Spear throwing has been an integral part of African culture for millennia, serving purposes ranging from hunting and warfare to ceremonial practices. Various techniques and tools have been developed across the continent to maximize the effectiveness of this ancient weapon. This article delves into the diverse methods and implements used in African spear throwing, highlighting the ingenuity and skill of the people who wield them.
The Maasai, a renowned tribe from Tanzania and Kenya, have a distinguished reputation for their unique spear techniques. Young Maasai warriors, known as moran, undergo rigorous training to master the art of spear throwing. These spears are not merely weapons; they are symbols of status and tools for survival. The Maasai's deep connection to their spears is evident in their daily lives, as they carry these traditional weapons from adolescence onward.
Maasai warriors with their traditional spears.
The Art of the Assegai
The bladed weapon most associated with the tribes of southern Africa is the assegai, or spear. The assegai often served the purpose of a knife, being used not only in fighting but in dressing game, carving wooden implements, and even shaving the scalp.
The native smiths contrive to make their spear heads of such an excellent temper that they take a very sharp edge: so sharp, indeed, that the assagai is used, not only for cutting up meat and similar offices, but for shaving the head. Also, it is so pliable, that a good specimen can be bent nearly double and beaten straight again, without being heated.
The spear maker has already by him a number of shafts. These are cut from a tree which is popularly called "assegai-wood," and on the average are nearly five feet in length. In diameter they are very small, seldom exceeding that of a man's little finger at the thick end, while the other end tapers to the diameter of an ordinary black-lead pencil. The assagai-tree is called scientifically Curtisia Jaginea, and is something like the mahogany.
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The shaft of the assagai is seldom sufficiently straight to permit the weapon to be used at once. It is straightened by means of heating it over the fire, and then scraping, beating, and bending it until the maker is pleased with the result. Even after the weapon has been made and in use, the shaft is very apt to warp, and in this case the Kaffir always rapidly straightens the assagai before he throws it.
By means of heating the "tang" of the head red hot, a hole is bored into the thick end of the shaft, and the tang passed into it. In order to fasten it in its place, the Kaffir always makes use of one material, namely, raw hide. He cuts a narrow strip or hide, sometimes retaining the hair, and binds it while still wet upon the spear. As it dries, the hide contracts, and forms a band nearly as strong as if made of iron.
The ordinary form or "throwing assagai" is used as a missile, and not as a dagger. In some cases the throwing assagai is shaped in a more simple iron head being nothing but a sharpened spike of iron, without any pretensions of being formed into a blade. Sometimes the blade is much longer and wider, representing the ordinary "stabbing assagai." This weapon can be used as a missile, but is very seldom employed except as a manual weapon.
The assagai, in its original form, is essentially a missile, and is made expressly for that purpose, although it serves several others. There is no spear or lancet that can surpass it in efficacy.
When the Kaffir grasps his assagai, he and the weapon seem to become one being, the quivering spear seeming instinct with life imparted to it by its wielder. In hurling it, he assumes intuitively the most graceful of attitudes, reminding the observer of some of the ancient statues, and the weapon is thrown with such seeming ease that, as a sojourner among them told me, "the man looks as if he were made of oil."
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Sometimes, when he has not space to raise his arm, or when he wants to take his foe by surprise, he throws the assagai with a kind of underhand jerk, his arm hanging at full length. An assagai thus delivered cannot be thrown so far as by the ordinary method, but it can be propelled with considerable force, and frequently achieves the object for which it was intended.
The Atlatl: An Ancient Tool for Enhanced Spear Throwing
The atlatl, also known as a spear-thrower, is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart-throwing. It consists of a shaft with a cup or a spur at the end that supports and propels the butt of the dart. The atlatl is held in one hand, gripped near the end farthest from the cup.
The dart is thrown by the action of the upper arm and wrist. The throwing arm together with the atlatl acts as a lever. The atlatl is a low-mass, fast-moving extension of the throwing arm, increasing the length of the lever. This extra length allows the thrower to impart force to the dart over a longer distance, thus imparting more energy and ultimately higher speeds.
