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Indigenous Games Brazil
Bow & Arrows
Xingu Indians in the Indigenous Games of Mato Grosso, Brazil. As one would
expect, the bow and arrow competitions are a big event at these Indigenous
Games. Note the bow and arrows that are of typical Amazonian design. Bows in
the Amazon are typically made out of peach palm, a dense dark wood and are
not recurved. The Amazonian arrows are unique in that they are so long,
typically measuring two meters or more. In addition, they are fashioned from
wood without stone projectile points, as lithic materials are in short
supply in the ancient oxisol soils of the Amazon Rainforest. The fletching
typically consists of a single feather split in two and sewn onto the arrow
shaft in a curved pattern in order to spin in flight, thus maintaining a
straight trajectory.
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