Making an Aputu

[KuKulzA28]

A boutou or aputu or pootoo is what a Guiana Amerindian block-shaped or rectangular bludgeon is often known as. We've had one thread on them on this EAA Forums I think... It was used by Makushi, Caribs, Kali'na (Carib group), Lokono/Arawaks, etc. I have seen them referred to as macana once, though I thought macana was the "taino" word for a sword-club... like a maquahuitl, or the dagger-like clubs that used to be found in the islands and Guyana (according the Walter Roth). If I'm not mistaken, the Spaniards took macana as a loan-word and applied the term to heavy cudgels... ? Well, the Guyanese Amerindians I've met recognize the aputu but it's not something that is commonly used or made anymore from what I gathered. Machetes (they call cutlass) replace stone axes and warclubs, shotguns are gradually replacing bow and arrow, and logging and mining sometimes replacing traditional subsistence...

Well, from the few posts on here about the aputu, and some conversations with Guyanese folks got me itching to make one. I know faithful reproduction may not be the primary interest of this forum (antiques mostly), but maybe as I make this bludgeon, you guys can give suggestions, input, etc. I want to make it as traditional looking as possible.

I'm handy with a laraw/machete and I've carved knife handles, machete handles, and bow staves... but this'll be the second club I ever made, and the first was a very crude one. So, hopefully my handiness and patience will help see this project through though I lack the expertise and experience...

I'm using the pictures from the American Museum of Natural History database AND the National Museum of the American Indian as reference. I am making it about 16 inches tall as was described by John Stedman in his story about his time in Dutch Guiana.


So I got myself a piece of cocobolo. I started by making a guide and tracing the aputu shape on the block of wood. Now, step two is carefully hacking material off of the front and back faces of the bludgeon... though my hand is tired, that was the easy part. I'll have to smooth that out more, then for the side-faces, carefully cut, chisel, and file/rasp away the material... that will take some time. After that I'll work the waist a little to make the handle feel right, and then I I'll wrap some cotton around it, and see how it feels.


Hopefully, will have updates tomorrow or the day after
After this, maybe I'll make a kayapo style bat... then a yanomami warclub... then maybe others.

[Battara]

Can't wait to see the final product!

[KuKulzA28]

Thanks, me either! It's work, but its fun to see the club come out of the block.

Here's a photo of Kali'na weapons... they are a Carib group.

notice the bow with the long arrows, the aputus, the sword-like clubs, and the bat on the left

[Tim Simmons]

Great project. I will be interested to see it decorated and polished. Thank you for posting the excellent picture plate.

Not wanting to hijack your topic but it has been most helpful in identifying a club I have. It seems that Colin was correct in suggesting a South American origin. Although the pointed distal end on this club is plain, the general form and handle end or unmistakable. The top and bottom bindings are my attempts with raffia at halting further unraveling of what was a decorative plant material weave. If anybody can find other pictures of Carib ect weapons please post them.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...el+island+club

[KuKulzA28]

No problem Tim. Glad that it helped. I'm not surprised you hadn't found more information on your club... the South American traditional native weaponry is sort of a very obscure corner of the ethnographic arms collecting / war history world. Warclubs from South America don't seem to have the popularity/price-tags that North American clubs do... but I like them both.

The weaponry of Native America have always fascinated me. To some they just see sticks and stones. To others they see the convergent evolution of swords, the subtle nuances that increase the deadliness of bludgeons and clubs, and some club designs that are found nowhere else in the world. As for stone knives and celts... some of the most advanced and best crafted lithics in the world.

[VANDOO]

A INTERESTING PROJECT AND YOUR CHOICE OF WOOD SHOULD MAKE A BEAUTIFUL AND FUNCTIONAL CLUB. LIKELY THE FIRST CLUB OF ITS KIND MADE WITH A TRADITIONAL KNIFE FROM FORMOSA. THE PLATE IS A FINE ONE AND REFRENCES AND PICTURES NOT EASY TO COME BY. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE FINISHED CLUB.

[KuKulzA28]

that's a good point Vandoo, didn't even think of that, hehehe

Speaking of making... Remember, the Guiana and Amazonian tribes/towns had very limited lithic tech... they have primitive stone axes that seem to be far inferior to the fine axes of the Incas, Mayans, and celt axes of the North American Eastern woodlands... better for mashing the wood rather than chopping out chunks like the beautiful celts of the aforementioned cultures. Sure, they had palmwood machetes and saws, but these were only good for lighter vegetation and softwoods... for carving they used a peccary/javelina or agouti tooth style of chisel/knife tool (which is still used by many interior tribesmen)... I don't think they had files, though they had graters made of wooden board embedded with teeth so the idea of a rasp wasn't non-existent... just hard to make with the technology and materials at hand.

Today I tried using a grooved ax. The grooved axe can be expediently re-handled and is secure enough while it lasts. This is probably why it was used in the American west by the natives who did not have regular access to forests (and thus make the stronger celt style axes). I'm not sure if the Caribs used celts or grooved axes... but it's what I have. While it works... and it can chop softer wood with ease, and harder wood with some patience... it's inferior to steel in performance. And I am not even going to bother using an agouti tooth to plane the faces of the club.

