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259 N o t e s o f M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 67 September 10, 1946 Blowguns in Guatemala Edwin M. Shook and during harvest the number of workmen is more than trebled. The additional labor comes from all over the Departments of San Marcos and Huehuetenango, and in exceptional instances has been recruited from even as far as Chiquimula in eastern Guatemala and all intervening departments. The finca offers an unusual opportunity, therefore, for study of the customs of Indians from many sections of the country. Indians speaking the Mam language of the Maya stock predominate among both the resident and transient labor forces at Porvenir. The blowgun is used by them there and in their villages for hunting birds, rabbits, squirrels, and other small game. They are proficient in its use, and the hunter is jeered by his companions if a hit is not scored on a small bird at a 20 m distance. Accuracy becomes progressively less up to 50 m, which appears to be the maximum effective range. La Farge and Byers (1931:64) in their study of the Jacalteca of northern Huehuetenango gave the following description and use of the blowgun. “The blow-guns are hollow tubes of some light wood which grows in the Cold Country around San Miguel and Santa Eulalia, where there are people who specialize in making them. The gun is usually about 50 cm longer than the individual who uses it. The longest seen was 192 cm long (a little over six feet). On one side of the gun is placed a lump of beeswax which serves as a sight. Pellets of clay are used for bullets, spa-up:al. These are rolled into approximate size in the hands and carried dried in a small pouch. The ones for immediate use are worked down to the The blowgun is in use today among the Mam Indians of western Guatemala and their neighbors on the east, north, and west. These are the Quiche, Cakchiquel , Tzutuhil, Ixil, Kekchi, Chuj, Jacalteca, and several Indian groups to the west of the Mam in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. In an effort to protect small game and particularly the quetzal bird, the Guatemalan national symbol of freedom, a law was passed about 15 years ago prohibiting the use of the blowgun. In areas where administration of the law was possible it was so rigorously enforced that the blowgun as a hunting weapon has been abandoned. Its use persists, however , in the more remote settlements. Two blowguns have been purchased at Finca El Porvenir. The first was bought from the farm administrator in August 1942, the second ire February 1916 fromaMamIndian,whohadbroughtitfromhishome village of San Ildefonso Ixtahuacan in the southern part of the Department of Huehuetenango. Finca El Porvenir is a huge farm situated approximately in the center of San Marcos, the westernmost department in the Republic of Guatemala. It occupies most of the southern slope of the Volcano of Tajumulco and overlooks a portion of the Soconusco region of the Pacific coastal plain. The Pacific Ocean, 60 km to the southwest, is visible from Porvenir. The farm lands range from 600 to 3,150 m elevation and contain large plantings of coffee and cinchona as well as subsistence crops of corn, beans, chile, bananas, and plantains. The maintenance of cinchona and coffee requires a considerable amount of resident labor, EDWin m. Shook 260 67.1. Mam Indian using blowgun, Finca El Porvenir. exact size between pieces of bark or by rotating them in the mouth of a brass rifle shell, kaski’ya (Spanish). The shots that have been thus prepared are carried in a small pocket on the outside of the pouch, ready to hand. According to statements made to us, a rabbit can be brought down with this weapon at a distance of fifty yards.” The blowguns purchased in Porvenir are identical in workmanship and differ only in details of measurements. The barrels, made of well-dried white pine or cypress, consist of two halves glued and nailed together, the work being done by hand with such infinite care that an almost perfect bore results. One blowgun measures 148 cm long, 1.3 cm diameter of bore, 3.1–3.8 cm...

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