Photo of a Korubo Indian from the Amazon Rainforest with a Matis Indian
quiver for carrying curare-tipped darts. Matis quivers are very unique
in that they characteristically have a monkey mandible attached which is
used to carry clay. The moistened clay is applied to the darts to act
as ballast and covered with "cotton." The "cotton" is really fiber
from the kapok tree and is carried in two woven round-shaped bags and helps
provide air compression inside the blowgun tube in order to propel the darts.
Another thing that makes Matis dart quivers so unique is that they contain a
flat piece of wood and several rounded sticks. The rounded sticks are
placed on top of the flat piece of wood and rotated by the palms of the
hands in order to produce friction and start a fire. The blowgun in
the above image is Korubo rather than Matis in that it lacks the
characteristic bands of inlaid mosaics made out of tortoise eggshells.
|