Arrow poison
Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting. They have been used by almost all primitive peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia today.
Notable examples are the poisons secreted from the skin of the poison arrow frog and curare (or 'ampi'), a general term for a range of plant-derived arrow poisons used by the indigenous peoples of South America.[1]
Poisoned arrows have featured in mythology, notably the Greek story of the slaying of Achilles by Paris, and Balder's death in the Norse myths.
Types of arrow poisons
Arrow poisons around the world are created from many sources:
Plant based poisions
- Curare is a generic term for arrow poisons included many ingredients but most frequently the deadly poisons of the bark of Strychnos toxifera or S. guianensis (Family Loganiaceae) and of the Menispermaceae, especially Chondrodendron tomentosum or Sciadotenia toxifera. It is a muscle relaxant which causes death by asphyxiation.[1]
- Inee, also known as onaye, is a type of arrow poison used in sub-Saharan West Africa, particularly in the areas of Togo and Cameroon. It is made from the plant Strophanthus hispidus, and as such presumably relies on cardiac glycosides found in the genus Strophanthus for its effect.[2]
- In Africa arrow poisons are made from plants that have cardiac glycosides from such plants as Acokanthera, oleander (Nerium), and milkweeds (Family Asclepiadaceae).[1]
Animal based poisons
- In South America, tribes such as the Noanamá Chocó and Emberá Chocó indians of western Colombia, dip the tips of their blowgun darts in the poison found on the skin of three species of Phyllobates a genus of the poison arrow frog. In north Chocó, Phyllobates aurotaenia is used while to the south, in the departments of Risaralda and Choco, P. bicolor is used. In Cauca, even southern Cauca, P. terribilis is used for dart making. No other species are used for this purpose. The poison is generally collected by roasting the frogs over a fire, but the toxins in P. terribilis are so strong that it is sufficient to dip the dart in the back of the frog without killing it.
- In the northern Kalahari, the most commonly used arrow poison is derived from the larva and pupae of beetles in the genus Diamphidia. It is applied to the arrow either by squeezing the contents of the larva directly onto the arrow head, mixing it with plant sap to act as an adhesive, or by mixing a powder made from the dried larva with plant juices and applying that to the arrow tip. The toxin is slow attacking and the injured animal can travel 40-70 miles (64-112 km) before succumbing to the effects.[3]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Curare". Retrieved 2006-08-09.
- ^ "Definition of inee". Webster's International Dictionary. 1913. Retrieved 2006-08-09.
- ^ "How San hunters use beetles to poison their arrows". Iziko Museums of Cape Town. Retrieved 2006-08-09.