into the village where they participated in the resulting feast. Literally. The Chinese song was heard so many times that the cannibals memorized some of it. This happened in the 1870's or a bit later and the words or melody survived in some form into modern times, meaning perhaps the time the book was written in the twenties. In fact, they likely survived until today as the tribe (if I have the right one in mind) recently apologized for eating the Chinamen. Of that crew only one survived being carried off. He was there when a British ship happened by. The man earned his share of fame. I forgot how many were eaten. The tribe apparently had a reputation for this interesting bit of converting a ship into a Burger King. I'll measure the paddles as my curiosity is aroused. There has to be an optimum body size and position for their use. Likewise I'll have to consider their pointy shape as there may be a backup intention to use as a weapon. Even so the spear was used as ship to ship or shore artillery with bows and arrows as convenient. This is noted in an account by Moncton of Giwi, a friendly coastal cannibal who did an analysis of the bad cannibals who sent a flotilla down the coast to raid his village. After doing an analysis he used advanced materials and techniques to come up with armaments and ambush tactics for defense. He wound up destroying the next raider group leaving only one canoe to escape. Moncton noted with some annoyance that chief Giwi told him he cooked someone's hands in the very pot - from which Moncton had cleaned grease using clean sand - and used as his own dinner plate or cookpot. The issue in this battle was weight, speed, and range of all weapons used. Even in New Guinea a thoughtful cannibal chieftan would employ the equivalent of high tech materials to obtain the advantages of carbon fiber and long range weaponry.

16th February 2012, 05:24 PM	#3
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Getting back to the issue of standing while paddling, I'm looking at Stand-up paddleboarding as a western analog. The major advantage seems to be that you're higher off the water, so you can see further. You can also see down into the water, which might be useful for things like spearfishing. Because you're higher off the water, stand-up paddling also seems to be confined to relatively calm waters. There's an exhibit at the Field Museum where they show a number of Oceanic paddles, from standing paddles to deep-water paddles, with the statement that you can see the influence of the environment on paddle shape. Examples include having a flat tip on the paddle so that you can pole with it, having the long handle and small blade of a stand-up paddle (for calm waters), and so forth. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find a picture of that exhibit online. Best, F

17th February 2012, 06:56 AM	#4
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	THIS IS A VERY ATTRACTIVE CLUB AND WOULD FUNCTION AS CLUB, SWORD OR SHORT SPEAR, IT WOULD MAKE A VERY POOR PADDLE. I SUSPECT FROM THE CARVING ON THE CLUB BUTT IT WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR FIGHTING WITH BOTH ENDS AS SOME ARE BUT HAS A DISTINCT GRIP AND STRIKING AREA. MOSTLY USED FOR CEREMONIES OR DANCEING STORIES THESE DAYS AS FIGHTING IS LESS COMMON. BUT IT WAS NOT VERY LONG AGO WHEN THESE WERE STILL USED FREQUENTLY. I LIKE THE DESIGN YOU HAVE BEEN GETTING SOME GOOD ITEMS LATELY. HMMM!! THE FORCE IS STRONG IN THIS ONE THE GREAT WHITE IS THE ONLY SHARK KNOWN TO STICK ITS HEAD OUT OF THE WATER TO ATTACK. THIS BEHAVIOR EVOLVED THRU THEM HUNTING SEALS, WALRUS, ELEPHANT SEALS ,ECT. I GUESS THEY OCCASIONALY WOULD LOOK ON THE ROCKS AND PERHAPS SNATCH ONE COMING OR GOING OR TOO NEAR THE WATER?? THE GREAT WHITE COMES FROM BELOW FAST AND TAKES A BIG BITE AND LETS GO AND THEN USUALLY WAITS FOR ITS VICTUM TO BLEED TO DEATH AND THEN COMES IN TO FINISH DINNER. IT HAS LESS CHANCE OF GETTING HURT THAT WAY, IF SOMEONE IS NOT THERE TO RESCUE A WOUNDED HUMAN THEY JUST DISSAPEAR I DOUBT IF THE WAY WE TASTE HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS. I UNDERSTAND THE ENTHUSIASM OF OUR MEMBER FOR A GOOD ADVENTURE STORY AS I ENJOY A GOOD ADVENTURE STORY EVEN IF THE FACTS ARE FAR FETCHED IN ORDER TO MAKE A GOOD STORY. BUT WE CAN'T TELL THE TALE HERE AS THEN WE WOULD WANDER TOO FAR FROM THE DISCUSSION AT HAND WHICH IS ON A CLUB NOT ON PADDELING OR MAN EATING SHARKS, CROCS AND GATORS. I HOPE HE IS NOT DISCOURAGED BY THE TIME OUT AND DOES RETURN AND I HOPE I DON'T JOIN HIS TIME OUT FOR GETTING FAR OFF TOPIC AS WELL

18th February 2012, 04:06 PM	#6
tribalarms Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 26	Paddling standing up in Congo up allows for better sight, which is essential for survival (driftwood, hippos, etc) and also allows a less wide canoe (better speed, less weight than the big dugouts used for transportation of goods). It also makes it easier to navigate thru dense vegetation and swamps by occasional poling. For Sepik, I don't know - how is their waters?