How Do Aborigines Hunt?

Aborigines are another name for indigenous people, and indigenous people are ethnic groups that are the first known inhabitants of a geographical area. For example, the Native Americans in North America are considered aborigines. Similarly, the Inuit tribes in Alaska are considered aborigines. The groups differ widely from each other, and it is interesting to compare their cultures and lifestyles, including their hunting practices.

Bushmen of South Africa

Perhaps one of the first indigenous groups that we can examine for hunting techniques are the Bushmen of southern Africa. They are found throughout the countries of:

• South Africa
• Zimbabwe
• Lesotho
• Swaziland
• Botswana
• Namibia
• Angola
• Mozambique

They are referred to by a number of other names besides Bushmen, such as San, Sho, Kung, or Basarwa.

In the Bushmen tribes, the women were usually responsible for gathering fruits, and sometimes insects for consumption. The men were usually responsible for hunting. Some of the prey that the males of the Bushmen tribes hunted included:

• Antelope
• Deer
• Buffalo
• Kudo

The Bushmen used arrows and spears that had poisoned tips to kill these animals. Further, hunting was usually done in extremely long and arduous missions. The males would leave for days, and sometimes weeks at a time, and return with meats for the tribe.

Cherokees of North America

The Cherokees of North America were an aborigine group that lived in the southeastern area of the modern day United States. They primarily occupied the areas which are today considered Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and parts of Tennessee. Their language is classified as part of the Iroquoian language family.

The women were responsible for harvesting different crops, and gathering fruits and nuts. The men were primarily responsible for the hunting in the tribe. The game that the men primarily hunted was deer, turkeys, and smaller game that might be found in the forests.

When the men hunted, they used bows and arrows or blowguns to capture their prey. The blowguns were usually used for the smaller game. When the men fished, they usually used either fishing poles or spears to catch the fish. 

Ainu People of Japan and Russia

The Ainu people are a group of indigenous people from both Japan, as well as Russia. They are referred to both as the Ainu people and the Ezo people in historical accounts about the group. The official amount of Ainu people in the world as of 2010 is estimated at about twenty five thousand. However, the unofficial estimation is significantly higher.

The Ainu tribe frequently hunted from the end of autumn until the beginning of the summer. This is because during the summer and throughout the fall, the tribe was concerned with harvesting and picking their crops. Once the fall was ending, the Ainu could no longer rely primarily on plants for sustenance.

Each Ainu village was assigned to their own hunting ground (or groups of villages shared a joint ground), and the consequences were frequently severe if different villages hunted in grounds that were not theirs.

The primary prey that the Ainu groups hunted included:

• Bears
• Deer
• Foxes
• Rabbits
• Raccoons
• Birds including sea eagles

The Ainu used arrows and spears which were coated with a type of poison called “surku.” Surku was formed from materials from the roots and the stalks of the aconite plants. However, every hunter had a different way of making the poison, and it was considered a secret of each family.

When the Ainu hunted bears, however, their tactics differed. They hunted bears in the early spring, and they would create a trap to catch the bear. The trap was called an “amappo.”