Blowpipes and spears: the social significance of Huaorani technological choices

Abstract

This article argues that hunting technology can shed new light on the interface between society and nature. It examines the social relations existing between the Huaorani, a group of Amazonian hunter-gatherers, and the animals they hunt. It discusses Huaorani extensive ethological knowledge, the social relations through which weapons are made and used, and those through which game is shared, prepared and consumed. Each of these aspects illuminates the principles which structure Huaorani social organisation and ensure its reproduction. Huaorani hunting techniques, which are based on a profound knowledge of animal life, bring about specific social relations, and produce distinctive social identities. It is shown that the blowpipe and the spear, which constitute two contrasting ways of killing and relating to game animals, monitor social distance in myths. Their mythical function thus reveals a striking homology between the way in which Huaorani people treat each other and the way in which they treat animals. It is concluded that hunting technology might be a better guide to the social objectification of nature than animal symbolism.

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