Unlike times of recent, there was a time when life revolved around propagation of family lines, when the most important thing for a man was to marry, for a woman to get married and together raise an offspring. What a life!
Family kept bloodlines running across generations; it was a conduit for continuity and preservation of the community – more like its life insurance.
As the older ones left, there was always a potent pack of humans ready to take over the baton.
With such an emphasis on family, it goes without saying that marriage was a biggie, and so was dowry. Man had to pay a hefty price for his bride. Turns out love has always had a price tag.
Bride price wasn’t something to belittle. For some peope, it would become a wealth generation scheme. It was the only means to the much coveted social class of the married. Every man had to pay.
Those that came from wealthy backgrounds had it easy. But the underprivileged man had to make his own luck – he had to work to earn his love.
At the time, one of the most lucrative trades was the now illegal ivory trade. It raked with fortunes and could easily turn tables for a stone-broke man.
And that is where the hunter’s story kicks off.
The hierarchy
Just like any job, there was hierarchy for huhunters. Here’s how it all worked:
A hunting pack consisted of several shooters and judges.
A shooter was the hand behind the bow – his work was to shoot at the target. All shooters worked together to down their target.
However, despite the collective effort, only the shooter whose shot earned the judges’ verdict was awarded.
It was the judges’ job to investigate and determine whose arrow delivered the most lethal shot. The shooter that won the verdict took all the spoils.
Every shooter had a uniquely marked arrowhead for identification amd their judges were experienced veterans.
The trek to the hunt
In those days, the only way to travel was by foot. It was sweaty, scorching, exhausting, dangerous and adventurous, but it worked just fine.
Some hunters would trek for as long as two months. All along the trek, the supplies – enough to last the entire expedition – were strapped onto their backs.
This was no life for a frail man.
Now to the hunt
The expedition began right at the moment the hunters stepped into the designated jungle.
First things first – a target had to be located. This required skills in tracking and spotting, but it was no trouble with the assistance of the experienced veterans.
Now with eyes on the target, everyone took position to attack. Bows loaded and arrowheads intact – it was time to take aim and shoot.
Once the target was downed, the shooters waited for the judges to make a verdict.
The verdict
This is the interesting bit of the whole expedition. The judges inspected all the arrows to determine whose had delivered the most lethal shot.
The question to answer was, “Whose arrow hit the most vulnerable place?”
After careful deliberation, they decided on the arrow which delivered the kill shot and results were displayed on an improvised score sheet.
The judges cut out a portion of the animal’s skin to serve as the score sheet.
The presentation of the verdict was however not as usual.
The winner’s arrow was dislodged from the victim and pinned at the center of the sheet, while the other arrows were pinned along the boundaries of the sheet.
The shooters were then summoned to see the verdict.
Winner takes all
That’s how the system worked. Your skill earned you the spoils. And the victor took everything.
The hunters traded their spoils at the coastal market, where they exchanged ivory for sea shells, clothes and other valuable products.
These items could easily be exchanged for livestock which was then used to pay bride price.