...let's just say I'll be sticking with steel.

But for what it's worth, here's a grooved axe I assembled.

Filing down the front/back faces of the club now. Time consuming, and trying not to accidentally inhale wood-dust... cocobolo especially is known to give lethal lung infections.

[VANDOO]

OTHER FINISHING TOOLS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE DEPENDING ON THE TRIBES LOCATION. 1.(SALT WATER OR RIVER MOUTHS) SHARK SKIN FOR SANDING AND SHARK TEETH FOR CUTTING AND CARVING. A BILLFISH BILL ALSO MAKES A GOOD FILE.
2. (FRESH WATER)PARAHINA TEETH AND OTHER FISH TEETH COULD ALSO BE USED. THE SCALES OF THE GIANT ARAPAIMA FISH MAKE GOOD FILES AND ARE STILL USED TO FILE FINGERNAILS AS WELL AS OTHER THINGS TODAY. HERE IS A PICTURE OF A 15 FOOT 4 INCH ARAPAIMA NOTE THE LARGE THICK SCALES, ONE FISH YEALDS A LARGE SUPPLY OF SCALES AND MEAT.
I AM GLAD YOU ARE AWARE OF THE POSINOUS QUALITY OF THE WOOD DUST. MANY TYPES OF EXOTIC WOODS CAN BE DANGEROUS.

[KuKulzA28]

Good points Vandoo.

Started to cut/chisel out the sides today. Haven't finished the flare at the pommel and the handle needs to be narrower and not so rough. Then I need to smooth it all out and make the surfaces concave. Still unsure if I am going to carve it with designs, and if so, what kind. There's a few examples of carved aputu, some with very complex designs. I'm thinking I might just let it be... my carving skills aren't great and most aputu I've seen pictures of are plain.

Anyone have information on the meanings behind the designs?

[KuKulzA28]

Completed... I think? Used rasp, plane, sandpaper... and then 3 coats of tung oil...

Not as fine as the aputu made by the natives themselves, but I'll get there.

Anyone who owns one... how do they handle? I find my reproduction feels "OK". Not great, the handle certainly would NOT roll in the hand because of the rectangular shape, and it'd be hard to lose because of the flaring butt... however it's not particularly comfortable.



Anyways, I think this came out decent... I look forward to making better examples, with more concavity on the faces like some of the old clubs. Maybe I'll even add in a metal or stone spike/ax to the club someday....

Comments? Suggestions?

[colin henshaw]

Well done, it looks a good job.....

[Tim Simmons]

That is a good basic block club. You could take it further? Many old block clubs have beautifully incised decoration and appear lovingly polished.

Your thread is a great opportunity to explore carving without metal tools. Metal tools have the advantage of being more easily formed into practical working shapes to start with. The edge of a metal tool in many cases may be no sharper than a flint tool but the edge can take more abuse and be so quickly resharpened. Metal tools of the right type cut deeper and allow much faster work. I think the main difference between metal v stone, shell and other "primitive" tools is that metal tools enable anybody to use them with good affect in quick time. The economics to tool manufacture v the availability of trade industrial metal tools must of had huge appeal. But to my mind an artist/skilled crafts worker will achieve the same results what ever there tools are made of. Another factor to why we see such wonderful work done without metal tools is that the makers where used to using then and knew no other way. They would have had a tool kit with portable sharpening stone like any good worker today. Even small objects must have taken much time to finish and nothing came from a store respect . All these pictures are PNG but illustrate primitive carving tools. From "Decorative Art Of New Guinea, Incised Designs, Field Museum Of Natural History, Chicago 1925". My pictures show just 1 minutes work with a stone adze on some firewood and a few fine objects carved without metal.

[KuKulzA28]

Good points Tim. Using stone and bone tools is more time consuming because the tool edges tend to be less durable or less sharp (depends if stone or bone or ?) but if the surviving examples of "stone age" technology tell us anything... the weapons were often well-made and cared for just as many weaponry in the metal using world back in the day.

I may polish this one down better. I would love to try my hand at carving the more elaborate designs but the pictures featuring those aren't big enough for me to really capture the detail. Maybe I carve something like this? http://anthro.amnh.org/anthropology/...40.0%2F%206339

anyways, got myself a big chunk of old black palm. Making a YANOMAMÖ club. The one on top http://anthro.amnh.org/anthropology/...%2E1%2F%202760 . If you guys don't mind I think I'll just post it here as well, I don't want to clutter EAA Forums with lots of "wood carving to make Amerindian clubs" threads since it doesn't seem to be the focus of the forum.

When I find another suitable wood, I think I am going to make another Aputu, this time a thinner handle and more concave faces and sharper edges on top. Maybe I'll even do it all with stone and bone tools someday... but my flint knapping skills are just very basic, and I'd have to find/hunt some bones first...

[VANDOO]

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ighlight=aputu

HERE IS A LINK TO A OLD POST ON THESE THAT WOULD ADD INFORMATION TO THIS POST AND GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS ON SIMPLE DESIGNS. I HOPE THE LINK WORKS