Atlatl designs may include improvements such as thong loops to fit the fingers, the use of flexible shafts, stone balance weights, and thinner, highly flexible darts for added power and range. Darts resemble large arrows or thin spears and are typically from 120 cm to 270 cm (4' to 9') in length and 9 to 16 mm (3/8 inch to 5/8 inch) in diameter.
Another important improvement to the atlatl's design was the introduction of a small weight (between 60 and 80 grams) strapped to its midsection. Some atlatlists maintain that stone weights add mass to the shaft of the device, causing resistance to acceleration when swung and resulting in a more forceful and accurate launch of the dart.
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The spear-thrower is believed to have been in use by Homo sapiens since the Upper Paleolithic (around 30,000 years ago). Most stratified European finds come from the Magdalenian (late upper Palaeolithic). In this period, elaborate pieces, often in the form of animals, are common.
Diagram of an atlatl in use.
How the Atlatl Works
The thrower holds the atlatl and dart parallel to one another and horizontal, with elbow bent and the hand just beside the ear. There's an initial forward motion with the shoulder, then the elbow straightens and finally the wrist flicks the atlatl forward with an action not unlike that of an overexuberant fly fisherman trying to lure a trout. That's the obvious part.
A flexible dart springs away from the atlatl tip. You can think of the dart as a spring, which is compressed by the initial force of the throw. At the start of the throw, the dart bends as the acceleration pushes against the mass of the stone tip. A wave propagates from the rear of the dart to its tip. When the wave reaches the tip, it is reflected back again. When the wave reaches the rear this time, however, the atlatl has stopped accelerating, and the wave's energy strikes the atlatl tip and propels the dart forward.
How To Build An Atlatl (Spear-Thrower)
Spear Straightness and Construction
Straightness is of great importance in a spear shaft, for throwing especially, but it is also not always easy to achieve. In areas lacking forests of large straight trees whose riven straightgrain heartwood can be used, it seems that sapplings and roots are often used. The bends in these can be somewhat straightened by steaming, and lesser ones that even back out over distance are not as bad, but still tend to wobble the spear in flight.
Some Central African spears indeed have bend shafts. I think it all depends on the use of the spear. Ceremonial spears will have thicker, carved shafts. The same can be said about the thrusting spears. Strength is a big issue there. But for hunting, a simple stick/shaft is enough.
The Woomera
An Australian woomera allows hunters to apply more force, speed and distance when launching their spears. A woomera is usually made from Mulga wood, and serves many other purposes such as a receptacle for mixing ochre for traditional paintings for ceremonies, deflection tool of enemiesâ spears in battle, fire making saw, or a utensil for chopping game.
A typical Australian woomera.
By using two different woods, Aboriginal toolmakers had the respective advantages of hardness and flexibility where it was needed in the weapon.
Spear Throwing Techniques
Just before he throws the spear, the Kaffir makes it quiver in a very peculiar manner. He grasps it with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, holding it just above the spot where it balances itself and with the head pointing up his arm. The other fingers are laid along the shaft, and are suddenly and firmly closed, so as to bring the balance spot of the spear against the root of the hand. This movement causes the spear to vibrate strongly and is rapidly repeated, until the weapon gives out a peculiar humming or shivering noise, impossible to be described.
When thrown, the assagai does not lose this vibrating movement, but seems even to vibrate stronger than before, the head describing a large arc of a circle, of which the balance point forms the centre. This vibration puzzles the eye of the adversary, because it is almost impossible to tell the precise direction which the weapon is taking.
As he hurls the weapon, he presses on his foe, trying to drive him back, and at the same time to recover the spent missiles. Sometimes, when he has not space to raise his arm, or when he wants to take his foe by surprise, he throws the assagai with a kind of underhand jerk, his arm hanging at full length. An assagai thus delivered cannot be thrown so far as by the ordinary method, but it can be propelled with considerable force, and frequently achieves the object for which it was intended.
