This is usually practised
in the smaller rivers at times of slack water, all the people of a
village co-operating. The TUBA plant is cultivated in patches on the
PADI fields. Pieces of the roots are cut off without destroying the
plants. When a large quantity has been gathered, a fence is built
across the river at the spot chosen, and big BUBU traps are let into
it facing up stream. Then all the available small boats are manned
and brought into the reaches of the river extending about a mile above
the fence. Each boat carries a supply of tuba root, which the people
bruise by pounding it with wooden clubs against stumps and rocks
on the bank or against the side of the boat. Water is thrown into
the bottom of the boat and the pounded root is rinsed in the water,
pounded again, and again rinsed, until all its poisonous juice is
extracted. The water in all the boats, become milky with the juice,
is poured at a given signal into the river, either by baling or by
overturning the boats. After some twenty minutes the fish begin to
rise to the surface and rush wildly to and fro. In the meantime the
boats have been put to rights, and now begin to pursue the fish,
the men armed with fish-spears, the women with landing-nets. The
sport goes on for several hours.
Pages:
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198