Blowpipes still being used as hunting tool

Game on, ladies: Women contestants are also a force to be reckoned with when it comes to blowpipes.

THE strong hands gingerly grip around the cylinder-like rod with a spear head, as the eyes remain focused on the target ahead.

With a gentle swing upwards for a clear projection, a quick puff into the hollow rod sends the dart piercing through air as the hunter hopes to hit a bullseye.

Yes, the art of blowpiping sure has come a long way since it first took its place among the natives of Sarawak as a traditional hunting tool and occasionally, a weapon of warfare.

While some tribes in the interior still use the trusty blowpipe to hunt, these days the instrument is more often utilised as a prop in traditional dance performances, as a launch gimmick at official functions, or is kept either as a piece of artifact or for decoration.

Now, a sport has been created around blowpiping.

Recently the Brooke’s Cafe and Homestay along 10km Bau-Serikin Road in the Pijiru area in Bau held a blowpiping contest in the hope of keeping the traditional art alive so that the younger generation could better appreciate their roots.

The event drew some 60 contestants comprising men and women, who wanted to test their patience, skills and accuracy as a blowpipe shooter.

Brooke’s Cafe and Homestay co-owner Steven Salip told The Star in Kuching that the event was meant to preserve the traditions of the natives and in this particular case, the local Bidayuhs.

He said the competition was being supported by the Bau District Council as well as Community Services Assistant Minister and Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Peter Nansian.

“I believe Bau is the most active when it comes to blowpiping as a sport in the Kuching zone. The other divisions have it too, like in Julau for instance.

“In Bau, the sport is being played at Redeems Centre Singai as well as Kampung Podam. So now, Brooke’s Cafe and Homestay hopes to make it a regular event catering for the people in the Jagoi and Krokong areas,” he said.

He said with Sarawak celebrating 50 years of independence within Malaysia, it was timely to expand the sport so that more would be aware and willing to take up blowpiping.

There were three events in the men’s category namely professional blowing from a distance of 23m to 27m, semi-professional (18m to 20m) and novice (10m to 12m).

The women’s category only had one event, the professional with a distance of 16m to 18m.

Reknown sape player Matthew Ngau Jau was also present to provide tunes from his instrument that added further to the cultural vibe.

Explaining more, Nuhip Nyoging said one should be selective on the type of wood used to make a blowpipe.

“The type of wood used is the determining factor of how good your blowpipe will be. The best is to harvest hard and heavy wood like belian, selangan batu or merbau.

“There must be smoothness too to limit friction,” said the seasoned blowpipe maker.

He said the designs also varied from a tribe to another and from division to division, but he added that generally there were two types.

The first, he pointed out, required the shooter to place his or her mouth around the opening of the blowpipe while the second variety was the other way around — the blowpipe would cover the shooter’s mouth.

In addition, the latter type would normally have a round rubber padding attached to the opening to avoid any air from escaping whenever the shooter blows into the blowpipe.

Nyoging, who is a teacher by profession, said modern blowpipes meant for competition differed from the traditional ones used for hunting and in battles.

“Modern blowpipes are longer, measuring from 7ft to 8ft (over 2m long) because it helps in giving greater thrust to the dart to strike the target board.

“The traditional ones are shorter, about 6ft only (1.8m), made as such so that it would be easier to carry them around when going through the forest.

“The modern ones are also longer to allow the shooter to aim straight ahead whereas the traditional ones needed to be projected upwards to hit the prey,” he explained.

He said the traditional method of making the blowpipe, or sumpit, was to take a a long piece of wood and bore the centre using an iron rod, until a hole runs through the whole length of the wood.

The modern method, according to him, would be to have two pieces of wood, carve a drain along each side and seal them together.

“This was why the modern blowpipes are much smoother and more handy for competitions than the traditional type.”

Nyoging said even the darts, or damak, were different, adding that the traditional ones were carved from the soft wood part of a palm tree, or aping. The tips were dipped in ipuh, a poisonous secretion from a certain tree species. According to Nyoging, it is this poison that kills hunted animals — or in the time long past, overcame enemies during battles — once it enters the wound.

A modern dart, on the other hand, was made of fibres with a rubber tip.

Nyoging also talked about the maintenance of blowpipes and darts.

“Each time you blow into the blowpipe, you must clean it of spittle afterwards. The most effective way is to stuff an oil-laced string into the hole and then pull it out.

“This step is repeated until you are sure that it is cleaned throughout. The oil also greases the passage.

“The darts are washed and dried but should not be placed under direct sunlight,” he explained.

Having said this, Nyoging believed it was still crucial to observe some of the taboos surrounding the making of a blowpipe.

For instance, he stressed that when it came to harvesting the wood itself, it would be best to do it on certain time of the year, or one would end up with a bad quality instrument or worse, a wood infested with termites.

Another thing was to never step over a blowpipe or carrying it with you under a clothesline. The belief here was to show respect to it as a weapon of ancestry.