Woles: Indigenous

Showing posts with label Indigenous. Show all posts

Friday, 7 April 2017

First Post on Indigenous Boast er Boats

This blog is about antique watercraft outside of the Western, plank-on-frame tradition. Eventually, I hope to address dugouts, pirogues, bark canoes, reed/grass boats, skin-on-frame boats (including kayaks, coracles, curraghs, etc.), skin-without-frame boats (inflated yak skins, anyone?), dragon boats, Polynesian and Hawaiian canoes and their relatives (e.g., outrigger canoes, proas, double canoes/catamarans), and boats of various Asian styles (junks, sampans, and the like), and every other type that I can find, hopefully with the help of interested contributors.

The title, Indigenous Boats, is admittedly obscure and will no doubt prove to be inaccurate. A dragon boat built and raced in Boston, for instance, can hardly be considered indigenous to the Charles River. But dragon boats were/are indigenous to someplace (China), and no other qualifier seems right. Aboriginal Boats? Hardly. The Chinese who developed the dragon boat were long past the aboriginal stage, and the term is so closely connected to the Australian aborigines that it would cause great confusion. (By the way, what is the boatbuilding tradition of Australia prior to Western contact?) For roughly similar reasons, "primitive boats" wouldn't do it, since many of the craft I hope to discuss are pretty sophisticated in design, construction, and/or overall complexity, and "primitive" is a value-laden term that would certainly upset some readers -- no matter that a coracle, for example, is indeed a primitive contraption, and no matter how appealing and charming it may be, and regardless of the fact that coracles were used for serious (that is, not leisure) purposes as late as the early 20th century. Beyond indigenous, aboriginal, and primitive, no other candidates come to mind, so Indigenous Boats it is.

I plan to cover aspects of design and construction, history and culture, boathandling, seamanship, navigation, archaeology, and especially current uses of these craft. I'm actively seeking input -- articles, comments, book recommendations or reviews (or books for review), photos, video clips, links, comments -- if you're interested in this topic (or any aspect of it), please let me know, send me some stuff, and let's work together to make this an interesting, wide-ranging resource for a wide-ranging selection of boat types.

Monday, 13 March 2017

Indigenous Paddling Techniques

Got a few emails about the BigEast River video I posted on YouTube asking about my paddling method. The few reverse camera shots showed how I leisurely paddle when in "cruising mode". Don't claim to be an expert on this method and it's just really what works for me...sort of a combination of different things.

I've been very curious about paddling techniques that indigenous peoples would've used to propel their craft. Obviously for them, paddling wasn't for leisure or style but for practical functionality. Bark canoes had no seats so kneeling low in the boat resting on the heels was the known position. This of course puts you much lower in the canoe than resting on a seat and automatically changes the paddling dynamics. Here's a great photo of the "Indian's Position" found in Robert E. Pinkerton's The Canoe: Its Selection, Care and Use (published 1914).

Being closer to the waterline forces you to reach lower on the grip for comfort, otherwise your top hand stretches up too high and can quickly cause fatigue. Documentation of this is very scarce but here are some photos I've been able to find which show a little of the grip method. Usually, the paddlers are very low in the canoe, either kneeling or completely seated on the bottom of the hull. This places them much lower than modern canoes equipped with seats. The paddle tends to be held out a but laterally and the grip hand resting more naturally in line with the lower.

This previous post shows some Ojibwe women in their bark canoe. The bow paddler is resting her grip hand along the base in this relaxed position....

Three Women and Infant in Cradleboard in Canoe

Zimmerman, Charles A. of St. Paul, Minnesota

SPC BAE 4605 01601913, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

The October 1990 cover of Wooden Boat Magazine features famous cedar-canvas canoe builder, Jerry Stelmock paddling this style as well...

I've got some more unedited video from mucking around on the lake this summer. I'll try to edit and maybe get another youtube video up.